"¿Sabés qué es ?" Explicaciones de niños tutores en torno a vocabulario no familiar. Un estudio con niños de poblaciones urbano marginadas de Argentina / "Do you know what it is ?" Explanations of child tutors about non familiar vocabulary. A study with children from marginalized urban populations of Argentina

Resumen En el presente estudio se analizan situaciones de alfabetización entre díadas de niños de 12 años, que asistían a la escuela primaria y niños de 5 años de jardín de infantes generadas en el marco del programa de niños tutores en alfabetización "De niño a niño" (Rosemberg y Alam, 2009) orientado a promover el aprendizaje de la lectura y la escritura de niños, quienes viven en poblaciones urbano marginadas de Argentina. El análisis se focaliza en las secuencias de intercambio en las que los niños mayores (tutores) explican palabras poco familiares a los niños pequeños (aprendices) durante dis tintos tipos de actividades: lectura de cuentos y actividades focalizadas en el sistema de escritura y el vocabulario. Durante el año escolar, se llevaron a cabo 7 sesiones y las sesiones de 8 díadas fueron filmadas y transcriptas. Se identificaron 89 secuencias donde el tutor explicaba una palabra al apren diz. Para el análisis, se elaboró una categorización que da cuenta de la estructura conversacional de las secuencias de explicación -modalidad monologal o dialogal- y del tipo de información empleada -estrategias que recurren a aspectos semánticos y de contextualización. A fin de comparar cómo se despliegan estas secuencias en cada tipo de actividad, se emplearon pruebas estadísticas no paramé tricas. Los resultados mostraron una preeminencia de la modalidad monologal y un mayor empleo de estrategias que recurren a aspectos semánticos en las situaciones de lectura. En las otras actividades de alfabetización, prevaleció la modalidad dialogal y el empleo de estrategias de contextualización.

Abstract: This study analyzes literacy situations between dyads of 12-year-olds attending primary school and 5-year-old kindergarten children generated in the framework of the "De niño a niño" program (Rosemberg & Alam, 2009). The goal of this program is to promote reading and writing learning among children living in urban-marginalized populations in Argentina. The analysis focuses on the interventions used by older children (tutors) to explain un familiar words to younger children (apprentices) in the context of different types of activities: reading stories and activities focused on the writing system and vocabulary. During the school year, 7 sessions were held. The tutoring sessions of 8 dyads were videotaped and transcribed. Eighty-nine exchanges in which a tutor explained a word to the apprentice were identified. For the analysis, a categorization was elaborated focusing on the conversational structure of the explanation sequence modality - monologal or dialogal - and the type of information used for the explanation -strategies that resort to semantic and contextual aspects. In order to compare how these sequences were deployed in each type of activity, nonparametric statistical tests were used. The results showed a pre-eminence of the monologal modality and a greater use of strategies that resort to semantic aspects in reading situations. In the other literacy activities, the dialogal modality and the use of contextual aspects prevailed.

La construcción del "mundo de ficción" y de la trama narrativa en situaciones de juego simbólico en el hogar

Con la participación de niños de sectores medios de Argentina, se presenta un estudio longitudinal acerca de la construcción del mundo ficcional y de la trama narrativa en situaciones de juego. Investigaciones previas evidenciaron las relaciones entre el juego y las habilidades narrativas. Son escasos los estudios que analizaron los recursos que contribuyen a elaborar el mundo ficcional del juego, así como las características de su trama narrativa. Se analizaron 60 situaciones de juego simbólico en las que participaron 12 niños y sus madres cuando los primeros tenían 2.6 y 3.6 años. Los participantes emplean diversos recursos para la construcción del mundo ficcional. Se observaron variaciones longitudinales respecto del uso de enunciados metalúdicos, el tipo de mundo ficcional y la complejidad de la trama narrativa del juego.

The paper presents a longitudinal analysis of the construction of the fictional world and the narrative discourse in play situations registered in the homes of middle-income children from Argentina. Previous research has shown the relations between play and narrative abilities. There are few studies focused on the characteristics of the interaction and the language that contribute to the narrative represented in the play. Sixty play situations were analyzed and registered in the homes of 12 children when they were 2.6 and 3.6 years old respectively. The participants used several resources for the construction of the fictional world of the play. Longitudinal variations were observed regarding the use of metaplay utterances, the types of fictional worlds constructed and the complexity of the narratives.

