Do Literacy Activities Lead to Better Bilingual Language Outcomes?

The purpose of this proposed longitudinal study is to examine the impact of early literacy activities conducted in one versus two languages on language outcomes in bilingual children. Participants will include 50 Spanish-English speaking bilingual children between the ages of 4-6 years and their caregivers. Participants will be randomly assigned to group 1 (Spanish only) or group 2 (English-Spanish). Predetermined literacy materials and training in book reading will be provided to all families. Children will receive 30 mins of literacy activities in Spanish only or in English and Spanish five times a week for 6 months. The Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals Preschool-2 in Spanish and English will be used to assess language before and after the training. It is predicted that the group that received literacy training in both languages will demonstrate a greater growth in language when compared to the group that received training in Spanish only.