BILINGUAL EARLY LANGUAGE AND LITERACY SUPPORT (BELLS)

描述(由申请人提供)：识字需要一套新出现的识字技能，而这些技能又需要印刷相关的经验和早期口语能力的基础。对于来自西班牙语家庭的儿童来说，接触英语的机会有限和/或西班牙语或英语的口语能力有限，可能会直接或间接地限制他们新兴的英语识字能力的发展。这些限制的最终结果导致了学业成绩低下(Goldenberg，1987)，这是美国西语裔人口中一个长期存在的问题，在那里只有63%的学生高中毕业(Healthy People 2000)。除了丰富的母语环境外，早期接触英语可能会改善这些限制。双语早期语言和识字支持(BELLS)项目由NIH和OERI(合同编号5-R01-HD39501)资助，以测试西班牙语/双语儿童的语言和紧急识字结果，这些儿童要么参加了包括英语接触/浸入和家庭语言和识字支持的早期儿童计划，要么在一个社区，那里儿童的早期经历有限。Bells获得了资金，用于评估儿童进入幼儿园之前的情况。然而，许多在贝尔学校注册的孩子将在贝尔项目结束之前进入幼儿园，许多孩子将在项目结束时上一年级。这些文献支持从儿童早期到学校环境跟踪儿童的纵向研究(Dickinson&McCabe，2001)。这项补充研究的目的将是跟随贝尔的孩子进入幼儿园和一年级。这将使我们能够考察在学校和家庭获得阅读成就的途径。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Literacy requires a prior set of emergent literacy skills that, in turn, require both print-related experiences and a foundation of early oral language competence. For children from Spanish-speaking homes, limited exposure to English and/or limited oral language competence in either Spanish or English may limit the development of their emergent English literacy both directly and indirectly. The eventual results of these limitations contribute to academic underachievement (Goldenberg, 1987), a persistent problem in the US Hispamc population in which only 63% of students graduate from high school (Healthy People 2000). These limitations may be ameliorated by early exposure to English language in addition to an enriched home language environment. The Bilingual Early Language and Literacy Support (BELLS) project was funded by NIH and OERI (Contract# 5-R01- HD39501) to test the language and emergent literacy outcomes of Spanish-speaking/bilingual children who either were enrolled in an early childhood program that included English exposure/immersion and home language and literacy support or were in a community, where limited early childhood experiences were available. BELLS was funded to assess children up to Kindergarten entry. However, many of the children enrolled in BELLS will be entering kindergarten prior to the end of the BELLS project and many will be in first grade when the project ends. The literature supports longitudinal research that follows children from early childhood into the school setting (Dickinson & McCabe, 2001). The purpose of this supplemental study will be to follow BELLS children into Kindergarten and first grade. This will allow us to examine school and home pathways to reading achievement.