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Emergent literacy of bilingual kindergarteners.

Article Excerpt
Abstract

This case study compares two bilingual kindergartener's emergent literacy development with the purpose of identifying possible issues and research questions concerning bilingual children's literacy development. Observational data was examined based on an emergent literacy framework proposed by Whitehurst and Lonigan. Findings suggest that social and functional engagement in the literacy practice may be influenced by sociocultural factors which require attention in future research.

Introduction

Between 1980 and 2000, the number of people who spoke a language other than English doubled (U.S. Census Bureau, 2003). Today, nearly one in five Americans speaks a language other than English at home, and federal projections suggest that this trend will continue over the next 50 years (U.S. Department of Commerce, 1996). With these demographic changes, public schools now deal with an increasing number of non-English speaking children. Yet, the teaching force is becoming increasingly White, monolingual, and monocultural (Gay, 2000). These teachers haven't been prepared to identify developmental issues faced by bilingual learners, nor have they been taught to recognize the ways in which cultural experience and language are interconnected.

This article discusses early literacy experiences of two bilingual kindergarteners in a standard-English classroom. The study is not driven by one particular research question; rather, its purpose is to identify possible issues and generate potential research questions about bilingual children's literacy development.

Emergent literacy

Unlike other perspectives on reading acquisition, embedded within emergent literacy is the notion that literacy acquisition begins before young children enter school through exposure to print and socially meaningful literacy events. (Bialystok, 1997; Dickinson & Tabor, 2001; Hudelson, 1994; Whitehurst & Lonigan, 2001). From such experiences, children gradually discover the symbolic meaning of print and the functions it serves.

Whitehurst and Lonigan (2001) proposed an emergent literacy framework consisting of two domains: inside-out and outside-in. The inside-out domain refers to decoding knowledge that children utilize to process the information derived from the print. However, successful translation of phonological representations does not guarantee reading comprehension. Sources of information beyond the print are necessary to support comprehension. The outside-in domain is composed of contextual resources outside the printed word. It includes knowledge about the literacy contexts, accumulated world knowledge and semantic information. Both domains are critical to emergent literacy development; however, the inside-out domain is the gate-keeper to children's meaningful production and comprehension of print.

While there is considerable research about first language literacy development, there is scant information concerning the literacy development of bilingual learners. Although monolingual and bilingual children take a similar path toward literacy as they accumulate literacy knowledge through social interactions early in their lives, there are significant differences between the two groups regarding the role of social and affective factors in early second language development (Hudelson,...

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