Vol. 2 No. Special Issue (2025): Teaching Young Language Learners
Articles

Delving into Emergent Literacy: Examining Narrative Skills of Monolingual and Bilingual Preschoolers in Greece

Isaak Papadopoulos
International Hellenic University
Anna Hall
Clemson University, U.S.A.
Maria Eleni Bourogianni
International Hellenic University

Published 2025-01-28

How to Cite

Papadopoulos, I., Hall, A., & Bourogianni, M. E. (2025). Delving into Emergent Literacy: Examining Narrative Skills of Monolingual and Bilingual Preschoolers in Greece. Journal of Language and Culture in Education, 2(Special Issue), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.5281/pz9s1c50

Abstract

Narrative skills are crucial for early literacy development, facilitating the transition from oral to written language and fostering vocabulary acquisition. This study investigates narrative skills in 4-year-old children using the Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives (MAIN) to contribute to our understanding of emergent literacy. Specifically, the study aimed to shed light on the narrative skills that 4-year-old children exhibit and the potential differentiations in the performance of bilingual and monolingual children in narrative skills. The study sample comprised 20 children aged 4 years, including 12 of Greek origin and 8 of Albanian origin (bilingual children), residing in Larissa, Greece. Findings revealed that children exhibited a rich repertoire of narrative skills in general. Moreover, disparities in narrative components between bilingual and monolingual children were noticed as bilingual children demonstrated linguistic flexibility and a rich portrayal of settings reflecting diverse backgrounds. Specifically, they expressed goals with varied vocabulary, employed action words from both languages, considered diverse outcomes, and expressed emotions using vocabulary from both languages. In contrast, monolingual children's narrative skills were more constrained within their linguistic and cultural domain. In conclusion, this study underscores the importance of narrative skills in early literacy development and highlights the nuanced differences in narrative proficiency between bilingual and monolingual children.

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