Introduction. Many children in the Netherlands fail to achieve adequate reading levels by the end of primary school, posing concerns for their academic and later societal success. Effective...Show moreIntroduction. Many children in the Netherlands fail to achieve adequate reading levels by the end of primary school, posing concerns for their academic and later societal success. Effective stimulation of early literacy skills in kindergarten, including vocabulary, print knowledge, and phonological awareness, can reduce differences among students and reduce the risk of reading difficulties later on. While storybooks are effective in stimulating these early literacy skills, traditional storybook reading is not enough to provide a steady foundation for later reading success. Additionally, children with a smaller vocabulary do not benefit as much from storybook reading as their larger vocabularied peers, which increases early literacy skill level gaps between children. In this study, several effective methods in enhancing these skills are combined into the e-Prent&ABC method, which aims to enhance these skills simultaneously. Methods. 85 kindergarteners (41 boys, 44 girls) aged 4;2 to 6;3 years participated. Interactive digital reading sessions were conducted over five weeks, utilizing six picture books and varied reading methods. The first condition utilized non-interactive video books. Successive conditions used variations of the e-Prent&ABC reading method, focusing on either semantics, print knowledge, or phonological awareness. Participants underwent assessment of productive vocabulary, print knowledge, and phonological awareness before and after the reading conditions, along with a receptive vocabulary test before the conditions. Data were analysed using Mixed ANOVA and Repeated Measures ANOVA. Results. Kindergarteners, especially those with lower receptive vocabularies, experienced great vocabulary growth with the e-Prent&ABC method. The simultaneous stimulation of either print knowledge or phonological awareness proved effective, but not at the expense of vocabulary growth. Discussion. The e-Prent&ABC method proves effective in stimulating all three early literacy skills in the kindergarten setting, especially benefitting children with smaller vocabularies and thereby reducing skills gaps between individuals. These findings hold promise for improving children’s literacy outcomes.Show less
