This research examines the connection between orthographical depth of a language and phonological and morphological processing in Arabic-speaking children with learning disabilities. Participants included 40 pupils in third and fourth grade with learning disabilities in reading and reading comprehension studying in a mixed class in regular Arab…

The researchers addressed two questions: (1) Does maternal reading mediation and family home literacy environment (HLE) relate to children's emergent literacy (EL) level? and (2) Do the relationships among these variables differ as a function of socioeconomic strata (SES) level. A total of 94 5-6-year-old children, 47 from low SES (LSES) and 47…

Investigates whether listening to stories in literary Arabic would have salutary effects on kindergarten children's emergent literacy skills. Finds that children in the experimental classes outperformed control classes on comprehension and active use of language. Concludes that children can acquire a second register through exposure in school…

As a cooperative project of Tel Aviv University, the University of Wisconsin, and Stanford University, four separate studies on reading were conducted in the 1970-71 school year with kindergarten and first grade Israeli students. The first study was the development of a prereading skills test consisting of picture vocabulary, word memory span,…

Examines the notion that words are sometimes perceived with greater ease than letters and that word shape sometimes plays a role in the perception of words. The data collected from 40 Israeli kindergarteners revealed that beginning readers found it easier to identify single letters than whole words, thus refuting the above notion. (Author/AS)

Cites the case of Hebrew learning in Israel to show that, contrary to popular belief, the complexity of grapho-phonetic relationships is a minor or nonexistent factor in learning difficulties. (FL)

This study examined individual differences among beginning readers of English as a foreign language (EFL). The study concentrated on the effects of underlying first language (L1) knowledge as well as EFL letter and vocabulary knowledge. Phonological and morphological awareness, spelling, vocabulary knowledge, and word reading in Hebrew L1, in…

Tests for prereading skills of Israeli kindergarten children were developed and tested on a wide range of socioeconomic levels. Based on studies in the United States and Israel, tests were developed for letter matching, rhyming, sound matching, and letter recognition. Results from 178 kindergarten children led to a division of the letter matching…

We investigated how SES, grade level, and book reading experiences are related to children's writing self-efficacy as well as to their knowledge of "good writing" and "writing difficulties." The sample included 199 middle-high (HSES) and low (LSES) SES children (63 second graders, 67 fourth graders, and 69 sixth graders).…

A comparative analysis evaluated three studies that dealt with the differences among five-year-olds that should be considered before reading instruction is initiated in kindergarten. The premise of the comparison was that children from different countries (especially Israel, where these studies were conducted), have different abilities, react…

Begun in Israel in 1960, the HIPPY (Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters) program is a family support, parent-focused, early childhood literacy program. This book compiles 17 evaluation studies of the program, from researchers and practitioners in 7 countries. The studies are organized around five themes: exploring theoretical…