Project BLOOM: Goal 2 Developmental Grant funded by the Institute of Education Science
Project BLOOM developed and implemented Spanish-enhanced vocabulary lessons within the context of electronic books. Designed to be used in predominantly Spanish-speaking elementary schools in Florida, the books included multiple elements of vocabulary instruction critical to building vocabulary in minority-language speakers. Using a randomized controlled trial design, the authors tested the effect of the ebook intervention on young Spanish-English speaking children's vocabulary knowledge in English. Children in kindergarten and first grade were randomly assigned to treatment and read-only conditions. All children completed ebook readings approximately 3 times per week for 10-20 weeks. The same books were used in the treatment and control conditions. Children in the treatment condition received ebooks supplemented with a vocabulary intervention. The intervention included scaffolding with explanations in Spanish, repeated exposures to target vocabulary, checks for understanding, and morphological highlights. At the end of the school year, the authors discovered a main effect of the intervention on children's expressive vocabulary as measured by a proximal probe (g = .38) and by the PPVT-4 (g = .14). No significant moderation effect of initial PPVT-4 score was obtained. These findings substantiate the effectiveness of computer-implemented, embedded vocabulary intervention for increasing English learners' English vocabulary knowledge.
See the full project abstract. The full list of publications resulting from this work are listed at the bottom of the page.
See the full project abstract. The full list of publications resulting from this work are listed at the bottom of the page.
Core Elements of the Intervention:
Repeated exposures to target vocabulary through:
Checks for understanding - the second occurrence of the target word was an embedded check for understanding with tiered support
Word Maps - the third occurrence of the target word appeared within a word map that included an example, a non-example, and highlighted morphology.
Bridging to the first language - the target words were labeled in both English and Spanish. Additionally, the word expansions were presented in both English and Spanish throughout the books.
Audiovisual engagement - the books included animations and audio intended to keep the children interested
- Preview of all target words before starting the book
- 3 separate exposures to the target word during the book reading
- Review of all target words at the conclusion of the book
Checks for understanding - the second occurrence of the target word was an embedded check for understanding with tiered support
Word Maps - the third occurrence of the target word appeared within a word map that included an example, a non-example, and highlighted morphology.
Bridging to the first language - the target words were labeled in both English and Spanish. Additionally, the word expansions were presented in both English and Spanish throughout the books.
Audiovisual engagement - the books included animations and audio intended to keep the children interested
Example Word Map for "Vine"
The word maps included four components:
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BLOOM Publication List
Wood, C., Fitton, L., Petscher, Y., Rodriguez, E., Sunderman, G. & Lim, T. (accepted). The effect of ebook vocabulary instruction on Spanish-English speaking children. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research.
Purpose: This study aimed to examine the effect of an intensive vocabulary intervention embedded in e-books on the vocabulary skills of young Spanish-English speaking English Learners (ELs) from low SES backgrounds.
Methods: Children (288) in kindergarten and first grade were randomly assigned to treatment and read-only conditions. All children received e-book readings approximately 3 times a week for 10-20 weeks using the same books. Children in the treatment condition received e-books supplemented with vocabulary instruction that included scaffolding through explanations in Spanish, repetition in English, checks for understanding, and highlighted morphology.
Results: There was a main effect of the intervention on expressive labeling (g = .38) and vocabulary on the PPVT (g = .14) with no significant moderation effect of initial PPVT score. There was no significant difference between conditions on children’s expressive definitions.
Conclusions: Findings substantiate the effectiveness of computer implemented embedded vocabulary intervention for increasing ELs’ vocabulary knowledge.
Implications: Computer-assisted vocabulary instruction with scaffolding through Spanish explanations, repetitions, and highlighted morphology is a promising approach to facilitate word learning for ELs in kindergarten and first grade.
Wood, C., Fitton, L., & Rodriguez, E. (accepted). Home literacy of kindergarten Spanish-English speaking children from rural low SES backgrounds. AERA Open.
Abstract. This study aimed to describe home literacy (HL) activities of Spanish-English speaking children of low SES backgrounds and examine the relationship between HL and performance on standardized assessments. Parents of 65 dual language learners (DLLs) in kindergarten completed a home literacy questionnaire. Parents reported an average of 17 books at home and engaged in active HL activities for 24 minutes a day on average. The relations between HL activities and performance were evaluated using correlations and regression. Analyses revealed a significant relation between HL and children’s language abilities, as measured by a bilingual measure of morphosyntax and semantics. Children’s reported interest in reading was also positively associated with their phonological awareness skills. HL was significantly related to child interest in reading and language performance. These findings suggest that home literacy plays a role in the language and literacy development of DLLs.
