Emergent literacy in children of immigrants coming from a primarily oral literacy culture

• DOI: 10.1075/wll.13.1.02sha
• Publication Date: 2010-03-12T00:51:56Z
• Authors: Michal Shany; Esther Geva; Liat Melech-Feder
• Keywords: Hebrews

This study examined emergent literacy skills of 61 kindergarten children whose families had immigrated to Israel from a primarily oral society (Ethiopia). Three complementary perspectives were examined: developmental patterns, individual differences, and the contribution parent literacy. The Ethiopia compared those 52 coming literate culture. groups acquired less complex Hebrew in same order, including phonological awareness, letter naming consonant writing. However, Ethiopian Israeli proficient on various aspects language proficiency, familiar with cultural environmental Most also unable speak or comprehend Amharic. In both groups, awareness explained differences naming, but vocabulary syntactic knowledge added variance only group. Letter was associated writing groups. written proficiency mothers positively correlated their children. results underscore importance distinguishing between complex, modularized, more skills. Here cumulative effects poverty, home culture, parental inability mediate literacy, non-optimal conditions for becoming bilingual place young immigrant at risk academic failure early on.