Vocabulary is considered the pillar of language competence, which in turn is important for educational success. A study now shows significant differences among fourth graders. Digital reading does not support language development either.
According to a study, there are considerable differences in vocabulary among fourth graders in Germany. This is the result of an analysis for which the Institute for School Development Research (IFS) at the University of Dortmund evaluated data from around 4,600 fourth-grade students nationwide. The need for support is particularly great for children who rarely or never read a book, who were not born in Germany and whose parents have a rather low level of education.
In the representative survey of reading behavior and vocabulary, digital reading performed very poorly. Vocabulary is a pillar of language competence, which in turn is of central importance for educational success. Even in primary school there are big differences in vocabulary – and these are “systematically related to the family background”, as Ulrich Ludewig from the research team described. What the educational qualifications of the parents are like, whether there is an immigrant background and what the family reading environment looks like play a major role. The study revealed: “The average differences in vocabulary between some groups of students correspond to the learning gain of over a year.”
This makes it all the more clear how important systematic support for specific groups of pupils in primary school is. For the report, the data of 4,611 fourth-graders from 252 primary schools who took part in the International Primary School Reading Survey in spring 2021 were evaluated. The regularly conducted IGLU overall study is to be presented in May 2023. For the current survey, the students had also completed a vocabulary test. Half of the children said they read books every day or almost every day, while 22 percent said they never read a book or read a book at most once a month. Pupils who read books (almost) every day showed a clear vocabulary advantage compared to fourth graders who hardly read.
This applies – to varying degrees – to all groups, i.e. regardless of gender, number of books at home, immigrant background or educational qualifications of the parents. There are only two exceptions: namely children who have immigrated themselves. And fourth graders whose parents have at most a middle school diploma and no professional training. In these two cases, despite frequent book reading, no significantly larger vocabulary was found compared to children who read little.
When looking at digital reading, the scientists, led by educational researcher Nele McElvany, concluded that this hardly contributes to the expansion of vocabulary – but it also takes time for activities that promote language. So: “Frequent reading on digital devices has a negative association with children’s vocabulary.” The vocabulary is “smallest when children often read on digital devices and at the same time rarely if ever read a book.”
A quarter of students reported reading on digital devices every day or almost every day outside of school. Those who travel digitally tend to read chat messages, instructions in apps or short teaser texts – but not longer, sequential text passages with a wide range of vocabulary. It is conceivable that children with little vocabulary do not dare to read books. They should be specifically motivated to read easier books. “The special evaluation makes it clear that children need targeted support in their primary schools to acquire and develop their language skills, especially if their family environment offers few learning opportunities for developing language skills in German,” said McElvany.
Her recommendation: from the first grade, there should be regular assessments of language skills, followed by targeted support involving the families. The IFS school panel in March and the IQB education trend in October had already shown alarming performance deficits among many boys and girls at the end of primary school.