Análisis longitudinal del impacto de un programa de alfabetización temprana / A longitudinal study of the impact of an early literacy intervention program / Estudo longitudinal do impacto de um programa de alfabetização precoce

Se presenta un estudio longitudinal del desempeño de niños que participaron de un programa de promoción del desarrollo lingüístico en el jardín de infantes y en 1º grado del nivel primario. Un grupo de niños participantes (198) fue evaluado en vocabulario pasivo y productivo, escritura y lectura; su desempeño fue comparado con el de un grupo control (43). Se observó un mejor desempeño de los niños participantes, tanto en el jardín de infantes como en 1°grado. El análisis de regresión múltiple mostró que algunas de las habilidades evaluadas en el Nivel Inicial predicen el desempeño de los niños en 1º grado. Los resultados destacan la relevancia de una intervención planificada y sistemática en el Nivel Inicial con el fin de conseguir logros observables en el desempeño de los niños.

The study presents the results of a longitudinal study focused on the performance of a group of children that participated in an educational program aimed to promote linguistic development among students in kindergarten and 1st Grade of primary school. A group of children that participated in the program (198) were tested to assess their receptive and expressive vocabulary and reading and writing skills. Their performance was compared to a control group (43). Results showed a better performance in the children who participated in the program both in kindergarten as well as in 1st Grade. The multiple regression analysis showed that some of the abilities tested in kindergarten can predict children’s academic performance in 1st Grade. The results outline the importance of carrying out planned and systematic interventions in kindergarten that contribute to observable achievements in children ́s performance.

Apresenta-se um estudo longitudinal do desempenho de crianças que participaram de um programa de promoção do desenvolvimento linguístico na escola de Educação Infantil e na 1ª série do Ensino Fundamental: um grupo de crianças participantes (198) foi avaliado em vocabulário receptivo e produtivo, escrita e leitura; seu desempenho foi comparado com o de um grupo de controle (43). Observou-se um melhor desempenho das crianças participantes, tanto na escola infantil quanto no ensino fundamental. A análise de regressão múltipla mostrou que algumas das habilidades avaliadas na Educação Infantil predizem o desempenho das crianças na 1ª série. Os resultados destacam a importância de uma intervenção planejada e sistemática na escola infantil de forma a atingir resultados observáveis no desempenho das crianças.

Vocabulario, narración y argumentación en los primeros años de la infancia y la niñez. Una revisión de investigaciones / Vocabulary, narration and argumentation during the first years o infancy and childhood. A research review

Resumen Se presenta una revisión de investigaciones que atienden al desempeño psicolingüístico infantil referido al vocabulario, al discurso narrativo y al argumentativo. En el marco de una amplia presentación de trabajos de investigación en el tema, el foco de la revisión son los trabajos previos realizados en el marco de la línea de investigación que llevamos a cabo en Argentina con niños de diversos grupos socioculturales. Se incluyen, a modo de ilustración de los conceptos, intercambios audio o videofilmados a niños de dos años y seis meses a cinco años en diferentes contextos de interacción en el hogar y en la escuela. En la presentación conceptual, así como en el análisis de los intercambios, se señalan las interrelaciones entre el vocabulario y el discurso narrativo y argumentativo en las interacciones sociales durante la consecusión de las actividades que configuran la vida cotidiana en el hogar, la comunidad y el entorno escolar. Asimismo, se señala la necesidad de atender, desde una perspectiva multimodal, al contexto de interacción social en el que se insertan tempranamente las palabras infantiles cuando los niños comienzan a producir discursos que les permiten realizar su intención comunicativa.

Abstract We present a research review of studies about children's psycholinguistic performance regarding vocabulary as well as narrative and argumentative discourse. Within the framework of a wide array of research studies on the subject, this revision focuses on the line of research that we have been carrying out with children from diverse sociocultural groups in Argentina. In order to illustrate the concepts, we have included audio or video conversational exchanges among children between two and half years and five years old. The exchanges were recorded in different contexts of interaction at school and at home. In the theoretical presentation, as well as in the analysis of exchanges we point out the relationships between vocabulary and narrative and argumentative discourse, that took place within the social interactions in the daily activities at home, in the community, and school environments. Likewise, we highlight the need to attend to the context of social interaction in which a child's vocabulary is inserted early on, when children begin to produce discourse in order to carry out their communicational goals.

