Abstract
This study analyzed Chinese preschool educators’ language use for meaning making that were differed in shared reading with wordless and text-based picture books with the same topic of Aesop’s fable story (The lion and the mouse). We transcribed the verbal interactions of two cohorts of educators who read the books to preschool children. One cohort read the wordless version and the other read the text-based picture book. Drawn on systemic linguistic theory that categorizes abstraction levels of language for meaning making in six types (Label, Describe, Compare, Infer, Generalize & Explain), this study explored how these educators’ language use varied in the two book reading contexts. Using MANOVA analysis, We found that educators produced significantly more Inferring language in shared reading with wordless book than text-based book. Children’s age was a factor that impacted the educators’ language feature. The educators generated more labelling language when reading wordless books to 3-4-year-olds than to older children. However, the educators’ inferring language uttered more frequently to the children above 4-year-olds than the younger group, and this is especially the case when reading the wordless book. These results suggest that wordless picture books may boost educators’ use of language of higher level of abstraction and educators may adjust their semantic strategies in language use when reading to children of different age groups.
Author Information
Qi Zhang, Zhejiang Normal University, China
Wenming Dong, Zhejiang Normal University, China
Jiangbo Hu, Zhejiang Normal University, China
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