Orthographic and Semantic Learning During Shared Reading: Investigating the Extent of Learning and Relations to Early Word Reading

Abstract

During shared reading, pre-school aged children are frequently exposed to novel, low-frequency words. Abundant empirical evidence demonstrates that children can learn the meanings of such words during shared reading, referred to as semantic learning. However, less is known about whether children learn the spellings of words during shared reading, referred to as orthographic learning. The present study tested whether 84 children, aged 4, 5, and 6 years, engaged in orthographic and semantic learning during shared reading. In an adaptation of the self-teaching paradigm, children listened to a storybook about novel inventions referred to with non-word names. Children then completed orthographic and semantic choice tests, as well as standardized measures of early word reading and phonological awareness. Each of 4- to 6-year-olds scored above chance on the semantic choice tests, while only 6-year-olds scored above choice on the orthographic choice tests. Individual differences in orthographic, but not semantic, learning during shared reading were related to early word reading, after controls for age and phonological awareness. This study provides a novel test of learning during shared reading, helping to specify the extent to which each of 4-, 5-, and 6-year-old children engage in semantic and orthographic learning and demonstrating a relation between this learning and their early word reading skill. These findings hold implications for theoretical perspectives on learning during shared reading and for educational practices.