Development of print awareness in language-disordered preschoolers

This study examined print awareness and related oral language abilities in language-disordered and normally developing preschoolers. Twenty subjects, ages 3:1 to 6:5 (years:months), were shown high frequency environmental print in four conditions varying in the amount of non-print information present in the print setting. They were asked to match the print to the object that it signified and to provide verbal labels for the same objects. Results indicated that normal-language children were responding meaningfully to print settings that contained reduced non-print cues while the language-disordered subjects were not. General language ability was correlated with print awareness, but knowledge of specific oral lexemes was not necessary for accurate print responses. Parent questionnaire data suggested that group differences did not result from differential prior experience with the print items. Results are discussed with reference to hypothesized relationships between oral and written language.