English-Language App Book Reading Among Linguistically Diverse Kindergarteners

• In Event: Bedtime Stories in the 21st Century: What We Know—and Need to Know—About Digital Reading for Young Children

Abstract

Significance
Research shows that child characteristics, app book features, and during reading behaviors impact children’s comprehension outcomes when reading app books. However, while some studies have investigated children’s app book reading in a second language, we have not found any studies that explore app book reading across children with varied linguistic backgrounds. It is important to understand this to inform teaching practices for using app books with linguistically diverse students. To address this, we explore how child linguistic background, during reading behaviors, and app book features are related to retelling outcomes when reading English-language app books.

Methods
Across a year-long project, 121 linguistically diverse kindergarteners from Malta and the U.S. each read four English-language app books with interactive features and then retold the story. These sessions were video-recorded and transcribed. We used emergent coding and constant comparative analysis to identify reading behavior codes from the transcriptions. Then two coders applied these across all reading sessions and scored the transcriptions of retellings using a narrative elements rubric. We used multivariate outcome, multilevel analysis to identify the relations between child characteristics, during reading behaviors, app book features, and retelling outcomes.

Findings and Implications
Child Linguistic Characteristics. English dominant students retold characters better, whereas bilingual students had more difficulty. Bilingual students were more likely to retell the problem, whereas Maltese dominant students had more difficulty. Maltese dominant and bilingual children had more difficulty retelling events. Being Maltese dominant hindered total retelling scores. Given the nuance in how language intersects with retelling different narrative elements, it may be useful to explore varied supports for diverse learners for different narrative elements.

Book Features. App books that had word hotspots supported retelling characters and resolution; navigation menus supported retelling events and total retelling scores; vocabulary meaning hotspots supported retelling resolution but hindered retelling the problem and events; text highlighting hindered retelling events and total retelling score; and story hotspots hindered total retelling scores.

These findings demonstrate how digital features may support (a) some learning outcomes but not others; and (2) different aspects of meaning-making. This provides more specific guidance for book selection. Since child linguistic characteristics did not mediate which features supported better retelling outcomes, these may be more universal.

During Reading Behaviors. Reading sequentially supported retelling characters, events, resolution, and total score. Pressing the words in the book to make them read supported retelling characters, resolution, and total score. Monitoring supported retelling characters, events, and total score. Only using hotspots supported retelling characters and events. Using auto-read while activating hotspots supported retelling events, and just auto-read supported retelling the problem.

These findings demonstrate that (1) that some app book reading behaviors more broadly support better retelling (e.g., reading sequentially) than others (e.g., just auto-read); and (2) jointly using multiple kinds of during reading behaviors could better support children’s retelling outcomes. Since child linguistic characteristics did not mediate which reading behaviors supported better retelling outcomes, these may be more universal.

Authors

• Tanya M. Christ, East Carolina University

• X. Christine Wang, University at Buffalo - SUNY

• Charles L. Mifsud, University of Malta

• Rositsa Georgieva, L-Università ta' Malta

• Ming Ming Chiu, The Education University of Hong Kong