Narrativas compartidas en el hogar: Un estudio longitudinal de la estructura y el lenguaje evaluativo / Shared narratives at home: A longitudinal study about the narrative structure and the evaluative language

El objetivo del trabajo que se informa fue estudiar la estructura y el lenguaje evaluativo en narrativas producidas por díadas niño-cuidador principal, durante el período comprendido entre los 2 años y 6 meses y 4 años. El corpus estuvo conformado por 81 narrativas producidas en distintos contextos conversacionales -situaciones de lectura de cuentos, conversaciones en torno a eventos pasados y conversaciones en torno a eventos futuros- en los que participaron en el hogar 6 niños pertenecientes a un grupo de sectores medios de Buenos Aires (Argentina). Se realizó un análisis de las narrativas con el fin de dar cuenta de su estructura y de los recursos evaluativos empleados por los niños y sus interlocutores. El estudio contempló también un análisis cuantitativo comparativo focalizado en la identificación de similitudes y diferencias en la estructura -atendiendo en particular el componente evaluativo en las mismas- y los recursos evaluativos entre las narrativas producidas longitudinalmente y en las diferentes situaciones (diferencia de medias y ANOVA). Los resultados mostraron el potencial de la elaboración de narrativas en colaboración para promover diferentes aspectos del desarrollo infantil, en particular aspectos relativos al desarrollo cognitivo y socioemocional de los niños. Tempranamente en la infancia y en los tres contextos estudiados los niños que participaron en el presente estudio elaboran junto con sus cuidadores, narrativas en donde se enfatiza la evaluación como componente estructural, esto es, la interpretación y el posicionamiento personal frente a los eventos.

The present study aims to analyze the structure and the evaluative language in narratives produced by child-caretaker dyads from Buenos Aires (Argentina), in different conversational contexts-storybook reading situations, conversations about past and future events- when children are 2 years and a half, 3 years, 3 years and a half and 4 years old. Narrative is not only a type of discourse that organizes communicative exchanges and the transmission and recreation of culture; it is also one of the most important ways in which thought is configured (Bruner, 1986; Nelson, 1996; Rosemberg, Silva & Stein, 2010). The narrative structure and the use of evaluative resources are particularly related to cognitive and socioemotional development (Fernández & Melzi, 2008). Narrative development begins during the preschool years (Nelson, 1996) and occurs through the social interactions that take place in diverse daily situations: play (Pellegrini, 1985), story-book reading (Snow, Porche, Tabors & Harris, 2007) and conversations about past (Nelson,1996) and future events (Hudson, 2002, 2006). A series of studies undertaken in the fields of Psychology and Psycholinguistics have analyzed the structure and the evaluative language in early narratives orally produced by mother-child dyads (Fivush, 1991; Haden, Haine & Fivush, 1997; Peterson & McCabe, 1992, 1994, among others). The results of these studies have shown a relationship between the type of information introduced by mothers when they produce narratives in collaboration with their children and the information provided by children in the production of independent narratives later on (Fivush, 1991; Peterson & McCabe, 1992, 1994). Other studies showed an increase of the information regarding actions as well as descriptive, orientative and evaluative components of the narratives as a function of children's age (Haden, Haine & Fivush, 1997). The great majority of this research has been done with English-speaking and Caucasian families. Although there are some studies with Spanish-speaking population in Latin America (Díaz Oyarce & Mendoza Saavedra, 2012; Fernández & Melzi, 2008; Romero Contreras & Gómez Martínez, 2013; Shiro, 2003) one can hypothesize there will be intra-group differences given the heterogeneity of Hispanic population. There are few studies focused on the comparative analysis of narratives produced in different conversational contexts (Curenton, Craig & Flanigan, 2008; Fernández & Melzi, 2008). The author did not find studies which analyzed the evaluative resources used during the production of narratives about future events. The corpus of the present study consists of 81narratives produced in different conversational contexts: storybook reading situations (34 narratives), conversations about past events (24 narratives) and conversations about future events (23 narratives). The situations, which took place in the homes of 6 middle-income children from Buenos Aires (Argentina), were audio-recorded and transcribed for their analysis. The narratives were analyzed regarding their structure and the evaluative resources used by the participants in order to answer the following questions: What are the characteristics of the narratives collaboratively produced by children-caretakers dyads? In particular, which is the relative weight of the evaluative component regarding the other structural components referred to orientation, action and description? Which evaluative resources are employed by the children and their interlocutors? Are there any longitudinal and between conversation al contexts differences regarding each of the aspects analyzed (structure of the narratives, evaluative component, evaluative resources)? The results showed that the evaluative component of the narratives is the most predominant since 2:6 years and in the different conversational contexts considered. The children who participated in the study jointly produced with their caretaker (primarily their mothers) narratives where the interpretation and the personal stance on the events were emphasized. This fact reveals the potential of collaboratively produced narratives to promote different aspects of child development, particularly those related to cognition and socioemotional development.

