What Contributes to Word Learning and Story Retelling of Arabic-speaking Children? Investigation of an E-book Reading Intervention

Learning words in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and story retelling was tested using an e-book with dictionary. One hundred and sixty-three Arabic-speaking kindergartners were randomly divided into 5 groups. The experimental groups read the e-book with a dictionary: (1) with a dynamic illustration and a request to vocalize the word; (2) with a dynamic illustration without a request to vocalize the word; (3) with a static illustration and a request to vocalize the word; (4) with a static illustration without a request for vocalization. The control group read the book without a dictionary. Receptive and expressive meaning of the e-book’s words and story retelling skills were tested pre- and post-intervention. Children who read the e-book with a dictionary with dynamic presentation of target words and repeated vocalization of the words showed improvement in target words meaning and story retelling. Children with a lower initial level progressed more. Educational implications are discussed.