Can e-books support low SES parental mediation to enrich children’s vocabulary?

Abstract

This study examines whether an e-book with a dictionary could support parents’ mediation of new words during shared book reading, more than the child’s independent reading of an e-book with and without a dictionary. The participants included 128 kindergartners and 64 mothers who were randomly divided into four groups: independent reading of the e-book with a dictionary; joint mother–child reading of the e-book without a dictionary; joint mother–child reading of the e-book with a dictionary, and independent reading of the e-book without a dictionary (control). For each target word, the dictionary presented (1) word meaning, (2) word meaning within the story context, and (3) a combined meaning. Pre- and posttests included receptive and expressive understanding of the dictionary words. E-books were read four times. Reading the e-book with a dictionary and maternal mediation was the most effective for receptive and expressive word learning, followed by independent reading with the dictionary. Mothers who read the e-book with a dictionary mediated at a higher level than mothers who read without a dictionary. The intervention contributed to advancement in learning new words beyond children’s initial vocabulary level. The research implications are presented in the discussion.

A Comparison of Children’s Reading on Paper Versus Screen: A Meta-Analysis

“…For example, Korat et al (2013) compared 4- to 6-year-olds’ learning in relation to different types of vocabulary support available during digital book reading and found a clear hierarchy in the extent to which the support was beneficial for children’s vocabulary acquisition: adult support was most effective, followed by a dynamic dictionary, static dictionary, and no support. In another study, children’s receptive and expressive word learning of target words was studied in relation to a digital book with a dictionary read with adult (mothers’) support or independently by the child (Korat & Shneor, 2019). The presence of the dictionary was beneficial for the mothers’ mediation of difficult words and children’s word learning from digital books.…”

“…The presence of the dictionary was beneficial for the mothers’ mediation of difficult words and children’s word learning from digital books. In both Korat et al (2013) and Korat and Shneor (2019), vocabulary acquisition was the only outcome measure; it was not tested whether explaining words interferes with story processing. Our third goal in this meta-analysis was to establish whether a dictionary affects the differences in learning outcomes when comparing digital and print books and, if it does, in relation to which learning outcomes.…”

Toward Reciprocity and Agency in Students’ Digital Reading

“…In contrast, interactive and multimedia features that can actively involve the reader in the reading process can foster the reader's agency, motivation to read, and reading enjoyment (Hess, 2014;Strouse & Ganea, 2017). Moreover, some interactive features, such as those specifically designed to support language skills through dictionary explanations, can support readers with special language difficulties (Korat, Graister, & Altman, 2019) and foster the growth of children's vocabulary (Korat & Shneor, 2019). There are thus different effects of multimedia and interactive features, depending on the reader's characteristics and how the e-books are used.…”

Children’s Reading With Digital Books: Past Moving Quickly to the Future

“…Most evidence for these benefits comes from individual case studies, which use digital books designed by researchers with scaffolding features constructed to foster emergent literacy skills. Such books have been helpful for children at risk of a learning disability (Shamir, Korat, & Fellah, ), children from low socioeconomic backgrounds (Korat & Shneor, ), and children with language impairments (Korat, Graister, & Altman, ) or poor letter knowledge (Rvachew, Rees, Carolan, & Nadig, ). Moreover, digital books designed to encourage parent–child conversations increased conversational turns between caregivers and 2‐ to 5‐year olds from low‐income backgrounds (Troseth, Strouse, Flores, Stuckelman, & Johnson, ).…”