Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-8mjnm Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-27T13:16:46.226Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Early productive vocabulary predicts academic achievement 10 years later

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 March 2016

DORTHE BLESES*
Affiliation:
Aarhus University
GUIDO MAKRANSKY
Affiliation:
University of Southern Denmark
PHILIP S. DALE
Affiliation:
University of New Mexico
ANDERS HØJEN
Affiliation:
Aarhus University
BURCAK AKTÜRK ARI
Affiliation:
University of Southern Denmark
*
ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE Dorthe Bleses, TrygFonden's Centre for Child Research and School of Communication and Culture, Fuglesangs Allé 4, Building 2630, Aarhus 8210, Denmark. E-mail: bleses@au.dk

Abstract

We use a longitudinal design to examine associations for a diverse sample of 2,120 Danish 16- to 30-month-old children between early expressive vocabulary and later reading and math outcomes in the sixth grade. Educational outcomes, in particular decoding and reading comprehension, can be predicted from an early vocabulary measure as early as 16 months with effect sizes (in proportion of variance accounted for) comparable to 1 year's mean growth in reading scores. The findings confirm in a relatively large population-based study that late talkers are at risk for low educational attainment because the majority of children experiencing early language delay obtain scores below average in measures of reading in the sixth grade. Low scores have the greatest predictive power, indicating that children with early delays have elevated risk for later reading problems.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Beuchert, L. V., & Nandrup, A. B. (2014). The Danish National Tests—A practical guide. Aarhus, Denmark: Aarhus University, Business and Social Sciences Department of Economics and Business.Google Scholar
Bleses, D., Højen, A., Jørgensen, R. N., Jensen, K. Ø., & Vach, W. (2010). Sprogvurdering af 3-årige—Karakteristika og risikofaktorer. Working papers, Center for Child Language, e-prints, 10.Google Scholar
Bleses, D., Vach, W., Slott, M., Wehberg, S., Thomsen, P., Madsen, T., et al. (2008). The Danish Communicative Development Inventories: Validity and main developmental trends. Journal of Child Language, 35, 651669.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bornstein, M. H., Hahn, C. S., Putnick, D. L., & Suwalsky, J. T. (2014). Stability of core language skill from early childhood to adolescence: A latent variable approach. Child Development, 85, 13461356.Google Scholar
Dale, P. S., McMillan, A. J., Hayiou-Thomas, M. E., & Plomin, R. (2014). Illusory recovery: Are recovered children with early language delay at continuing elevated risk? American Journal of Speech–Language Pathology, 23, 437447.Google Scholar
Dale, P. S., Penfold, M. J., & Fenson, L. (2011). Adaptations of the MacArthur–Bates Communicative Development Inventories into other languages: A 2011 update. Paper presented at the 12th International Congress for the Study of Child Language, July, Montreal.Google Scholar
Elbro, C. (2006). Literacy acquisition in Danish: A deep orthography in cross-linguistic light. In Joshi, R. Malatesha & Aaron, P. G. (Eds.), Handbook of orthography and literacy (pp. 3145). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Eriksson, M., Marschik, P. B., Tulviste, T., Almgren, M., Pereira, M. P., Wehberg, S., et al. (2012). Differences between girls and boys in emerging language skills: Evidence from 10 language communities. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 30, 326343.Google Scholar
Fenson, L., Marchman, V. A., Thal, D. J., Dale, P. S., Reznick, J. S., & Bates, E. (2007). MacArthur–Bates Communicative Development Inventories: Users guide and technical manual (2nd ed.). Baltimore, MD: Brookes.Google Scholar
Harlaar, N., Hayiou-Thomas, M. E., Dale, P. S., & Plomin, R. (2008). Why do preschool language abilities correlate with later reading? A twin study. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 51, 688705.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hayiou-Thomas, M. E., Dale, P. S., & Plomin, R. (2012). The etiology of variation in language skills changes with development: A longitudinal twin study of language from 2 to 12 years. Developmental Science, 15, 117.Google Scholar
Hohm, E., Jennen-Steinmetz, C., Schmidt, M. H., & Laucht, M. (2007). Language development at ten months. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 16, 149156.Google Scholar
Keys, T. D., Farkas, G., Burchinal, M. R., Duncan, G. J., Vandell, D. L., Li, W., et al. (2013). Preschool center quality and school readiness: Quality effects and variation by demographic and child characteristics. Child Development, 84, 11711190.Google Scholar
Law, J., & Roy, P. (2008). Parental report of infant language skills: A review of the development and application of the communicative development inventories. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 13, 198206.Google Scholar
Lee, J. (2011). Size matters: Early vocabulary as a predictor of language and literacy competence. Applied Psycholinguistics, 32, 6992.Google Scholar
Lipsey, M. W., Puzio, K., Yun, C., Hebert, M. A., Steinka-Fry, K., Cole, M. W., et al. (2012). Translating the statistical representation of the effects of education interventions into more readily interpretable forms. New York: National Center for Special Education Research.Google Scholar
Lonigan, C. J., & Shanahan, T. (2010). Developing early literacy skills: Things we know we know and things we know we don't. Educational Researcher, 39, 7.Google Scholar
National Early Literacy Panel. (2008). Developing early literacy: A scientific synthesis of early literacy development and implications for intervention. New York: National Institute for Literacy.Google Scholar
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research Network. (2005). Pathways to reading: The role of oral language in the transition to reading. Developmental Psychology, 41, 428442.Google Scholar
OECD. (2014). Society at a glance 2014: OECD social indicators. Paris: Author. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/soc_glance-2014-en Google Scholar
Rescorla, L. A. (1989). The Language Development Survey: A screening tool for delayed language in toddlers. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 54, 587599.Google Scholar
Rescorla, L. A. (2013). Late-talking toddlers: A 15-year follow-up. In Rescorla, L. A. & Dale, P. S. (Eds.), Late talkers: Language development, interventions and outcomes (pp. 219239). Baltimore, MD: Brookes.Google Scholar
Rescorla, L. A., & Dale, P. S. (Eds.) (2013). Late talkers: Language development, interventions, and outcomes. Baltimore, MD: Brookes.Google Scholar
Scarborough, H. S. (2005). Developmental relationships between language and reading: Reconsiling a beautiful hypothesis with some ugly facts. In Catts, H. W. & Kamhi, A. G. (Eds.), The connections between language and reading disabilities (pp. 324). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
van Steensel, R., McElvany, N., Kurvers, J., & Herppich, S. (2011). How effective are family literacy programs? Results of a meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 81, 6996.Google Scholar