http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/765165363

The language of elementary school children: its relationship to the language of reading textbooks and the quality of reading of selected children

This study was designed to (1) analyze the oral language structure of first- through sixth-grade children, (2) compare that structure with the language structure in books by which children are taught to read, and (3) ascertain, at the second-grade level, the influence of any determined differences on the quality of reading, reading interpretation, and listening skills of children. The oral language of almost 600 children was first recorded and then analyzed for syntactic structure. These language patterns were then compared to those used in certain sets of reading textbooks and to specific predetermined standards of reading quality. Results from an analysis of these data showed great flexibility in the oral language patterns used by the subjects. It seemed safe to conclude that children learn the basic structures of their language at an early age. Findings also showed that the oral language children use is far more advanced than the book language in which they are taught to read. Further study was recommended to determine whether or not book language, used currently in the elementary reading curriculum, should be modified to the levels at which students speak. It was also suggested that additional work be done in helping children to recognize and understand the entire phonemic scheme of english so as to turn the stimulus of printed symbols into oral language patterns for both comprehension and interpretation. No evidence was obtained in this study regarding the relationships existing between a child's use of speech patterns and the number of grammatical errors in speaking. (Jh).

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