小学低年级儿童口语词汇知识的发展轨迹及其影响因素

以149名小学生为研究对象, 对其口语词汇知识进行了历时3年的5次追踪测试, 采用潜变量增长模型探索了小学1~3年级学生汉语口语词汇知识的发展轨迹, 并考察了语音意识、同形语素意识、复合语素意识和家庭社会经济地位对口语词汇知识发展轨迹的影响。结果发现：(1) 1~3年级学生口语词汇知识发展轨迹呈曲线形式, 其中前两年呈线性发展, 三年级时呈加速发展, 发展速度是前期发展的两倍, 起始水平和发展速度均存在显著的个体差异; (2)语音意识、同形语素意识、复合语素意识和家庭社会经济地位均可以正向预测学生口语词汇知识的起始水平; (3)只有同形语素意识和家庭社会经济地位可以正向预测学生口语词汇知识的发展速度。

The developmental trajectories of oral vocabulary knowledge and its influential factors in Chinese primary school students

The oral vocabulary knowledge is a crucial factor for language development and school success for children, and develops rapidly in childhood. The present study was aimed to extend our current understanding of oral vocabulary knowledge development, at first by examining its growth from grades 1 to 3. Based on such findings, further question was asked about how to explain the individual differences in the growth rate of oral vocabulary acquisition. Therefore, the current research also investigated the additive effects of family socioeconomic status (SES), children’s phonological awareness, homograph awareness and compounding awareness on initial levels and growth rate in oral vocabulary knowledge. Participants were 149 children in grade one, who were followed up for three years from grade one entering to grade three. They were assessed on phonological awareness, homograph awareness, and compounding awareness at Time 1, oral vocabulary knowledge from Time 1 to Time 5. Family socioeconomic status was obtained from parents of these children. Latent growth modeling was conducted to examine: (1) children’s initial levels and growth rate in oral vocabulary knowledge over time; and (2) the predictive effects of family SES, phonological awareness, homograph awareness, and compounding awareness on both initial levels and growth rate in oral vocabulary knowledge. Unconditional latent growth modeling analyses revealed that children’s oral vocabulary knowledge increased in a non-linear trajectory during the follow-up period. In specific, (1) children showed individual differences in the initial levels and growth rate in oral vocabulary knowledge. (2) the initial level of oral vocabulary knowledge was not related to later growth rate. Conditional latent growth modeling was examined with family SES, phonological awareness, homograph awareness, and compounding awareness as time-invariant predictors on both initial levels and growth rate in oral vocabulary knowledge. It was found that (1) children who have higher level of phonological awareness, homograph awareness, and compounding awareness had higher initial levels of oral vocabulary knowledge than others did (β = 0.15, p < 0.05; β = 0.28, p < 0.001; β = 0.20, p < 0.05, respectively); (2) Family SES significantly predicted the initial levels of oral vocabulary knowledge (β = 0.35, p < 0.001); (3) Growth rate in oral vocabulary knowledge was predicted significantly by family SES (β = 0.26, p < 0.05) and children’s homograph awareness (β = 0.30, p < 0.01), respectively. The present findings have an important role in elucidating developmental changes of children’s oral vocabulary knowledge. It also highlights the predictive role of family SES, phonological awareness, homograph awareness, and compounding awareness in oral vocabulary development. More importantly, in the consideration of our findings that family SES and homograph awareness at Time 1 could predict growth rate in children’s oral vocabulary knowledge from T1 to T5. To improve the oral vocabulary knowledge for children, teachers need to pay special attention to children’s homograph awareness.