Redes de colaboración en situaciones de alfabetización con niños pequeños: Un estudio en poblaciones urbano marginales de Argentina / Collaboration networks in family literacy situations with preschool children: A study with poor urban population from Argentina

En el presente trabajo se informan los resultados de un estudio focalizado en el análisis cualitativo (Glasser & Strauss, 1967) de las características particulares que adoptan las situaciones de alfabetización familiar en el que participaron 30 niños de 4 años de barrios urbano-marginados de Argentina. Se atendió específicamente a la estructura de relaciones y de mediaciones sociales que durante la consecución de las situaciones configuran oportunidades para la participación del niño pequeño. El corpus estuvo conformado por 124 situaciones de alfabetización registradas por medio de audio, generadas a partir de la implementación de un programa de alfabetización temprana y familiar. Los resultados mostraron que en estos hogares en los que el bajo nivel de escolaridad de los adultos podía inhibir la consecución de la actividad de alfabetización, la composición extendida de las familias y la participación de los niños en amplias redes sociales facilita la realización de las actividades. En efecto, se observó que las situaciones de alfabetización se desarrollan en el marco de la interacción entre el niño y múltiples y diversos participantes que conforman distintas redes de colaboración en las que los niños pequeños, los niños mayores y los adultos desempeñan distintos roles. Estos resultados tienen fuertes implicancias pedagógicas, en tanto advierten sobre la importancia de entrelazar toda intervención educativa en los primeros años con los conocimientos y los patrones de interacción que caracterizan a la cultura de los niños, tanto en el contexto escolar de la educación inicial como en el familiar.

This study follows current psycholinguistic models (Nelson, 1996, 2007; Snow, 1972; Tomasello, 2003) that subscribe to the central premises of sociocultural theories of human development (Vygotsky, 1964). The authors aim to present a qualitative analysis of the particular characteristics of the family literacy situations that took place in the homes of 30 children from Argentina's urban poor population. The psycholinguistic models discussed in this study take the close link between the development of language and cognitive development into account and assume that both types of development occur in social interaction. In addition, they emphasize the subjective, experiential component of the child's interactions with the world. Children construct meaning by experimenting with the objects, knowledge, and tools that they come into contact with in the activities in which they participate. Children's experiences also depend on the people they interact with, whose verbal and non-verbal presentations and scaffolding the child uses in a process of collaborative construction of structures of meaning (Nelson, 2007). Analysis in the present study is focused specifically on the structure and social mediations that shape children's opportunities to participate in literacy situations. The corpus consists of 124 audio-recorded literacy situations that were generated by the introduction of children's books that contained stories and literacy activities. Differently from major previous studies regarding family literacy (Bus, Leseman & Keultjes, 2000; Delgado-Gaitan, 1990; Hammer, 2001; Heath, 1983; Leseman & Van Tuijl, 2006; McNaughton, 2006; Reyes, Alexandra & Azuara, 2007; Taylor & Dorsey-Gaines, 1988, among others), the unit of analysis was the situation as it naturally occurred in the home, considering all the participants and not just the mother-child dyad. The ecological approach adopted in this study allowed identifying the particular characteristics of the early literacy situations that took place in the homes of children from Argentina's urban poor. Results showed that in these homes, where the low education level of adults might have inhibited the consecution of literacy activities, the extended composition of the families and the fact that children participate in extended social networks facilitated the activities' development. The literacy situations took place within the framework of the interaction between the child and the diverse and multiple participants that comprise the collaboration networks where children and adults assume different roles. These results showed that the children's books are used in situations that capitalize on several characteristics of the sociocultural setting. The books' introduction in the homes created situations that took advantage of certain characteristics of these populations' natural contexts, such as the variety of interlocutors, and transformed other characteristics by sustaining the interaction over an extended period of time. This highlights the linguistic and cognitive potential that interaction with a written text implies. The study's results also corroborate and exemplify in the field of early literacy acquisition the findings of previous research done in within the framework of the sociocultural perspective with children in black communities (Ward, 1971, cited in Rogoff, 1993), as well as with children from indigenous Hawaiian populations (Farran & Mistry, cited in Rogoff, 1993), and from the indigenous Colla community (Rosemberg & Borzone, 1998). Although the aforementioned studies didn't seek to study the literacy processes they too showed the inclusion of small children in wide collaboration networks, as well as the differentiation and division of roles in order to complete various activities performed in collaboration (Farran & Mistry, cited in Rogoff, 1993; Rogoff, 1993; Ward, 1971, cited in Rogoff, 1993). These findings have strong pedagogical implications: they show that it is important to interweave early educational interventions with the funds of knowledge and interactional patterns that characterize children's culture.