Abstract

This study investigates the relationships between reading motivation, language ability, and print-concept skills among Hebrew-speaking kindergarteners, before they are formally exposed to reading instruction. The purpose of the study was to explore reading motivation-literacy relationships and to determine whether there are differences in language and print concepts achievement between children with low versus high reading motivation. One hundred and ten kindergarteners participated in the study, and were assessed at the beginning of the school year. It was found that reading motivation had a unique contribution to children’s achievements in language and print concepts knowledge, and predicted success in those literacy domains. Highly motivated children had higher scores in language and print concepts as compared to their lower-motivated peers. The results suggest that reading motivation is an essential predictor of language and literacy skills at an early age, even before children are formally exposed to reading instruction. Implications for educators are further discussed.

摘要

本研究调查了在正式接受阅读指导之前，讲希伯来语的幼儿园儿童的阅读动机、语言能力和印刷概念技能之间的关系。该研究的目的是探索阅读动机与读写能力的关系，并确定阅读动机低与高的儿童在语言和印刷概念的成就上是否存在差异。110 名幼儿园儿童参加了这项研究，并在学年开始时接受了评估。研究发现，阅读动机对儿童在语言和印刷概念知识方面的成就有独特的贡献，并预测在这些读写领域取得成功。与动机较低的同龄人相比，积极性高的儿童在语言和印刷概念方面的得分更高。结果表明，阅读动机是早期语言和识字技能的重要预测因素，甚至在儿童正式接受阅读指导之前。进一步讨论了对教育者的影响。