Cross-sectional studies have already addressed the question of the syllable's role in the first steps of reading acquisition--though with mixed results. To determine whether and when (1) syllables become units that drive the segmentation of and access to words and how (2) sublexical orthographic and phonological syllable frequency mediate the…

The level of reading competency in children makes a difference in their academic progress, and subsequently such progress influences their quality of life. The excellence of pre-primary education is based on curricular and procedural quality. The aim of the research was to find out how preschool teachers develop reading literacy in preschool…

Some readers thrive more than others because they are more actively involved in their learning. All students can become active participants in their learning through quality teacher prompting. In this article, teachers will learn how to promote emergent learners' active participation as they decode and comprehend, while problem-solving unknown…

Interactive book reading (IBR) as a context for vocabulary learning is studied widely in preschool children and kindergarteners. In the present study, we elaborate on this prior research by investigating the effects of a five-week IBR intervention on first graders' expressive target vocabulary growth. A repeated measures design with two…

Preschool children often confuse letters with their mirror images when they try to read and write. Mirror confusion seems to occur more often in line with the direction of script (e.g., left-to-right for the Latin alphabetic script), suggesting that the processing of letter orientation and text directionality may be interrelated in preliterate…

This article explores the underpinning assumptions about the changing definition and parameters of early reading that are contained in successive UK Departments for Education (DfE, DfES, DfEE) documentation since 1995 and in Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills) reports and official blogs during the same…

Preschool children considered at risk for future reading difficulties experience unique and complex combinations of risk factors. In this exploratory study, we used latent profile analysis (LPA) to investigate the underlying classifications of children identified as at-risk for reading difficulties (N = 281) along selected cognitive,…

This article reports the outcomes of community participation and quality learning education resulting from the MEMBACA II project. MEMBACA (Making Early Matter through Books and Community Action) is a literacy project that targets young children in Indonesia. The MEMBACA project includes teacher training, community reading activities, and…

Within the framework of the home literacy model, this study investigated the relationship between home formal and informal literacy experiences and the development of orthographic skills among Chinese beginning readers. A total of 143 children and their parents participated in the study, with parents completing questionnaires on family background…

A descriptive cross-sectional study was undertaken with Sinhala speaking students from grades 1 and 2 in the Gampaha District of Sri Lanka to determine how akshara graphical features influence emerging reading skills. A battery of locally validated assessments evaluated akshara knowledge (recognition and production), word reading (accurate and…

Purpose: We investigated the role of spoken language in the acquisition of literacy in the context of Arabic diglossia, where the written language, Standard Arabic, deviates substantially from the spoken language, Colloquial Arabic, children acquire naturally from birth. Method: The participants (N = 110; 40 girls) were Saudi Arabic--speaking…

Purpose: To become good at anything we need to practice. However, in the classroom context, much of the reading time is devoted to instruction rather than practice. Reading practice should be daily. Text choice, motivation and reading for pleasure all interact to support implicit learning. Design/methodology/approach: Review and synthesise the…