Oral Language and Reading

Abstract

The study reported here investigated the relationship between oral language and reading comprehension of 77 third grade students. Results indicated moderate to strong statistically significant relationships between specific linguistic components of oral language and reading comprehension. Moderate to strong relationships also occurred between expressive and receptive oral language performance and reading comprehension. In general, the findings of this study supported the existence of a functional relationship between oral language and reading. R ECENTLY T H E R E HAS been a strong interest inthe relationship between oral language and reading. For many years educators have assumed that interrelationships exist between these two. For example, some professionals have hypothesized that proficiency in oral language underlies children's future success in reading, and researchers have provided some support for this belief (Carroll, 1966;Loban, 1963Loban, , 1966Loban, , 1967Reid & Hresko, 1980). Certainly in the primary years the language arts curriculum constitutes the majority of the child's day. The heavy reliance on the development of oral language in many reading readiness programs further attests to the belief that oral language and reading are closely related functions.Although it seems at least superficially logical to assume that oral language and reading are related, it is not appropriate to assume that a cause-and-effect relationship exists between the two. Indeed, research conducted by Martin (1952), Winter (1957), and Stedman and Adams (1972 casts some doubt on a cause-and-effect relationship. Obviously, the nature of the relationship between oral language and reading has not been fully explained. In a recent review of the literature, Hammill and McNutt (1981) concluded that for school-aged students only a weak relationship exists between receptive oral language and reading. They also found practically no relationship between oral expressive language and reading. Groff (1978) and Bougere (1969) came to similar conclusions when reviewing the literature relating oral language and written language.Thus, many questions persist regarding the relationship between proficiency in oral language and later performance in reading. If indeed relationships do exist, their nature and extent need to be determined; clarification of these issues has direct importance for instructional practices in teaching the language arts. If oral language and reading are interactive processes, and if these processes can be clearly delineated, an integrated approach to the language arts curricula would be appropriate. If, on the other hand, oral language and reading are not functionally related, school programs should provide separate instruction for speaking, listening, and reading.Because questions concerning the relationships between the components of language arts have direct implications for instructional practice, answers are crucial. The purpose of this study is to investigate empirically the relationship between oral language and re...