Wood, C., & Gabas, C. (2017). Young Spanish-English speaking children's reading attitudes in relation to language skills. Educational Research, 59(4), 408-425. doi: 10.1080/00131881.2017.1373028
See article online.
Background: Reading attitudes are recognised as an influencing factor on the language and literacy achievement of school age monolingual English-speaking children. The relationship between reading attitudes and achievement in young Spanish-speaking English Learners (ELs) remains understudied.
Purpose: The aim of the current study was to describe reading attitudes of young Spanish-speaking ELs and to examine the relationship between attitudes and language performance.
Method: The investigators utilised the Elementary Reading Attitudes Survey (ERAS) with 204 participants: 100 ELs in kindergarten and 104 in first grade. Investigators administered standardised measures of language and literacy performance. Correlational analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between attitudes and performance on language assessments.
Findings: Significant mean differences were observed between girls and boys, with girls showing more positive attitudes towards recreational reading. Phonological awareness skills showed a significant strong correlation with academic reading attitudes for children in kindergarten. Spanish receptive vocabulary showed significant positive correlation with reading attitudes. No significant grade differences were found in overall mean reading attitudes.
Conclusions: Overall, students in both grades demonstrated generally positive attitudes towards reading, despite potential language barriers. Findings substantiate a positive relationship between reading attitudes and receptive vocabulary, and phonological awareness skills in young children.
Rodriguez, E., Bustamante, K., Wood, C., & Sunderman, G. (2017). A comparison of the grammatical production of child heritage speakers of Spanish across language and grade: Kindergarten and grade 1. Languages, 2, 27. doi:10.3390/languages2040027
See article online.
Abstract. In this study, we elicited grammatical forms (oral production) from a group of child heritage speakers of Spanish (N = 45) in English and Spanish, using the morphosyntax subtest of the Bilingual English–Spanish Assessment (BESA), (Peña et al. 2014). A cross-sectional design was used with 25 participants in kindergarten and 20 in first grade. All children spoke Spanish at home and attended English rural schools. We controlled for L2 class environment and socio-economic status. Research findings indicated children produced more target structures in L1 Spanish. This project supports the view that sequential bilingualism and continuous exposure to the heritage language may assist heritage speakers to maintain some L1 structures (Miller and Cuza 2013; Pascual y Cabo and Gómez Soler 2015). Patterns of L2 development are also addressed.
Wood, C., & Hoge, R. (2017). Average change in sentence repetition by Spanish-English speaking children: Kindergarten to first grade. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. 1-16. doi: 10.1080/13670050.2017.1308310
See article online.
Purpose: This study aimed to describe change in dual language learners’ (DLLs) morphosyntactic skills from kindergarten to first grade based on a sentence repetition task in English and Spanish.
Methods: The sample included Spanish-English speaking children (n = 25). Investigators employed a repeated measures analysis of variance with one within-subjects effect (time).
Results: Overall there was a significant difference in sentence repetition accuracy between time points showing growth in English (p < .001, d = 1.24), and no significant change in Spanish. Results highlight malleable English grammatical forms (e.g. conditional (if-then); question inversion of auxiliaries; and subordinating conjunctions) and forms that remained challenging for DLLs in first grade (e.g. irregular past).
Conclusion: Findings support the use of a sentence repetition task as a progress monitoring tool for young DLLs. Highlighted grammatical errors may be informative for planning intensified instructional support in kindergarten and first grade.
Wood, C., Wofford, M.C., & Schatschneider, C. (2017). Relationship between performance on oral narrative retells and standardized language assessments for Spanish-English speaking children from low SES backgrounds. Communication Disorders Quarterly. doi: 10.1171525740117722507.
See article online.
Abstract. This project aimed to describe oral narrative retells of Spanish-English speaking dual language learners (DLLs) and examine relationships with standardized vocabulary assessments. Investigators described oral narrative retells of 145 DLLs in kindergarten and first grade by number of different words (NDW), words per minute (WPM), and macrostructural components. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to examine relationships between narrative retells and standardized vocabulary performance. Children in first grade showed significantly better narrative retells than kindergarten DLLs, characterized by greater NDW and WPM, and more macrostructural components. Regression results indicated NDW accounted for the majority of the unique variance in DLLs’ performance on standardized vocabulary assessments. Findings substantiate that narrative retells are educationally relevant tools in predicting performance on a standardized English vocabulary assessment. The study contributes to knowledge of narrative performance of typically developing DLLs and supports the utility of retells in assessment of DLLs.
