Kerry F. Luo Culturally Responsive Storybook Sharing Styles and Language Proficiency of Latinx Children

Culturally Responsive Storybook Sharing Styles and Language Proficiency of Latinx Children Kerry F. Luo

Latinx children in the United States, despite having unique linguistic strengths associated with bilingualism, are disadvantaged in the U.S. early education system due to limited English skills and cultural differences (Hoff, 2013; Uchikoshi, 2005). Latinx caregivers often use a sole narrator storybook sharing style where the caregiver is the primary storyteller, which differs culturally from European-American caregivers who value a co-constructive style where the caregiver builds the story with the child (Caspe, 2009; Hammer, Nimmo, Cohen, Draheim, & Johnson, 2005). As academic outcomes (including literacy and language proficiency skills such as reading comprehension, vocabulary, and narrative ability) are partly predicted by storybook reading styles used at home (Bitetti & Hammer, 2016; Bus, Van, & Pellegrini, 1995), and given that U.S. schools promote the co-constructive style, it is worth examining the influence of book sharing styles on Latinx children’s emergent literacy and language skills (Caspe, 2009; Melzi, 2000). This literature review thus posed the following question: how do storybook sharing styles used at home impact language proficiency of Latinx children who attend U.S. schools?

The Co-Constructive Style

Researchers and educators in the United States promote the use of a co-constructive book sharing style, where the parent scaffolds the storytelling process by alternating between reading the text and asking inference (e.g., “Why do you think the character feels sad?”) and prediction (e.g., “What do you think will happen next?”) questions (Caspe, 2009; Hammer et al., 2005). This style is valued by European-American parents, who tend to view storytelling as an academic pursuit for logical reasoning (Caspe, 2009; Hammer et al., 2005; Melzi, 2000). At the same time, the co-constructive style is favored by U.S. schools, as it promotes the comprehension and logical sequencing skills that are linked to academic success. Moreover, receptive vocabulary (i.e., the ability to recognize and understand words by listening to speech or seeing print) are fostered through reading the text to the child, while asking questions promote expressive vocabulary (i.e., the ability to produce new words; Hammer et al., 2005; Sénéchal, 1997). However, the collaborative nature of the co-constructive approach is inconsistent with the value that Latinx households place on distinguishing between the roles of storyteller and listener within parent-child interactions (Bloome, Katz, Solsken, Willett, & Wilson-Keenan, 2000; Caspe, 2009). Latinx parents tend to view book sharing as a social rather than academic activity, and, thus, do not typically ask the type of inferential and predictive questions that teachers ask during storybook reading (Caspe, 2009; Hammer et al., 2005). Given the benefits of the coconstructive style for child outcomes, countless interventions have sought to train Latinx parents to adopt this style of academic questioning. Yet, findings suggest that this is not an effective approach for Latinx families. In fact, the questions asked tend to come off as forced and basic (e.g., the caregiver may ask several labelling questions, such as “What is this?”; Caspe, 2009), and interestingly, they contribute to lower printrelated literacy outcomes. This suggests that the co-constructive style’s effectiveness depends on the caregiver’s familiarity and comfort with traditional U.S. story sharing methods (Caspe, 2009; Hammer et al., 2005).

The Sole Narrator Style

Caregivers from Latinx backgrounds are more likely to use a sole narrator approach when reading to their children, taking on the primary storyteller role while the child takes on an active listener role and speaks minimally (Caspe, 2009; Melzi & Caspe, 2005; Melzi, Schick, & Kennedy, 2011). Encouraging the child’s position as the observant audience is reflective of both a cultural hierarchy, where parents are experts from whom children should learn, as well as a community model, where the parents’ purpose is not to teach academically but to engage the child in a family-building practice that strengthens and promotes socio-emotional development (Bloome et al., 2000; Cline & Edwards, 2013; Melzi et al., 2011). For Latinx households, storybook sharing is a socio-emotional process between caregivers and their children that builds upon the familial bond when children are taught to trust their caregivers as expert storytellers, which stems from a longstanding tradition of parents transmitting respect and loyalty to their families through oral narratives (Caspe, 2009; Cline & Edwards, 2013; Melzi, 2000). Latinx parents value the emotional quality of book sharing by expressing sensitivity to their children’s engagement in the book reading, which is a process of emotional responsiveness that relates to better outcomes in language and emergent literacy (Cline & Edwards, 2013). During storybook sharing, Latinx parents narrate the story with rich descriptions and evaluations while requesting that the child not interrupt (e.g., when the child begins to ask a question, the mother tells the child to wait until she finishes telling the story), which is effective in fostering aspects of sociocognitive development such as keen observation skills,

sustained attention, and self-regulation (Caspe, 2009; Melzi & Caspe, 2005; Melzi et al., 2011). When children apply these skills to book-reading interactions and listen to their caregivers tell the story melodically, they may increase their awareness of language structure (i.e., the composition of letters and words) and the way that language sounds, which promotes print-related literacy skills (Caspe, 2009). Closely listening to caregivers’ melodic storytelling also allows the child to understand how parts of a book come together to form one powerful story that consists of rich emotional descriptions (Caspe, 2009; Melzi & Caspe, 2005). Through parents’ modeling of rich storytelling, Latinx children observe subjective evaluation (i.e., the storyteller describes how they feel about the story and explains why the story is meaningful), and learn to emphasize evaluation skills through emotional descriptions while deemphasizing a story’s organizational aspects (e.g., the chronological sequence of events; Melzi, 2000; Uchikoshi, 2005). As the United States education system values logical sequencing and comprehension over socioemotional aspects of narrative, Latinx children are less likely to align with EuropeanAmerican standards, and might appear to be performing behind their European-American peers in school (Hoff, 2013; Melzi, 2000, Uchikoshi, 2005). Therefore, while U.S. teachers predominantly use European-American modes of storybook sharing, there is a missed opportunity for Latinx children to exhibit their literacy capacities in the classroom (Hoff, 2013; Uchikoshi, 2005).

Conclusion

The co-constructive style, despite being widely supported by U.S. schools, contributes to lower literacy outcomes for Latinx children when their caregivers are asked to adopt techniques that are unfamiliar to them (Caspe, 2009; Hammer et al., 2005; Sénéchal, 1997). A sole narrator approach is more culturally relevant for Latinx caregivers, and thus elicits increased child literacy outcomes through the socioemotional process of caregivers teaching their children to intently observe (Caspe, 2009; Cline & Edwards, 2013; Melzi, 2000; Melzi & Caspe, 2005; Melzi et al., 2011). However, U.S. schools continue to promote the co-constructive style without consideration for Latinx modes of storybook sharing. Therefore, further research should explore strategies for how educators, researchers and policy makers can take a strengths-based approach and capitalize on the book sharing styles Latinx children are exposed to at home. It is also important to note that Latinx individuals come from a multitude of cultural and historical backgrounds, and Latinx households in the U.S. have varying value systems, beliefs, and degrees of connectedness to their Latinx culture, all of which influences their book sharing styles and general literacy practices (Melzi, 2000). As such, claims about parents’ book sharing styles and child outcomes cannot be generalized to the whole Latinx community (Caspe, 2009; Hammer et al., 2005). Future research should seek to capture variations of book sharing styles within Latinx cultures and family structures as to inform literacy interventions that focus on expanding the various skills that Latinx caregivers already have (Hammer et al., 2005). A strengths-based, culturally responsive understanding of language and literacy practices is ultimately needed to shape more equitable ways of educating Latinx children that support the power of their caregivers and families.

References

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