The acquisition of reading and writing skills in early childhood and the environmental influences

本研究采用历时3年的纵向研究方法，考察了学前儿童阅读能力、写作能力和词汇量的获得与发展。在研究的第一年，每三个年龄组（3岁，4岁和5奥尔兹）的400名儿童进行了测试，他们的阅读和书写平假名字母，单词和句子的能力，以及他们的词汇。他们的父母和老师被问及他们对孩子的阅读和写作能力的看法，以及孩子学习环境的某些特征。在第二年和第三年对同一组儿童进行随访，以获得长期数据库。当孩子们进入小学时，他们在语言课上的成绩也被分析为他们在学龄前语言能力的函数。分析揭示了几种模式。首先，在小学入学前测量的阅读能力之间存在统计学显著的相关性，尽管相关性很弱。第二，毫不奇怪，语言能力随着年龄的增长而提高，第三，在所有年龄组中，女孩的语言能力普遍高于男孩，尽管年龄较大的儿童的性别差异有所缩小。最后，研究结果强调了学习环境质量对语言能力发展的重要性。

A 3 year longitudinal project was conducted to examine the acquisition and development of reading ability, writing ability, and vocabulary in pre-school children. In the first year of the study, 400 children in each three age groups(3,4 and 5 yeur olds)were tested for their abilities to read and write hiragana letters, words, and sentences, as well as for their vocabulary. Their parents and teachers were asked about their beliefs about the children's reading and writing abilities as well as certain features of the children's learning environment. The same groups of the children were followed up in the second and third years to yield a iongitudinal data base. When the children were enrolled in an elementary school, their grades in a language class were also analyzed as a function of their linguistic abilities in the pre-school years.Analysis revealed several patterns. First, there was a statistically significant, albeit weak, correlation between the reading abilities measured before the enrollment in an elementary school. Second, not surprisingly, linguistic abilities improved with age, Third, these abilities were generally higher for girls than for boys in all age groups although the sex difference became somewhat smaller for older children. Finally, results underscored the significance of the quality of learning environment for the development of linguistic abilities.