Preschool language knowledge predicts academic achievement
The results of a 10-year longitudinal study of Icelandic children show conclusively the importance of good language skills in children when they start elementary school. This is the conclusion of an Icelandic research team that recently published its results in the distinguished scientific journal American Journal of Speech and Language Pathology, published by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).
The authors are Jóhanna Thelma Einarsdóttir, Associate Professor in Speech Pathology at the UI Schools of Health Sciences and Education, Amalía Björnsdóttir, Associate Professor in Research Methodology at the UI School of Education, and Ingibjörg Símonardóttir, special education teacher and speech therapist.
Language development tests can predict academic performance
The goal of the study was to explore whether language development measurements at age five predict performance in national tests in primary school. The language skills of close to three hundred children where tested in the years 1997-1999 using two different language development tests. One of the tests measured phonological awareness, while the other one assessed language comprehension. Research has shown that these factors are connected to literacy. The language development tests were compared with results in national tests in Icelandic and mathematics. The results showed that the language development tests predicted around 35-40% of the variability in scores in the grades in Icelandic, and around 20-39% in mathematics. Based on these findings it can be assumed that one of the factors contributing to good results in primary school is language development in pre-school.
Early intervention is important
Longitudinal studies are important but often very difficult to carry out, few studies have been made where children are observed over such a long period. “Children in pre-school master language at a varying pace, but the environment is significant concerning stimulation and how they manage to become skilled language users. Some children manage to overcome difficulties in pre-school, often with help, whereas others struggle into adulthood and sometimes their whole lives,” explains Einarsdóttir, who says that it is important to intervene promptly if language development lags behind in a child.
