Systematic review of early English literacy in ELL children : what do we know from a decade of research
Early literacy is an integral aspect of young children’s learning. This review synthesizes existing empirical research evidence from the past decade, focusing on ELL children’s (aged 4 to 6 years) early English language literacy learning and the prevailing trends in the published literature. They...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2021
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18437/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18437/1/45906-173482-1-PB.pdf |
| Summary: | Early literacy is an integral aspect of young children’s learning. This review synthesizes existing empirical
research evidence from the past decade, focusing on ELL children’s (aged 4 to 6 years) early English language
literacy learning and the prevailing trends in the published literature. They were sourced mainly from three
prominent databases. Manual selection of highly-cited studies was used as a complementary technique.
Systematic exclusion and inclusion were performed and yielded 31 credible studies. The results report on
researchers’ theorizing of early English literacy, dimensions of the body of knowledge, and research
methodologies. The predictors and outcomes were examined within the lens of theoretical framework. To identify
the emerging trends, the studies were analysed qualitatively. The findings were discussed in light of three main
trends: (i) the apparent needs for an early English literacy model which captures both the concept of early literacy
acquisition and second language learning, (ii) future research to acknowledge the multifaceted phenomenon of
early literacy acquisition by employing nested research approach in a cross-discipline scope of research, and
(iii) multiple ecological factors as important sources of individual differences. Despite the strength of the review
approach to the past study identification, there are several limitations that should be considered. Among others,
the representation of the children population in the selected studies which befalls heavily on certain geographical
regions could cause bias in the coverage of knowledge. |
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