Singapore has launched a bilingual education policy nationwide, which leads to three main home language environments amongst Chinese families, namely, Chinese dominant, Chinese-English bilingual families and English dominant families. However, little is known about the development of early reading abilities among Singapore children from these…

The English and Chinese reading proficiency of 1376 Grade 4 students in 24 Hong Kong primary schools were assessed using measures developed for the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study. Students' parents provided information about home reading activities (HRA) aimed at supporting their children's reading prior to them entering school…

The purpose of a 1992 course on emergent literacy in early childhood education was to formulate a shared definition of literacy; create awareness of the developmental process involved; test previous assumptions, methods, and techniques in the light of new knowledge; and develop pedagogic approaches and curricula relevant to the existing conditions…

Traces the history of the early reading movement in Italy and relates the experiences of parent-guided reading with preschool children and teacher-guided reading with kindergarten children. Recent studies on early reading and research in the area of early bilingual reading is discussed. (CFM)

Research shows that there are many possible positive effects of early bilingual reading upon intellectual growth and general education. An Italian research project dealing with early bilingual literacy is described; the teaching methods used in the project are examined. (RM)