Early Literacy in Children with Specific Language Impairment Cover Image

Rana pismenost kod djece s posebnim jezičnim teškoćama
Early Literacy in Children with Specific Language Impairment

Author(s): Karolina Ščapec, Jelena Kuvač Kraljević
Subject(s): Education
Published by: Sveučilište u Zagrebu, Edukacijsko-rehabilitacijski fakultet
Keywords: specific language impairment; early literacy; phonological awareness; receptive vocabulary; verbal working memory

Summary/Abstract: Early literacy includes skills, knowledge and attitudes related to learning to read which have been developed before the formal instruction. It is well known that children with specific language impairment (SLI) are group particularly high risk for developing difficulties in reading and writing. Nevertheless, just few studies were focused on the topic of the early literacy in this clinical group. The aim of this study was to examine ability of early literacy i.e. ability of phonological awareness and literacy in the group of preschool children with SLI. Children included in this study (N=30) were assessed on language abilities - receptive vocabulary and phonological awareness (rhyme, analysis, synthesis and blending of phonemes and syllables) - on the tasks of literacy (naming and writing of letters, sight vocabulary, decoding and writing) and cognitive functions, i.e. verbal working memory (phonological memory functioning and capacity of verbal working memory). The results show that children with SLI have lower achievement on the tasks of early literacy caused by poorer vocabulary, limited capacity and verbal working memory malfunction.

  • Issue Year: 49/2013
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 120-134
  • Page Count: 15
  • Language: Croatian