Reading Material

The course readings consist of a combination of books and research articles.

Among the books, we distinguish between core sources (essential texts that provide the core knowledge relevant for this course) and additional sources (handbooks and monographs) from which selected chapters will be assigned to broaden understanding of specific topics. Research articles are included to illustrate current empirical findings and to connect theory with evidence.

Each week, specific chapters and articles will be assigned by the instructor. Students are not expected to read the listed books cover to cover. Instead, readings are chosen to support the weekly seminar topics and tasks.

Core Books

• Snowling, M. J., & Hulme, C. (Eds.). (2022). The Science of Reading: A Handbook (2nd ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. (Core reading; selected chapters assigned)
• Hoff-Ginsberg, E. (2013). Language Development (5th ed.). Wadsworth/Thomson Learning. (Core reading; selected chapters assigned)

Additional Books (Selected Chapters)

• Stone, C. A., Silliman, E. R., Ehren, B. J., & Wallach, G. P. (Eds.). (2016). Handbook of Language and Literacy: Development and Disorders. Guilford Publications.
• Carroll, J. M., Bowyer-Crane, C., Duff, F. J., Hulme, C., & Snowling, M. J. (2011). Developing Language and Literacy: Effective Intervention in the Early Years. Malden, MA: John Wiley & Sons.
• Hulme, C., & Snowling, M. J. (2009). Developmental Disorders of Language, Learning and Cognition. Wiley-Blackwell.

Research Articles

• Caravolas, M., Lervåg, A., Mousikou, P., Efrim, C., Litavský, M., Onochie-Quintanilla, E., … & Hulme, C. (2012). Common patterns of prediction of literacy development in different alphabetic orthographies. Psychological Science, 23(6), 678–686.
• Caravolas, M., Lervåg, A., Mikulajová, M., Defior, S., Málková, G. S., & Hulme, C. (2019). A cross-linguistic, longitudinal study of the foundations of decoding and reading comprehension ability. Scientific Studies of Reading, 23(5), 386–402.

Detailed description of the assignments for this course

The course includes two assignments: the first covering the initial six lessons (prior to the mid-term break), and the second covering lessons 8–12..

Assignment 1: Collecting and Analyzing a Child’s Narrative

The aim of this task is to become familiar with collecting spontaneous speech samples from children. Students are required to complete this assignment in pairs to foster collaboration and peer learning. Each pair will jointly design the project, collect and analyze data, and prepare a shared presentation of their findings.

The outcomes of students’ projects in pairs on spontaneous speech production will be presented in class in the form of an oral presentation supported by visual materials (e.g., slides, handouts, or posters). Each presentation will be followed by a brief discussion, providing an opportunity to practice academic communication, defend methodological choices, and receive constructive feedback

Procedure

1.    Participant: Find a child aged 4–10 (ideally English-speaking, or speaking your native language).

2.    Data collection: Elicit a 5-minute spontaneous speech sample. Encourage the child to produce a narrative on a topic of interest (e.g., a story, a personal experience, or a retelling). Be supportive and prompt the child to tell as much as possible.

3.    Transcription:

o   Transcribe the child’s speech exactly as it was produced, including repetitions, false starts, and fillers (e.g., “uhm,” “you know”).

o   Segment the transcript into communication units (C-units), i.e., independent clauses with their modifiers.

o   If a word is unintelligible, mark it as (xxx).

o   Nonverbal behaviors (e.g., [laughs], [points]) can be marked in square brackets.

o   Example: Child: “And then… uhm… the dog runned away (xxx) and he… he… fall down.”

Analysis

1.    Microstructure:

o   Calculate the average number of words per unit -Mean Length of Utterance (MLU in words).

o   Lexical diversity (NDW): Count the number of different words in the sample.

o   Grammatical accuracy: Estimate the percentage of utterances that are grammatically correct.

2.    Macrostructure (Story grammar, inspired by MAIN):

o   Identify whether the narrative includes setting, characters, initiating event, goal, attempt, outcome.

o   Comment on coherence (temporal/causal order of events) and cohesion (use of connectives such as then, because, so).

o   Note any references to characters’ thoughts or feelings (perspective taking).

Output

• A transcript of the child’s narrative with utterance segmentation (submit the raw transcript as a document).
• A joint presentation covering:
  a) a short analysis including MLU, lexical diversity, grammatical accuracy, and story grammar elements,
  b) a summary of your experience, findings, and reflections on the child’s strengths and challenges in narrative skills. 

Deadline
Written transcript due after completion of Session 5; presentations will take place in Session 6 and 7.

Assignment 2: Administering and Interpreting an Early Literacy Assessment Task

The aim of this task is to become familiar with standardized procedures designed to assess emerging literacy skills in young children. Students will gain experience with the administration of an early literacy test, practice accurate scoring, and learn to interpret results with reference to theoretical and empirical knowledge discussed in class.

Procedure

·       Find a child in the preschool year (age 5–6) or in Grade 1 of primary school (Czech: 1. ročník ZŠ). The child should be either a Czech or English speaker. Record the child’s age and basic information about their family background.

·       Task selection: In consultation with the instructor, choose one task from MABEL (Multilingual Assessment Battery of Early Literacy) or MOTIF (Monitoring Outcomes of Tests of Individual Factors).

Administration and Scoring

Administer the selected task to the child following the standardized instructions. Pay attention to:

o   creating supportive and age-appropriate testing conditions,

o   reading instructions exactly as given,

o   recording the child’s responses accurately

o   score the child’s performance according to the procedures specified in the test manual.

Analysis

·       Focus on understanding and correctly applying the testing procedures.

·       Interpret the child’s performance using the scoring guidelines.

·       With support from the assigned academic literature (introduced in the seminar), evaluate the child’s strengths and weaknesses in emerging literacy.

·       Compare your findings with theoretical expectations discussed in class (e.g., typical developmental benchmarks, risk indicators).

Output

Prepare a short-written report (using the prepared scoring sheets from the chosen test battery), including:

·       description of the participant (age, language background),

·       identification of the selected test/task,

·       a brief account of the administration process,

·       scoring results,

·       interpretation of the results with reference to the literature.

You are also expected to take an active role in the seminar discussion, where you will present your findings and reflect on the administration process.

Deadline

Written report due after completion of Session 12; oral presentations based on written report will take place in Session 13.