Wood, C., Bustamante, K., Fitton, L. M., Brown, D., & Petscher, Y. (2017). Rapid automated naming performance of young Spanish-English speaking children. Languages, 2(3). 1-17. doi: 10.3390/languages2030013
See article online.
Abstract: The aim of this preliminary study was to examine the feasibility of a rapid automatic naming (RAN) task for young Spanish–English speaking dual language learners (DLLs) and to examine the relationship between children’s performance on RAN and other standardized language and literacy assessments. A total of 275 Spanish–English speaking children in kindergarten and first grade attempted a RAN task and completed assessments of language and early literacy. Correlational analyses and quantile regression was conducted to examine relationships. Overall the RAN task was feasible for 74% (n = 203) of the DLLs; however, 42% of participants in kindergarten were unable to complete the task. There was a moderate positive correlation between RAN performance and standard scores in receptive vocabulary and letter identification, a small positive correlation with non-verbal intelligence, and no significant relationship with phonological awareness. There was a differential relation between RAN and English sentence imitation. The results support further consideration of RAN as a feasible and useful measure for young Spanish–English speaking DLLs.Abstract
Purpose: This study aimed to examine the effect of an intensive vocabulary intervention embedded in e-books on the vocabulary skills of young Spanish-English speaking English Learners (ELs) from low SES backgrounds.
Methods: Children (288) in kindergarten and first grade were randomly assigned to treatment and read-only conditions. All children received e-book readings approximately 3 times a week for 10-20 weeks using the same books. Children in the treatment condition received e-books supplemented with vocabulary instruction that included scaffolding through explanations in Spanish, repetition in English, checks for understanding, and highlighted morphology.
Results: There was a main effect of the intervention on expressive labeling (g = .38) and vocabulary on the PPVT (g = .14) with no significant moderation effect of initial PPVT score. There was no significant difference between conditions on children’s expressive definitions.
Conclusions: Findings substantiate the effectiveness of computer implemented embedded vocabulary intervention for increasing ELs’ vocabulary knowledge.
Implications: Computer-assisted vocabulary instruction with scaffolding through Spanish explanations, repetitions, and highlighted morphology is a promising approach to facilitate word learning for ELs in kindergarten and first grade.
Wood, C., Fitton, L., & Rodriguez, E. (accepted). Home literacy of kindergarten Spanish-English speaking children from rural low SES backgrounds. AERA Open.
Abstract. This study aimed to describe home literacy (HL) activities of Spanish-English speaking children of low SES backgrounds and examine the relationship between HL and performance on standardized assessments. Parents of 65 dual language learners (DLLs) in kindergarten completed a home literacy questionnaire. Parents reported an average of 17 books at home and engaged in active HL activities for 24 minutes a day on average. The relations between HL activities and performance were evaluated using correlations and regression. Analyses revealed a significant relation between HL and children’s language abilities, as measured by a bilingual measure of morphosyntax and semantics. Children’s reported interest in reading was also positively associated with their phonological awareness skills. HL was significantly related to child interest in reading and language performance. These findings suggest that home literacy plays a role in the language and literacy development of DLLs.
Wood, C., & Gabas, C. (2017). Young Spanish-English speaking children's reading attitudes in relation to language skills. Educational Research, 59(4), 408-425. doi: 10.1080/00131881.2017.1373028
See article online.
Background: Reading attitudes are recognised as an influencing factor on the language and literacy achievement of school age monolingual English-speaking children. The relationship between reading attitudes and achievement in young Spanish-speaking English Learners (ELs) remains understudied.
Purpose: The aim of the current study was to describe reading attitudes of young Spanish-speaking ELs and to examine the relationship between attitudes and language performance.
Method: The investigators utilised the Elementary Reading Attitudes Survey (ERAS) with 204 participants: 100 ELs in kindergarten and 104 in first grade. Investigators administered standardised measures of language and literacy performance. Correlational analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between attitudes and performance on language assessments.
Findings: Significant mean differences were observed between girls and boys, with girls showing more positive attitudes towards recreational reading. Phonological awareness skills showed a significant strong correlation with academic reading attitudes for children in kindergarten. Spanish receptive vocabulary showed significant positive correlation with reading attitudes. No significant grade differences were found in overall mean reading attitudes.
