Easy as ABC? Investigating storybook exposure, invented spelling and vocabulary as predictors of learning to read

Abstract

It is known that vocabulary connects to reading and can be learned from storybook exposure, yet the question remains: will children learn to read words they are exposed to through storybooks better than words not in those books? Further, would additional teaching for vocabulary depth and/or invented spelling be beneficial? These are the primary goals of the present study. Fifty-nine kindergarten students were recruited from a local elementary school to participate in a pretest, intervention, and posttest experimental design. They were exposed to 10 nonwords in a storybook, then completed word learning and learn-to-read tasks. Invented spelling was a between-participant variable, semantic enrichment within-participant. Participants correctly identified the nonwords presented in the storybook, showing vocabulary learning via storybook exposure. Extra semantic enrichment improved word learning on tasks measuring semantic depth (i.e., comparison and definition tasks). The participants were then administered a learn-to-read task, and the results showed increased learning across trials; a benefit of word exposure (control words significantly lower); an interaction between spelling and semantic enrichment- indicating a significant advantage provided by extra semantic teaching in the group that did not also spell the words. In sum, this study demonstrates that vocabulary links to learning to read on a word-specific basis, and both spelling practice and semantic enrichment further contribute to learning to read- although their beneficial effects do not appear to be additive at this early age.