Prereading/Language Development in Two Day Care Centers

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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to analyze the language of eight 4-year-old children from two day care centers as they described a picture and told a story from pictures in a wordless picture book. The children's oral language was analyzed for vocabulary, syntax, completeness, and accuracy. Their stories were assessed for Applebee's narrative conventions and structure. Comprehension of the picture and the book was assessed by questions. The children's descriptions and stories, although short, contained a variety of vocabulary words and an above average number of words per T-unit for their age. However, their stories did not contain any narrative conventions nor did the children demonstrate that they had achieved a sense of the story. The children's descriptions were only partially accurate, and they demonstrated limited comprehension of the picture and story. These results are discussed in relation to the day care and pre-school language curriculum and environment. Implications are drawn for the children's prereading development and their readiness for beginning reading instruction.

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