Conclusions: Overall, students in both grades demonstrated generally positive attitudes towards reading, despite potential language barriers. Findings substantiate a positive relationship between reading attitudes and receptive vocabulary, and phonological awareness skills in young children.
Rodriguez, E., Bustamante, K., Wood, C., & Sunderman, G. (2017). A comparison of the grammatical production of child heritage speakers of Spanish across language and grade: Kindergarten and grade 1. Languages, 2, 27. doi:10.3390/languages2040027
See article online.
Abstract. In this study, we elicited grammatical forms (oral production) from a group of child heritage speakers of Spanish (N = 45) in English and Spanish, using the morphosyntax subtest of the Bilingual English–Spanish Assessment (BESA), (Peña et al. 2014). A cross-sectional design was used with 25 participants in kindergarten and 20 in first grade. All children spoke Spanish at home and attended English rural schools. We controlled for L2 class environment and socio-economic status. Research findings indicated children produced more target structures in L1 Spanish. This project supports the view that sequential bilingualism and continuous exposure to the heritage language may assist heritage speakers to maintain some L1 structures (Miller and Cuza 2013; Pascual y Cabo and Gómez Soler 2015). Patterns of L2 development are also addressed.
Wood, C., & Hoge, R. (2017). Average change in sentence repetition by Spanish-English speaking children: Kindergarten to first grade. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. 1-16. doi: 10.1080/13670050.2017.1308310
See article online.
Purpose: This study aimed to describe change in dual language learners’ (DLLs) morphosyntactic skills from kindergarten to first grade based on a sentence repetition task in English and Spanish.
Methods: The sample included Spanish-English speaking children (n = 25). Investigators employed a repeated measures analysis of variance with one within-subjects effect (time).
Results: Overall there was a significant difference in sentence repetition accuracy between time points showing growth in English (p < .001, d = 1.24), and no significant change in Spanish. Results highlight malleable English grammatical forms (e.g. conditional (if-then); question inversion of auxiliaries; and subordinating conjunctions) and forms that remained challenging for DLLs in first grade (e.g. irregular past).
Conclusion: Findings support the use of a sentence repetition task as a progress monitoring tool for young DLLs. Highlighted grammatical errors may be informative for planning intensified instructional support in kindergarten and first grade.
Wood, C., Wofford, M.C., & Schatschneider, C. (2017). Relationship between performance on oral narrative retells and standardized language assessments for Spanish-English speaking children from low SES backgrounds. Communication Disorders Quarterly. doi: 10.1171525740117722507.
See article online.
Abstract. This project aimed to describe oral narrative retells of Spanish-English speaking dual language learners (DLLs) and examine relationships with standardized vocabulary assessments. Investigators described oral narrative retells of 145 DLLs in kindergarten and first grade by number of different words (NDW), words per minute (WPM), and macrostructural components. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to examine relationships between narrative retells and standardized vocabulary performance. Children in first grade showed significantly better narrative retells than kindergarten DLLs, characterized by greater NDW and WPM, and more macrostructural components. Regression results indicated NDW accounted for the majority of the unique variance in DLLs’ performance on standardized vocabulary assessments. Findings substantiate that narrative retells are educationally relevant tools in predicting performance on a standardized English vocabulary assessment. The study contributes to knowledge of narrative performance of typically developing DLLs and supports the utility of retells in assessment of DLLs.
Wood, C., Bustamante, K., Fitton, L. M., Brown, D., & Petscher, Y. (2017). Rapid automated naming performance of young Spanish-English speaking children. Languages, 2(3). 1-17. doi: 10.3390/languages2030013
See article online.
Abstract: The aim of this preliminary study was to examine the feasibility of a rapid automatic naming (RAN) task for young Spanish–English speaking dual language learners (DLLs) and to examine the relationship between children’s performance on RAN and other standardized language and literacy assessments. A total of 275 Spanish–English speaking children in kindergarten and first grade attempted a RAN task and completed assessments of language and early literacy. Correlational analyses and quantile regression was conducted to examine relationships. Overall the RAN task was feasible for 74% (n = 203) of the DLLs; however, 42% of participants in kindergarten were unable to complete the task. There was a moderate positive correlation between RAN performance and standard scores in receptive vocabulary and letter identification, a small positive correlation with non-verbal intelligence, and no significant relationship with phonological awareness. There was a differential relation between RAN and English sentence imitation. The results support further consideration of RAN as a feasible and useful measure for young Spanish–English speaking DLLs.Abstract