The Intertwined Development of Atayal Oral Language, Emergent Reading and Identity Among Indigenous Young Children in a Bilingual Book Project

ABSTRACT This mixed‐methods study explored the intertwined development of Atayal oral language, emergent reading‐like behaviors, and cultural identity for 28 Indigenous preschoolers (average age 4.11 years) during a year‐long book project. Eight early childhood and Atayal language teachers from two classrooms implemented bilingual books at two levels of difficulty. Each level was used for a semester. Pre‐project, mid‐project and post‐project assessments related to oral language, emergent reading, and cultural identity were conducted; child interviews and observational field notes were collected. Quantitative (i.e., ANOVA with repeated measures, paired sample t ‐test, Pearson correlation) and qualitative analyses (i.e., coding of interview transcripts and field notes, identification/counting of reading‐like behaviors) revealed significant improvement for Atayal oral language, emergent reading‐like behaviors, and cultural identity after the first semester. However, further improvement on oral language and reading‐like behaviors was not indicated, perhaps due to dissimilar sentence structures between level one and level two books. While this project enhanced children's attention to print and print concepts, most children continued to rely on picture cues and memory rather than phonetic cues. This study sheds light on developing and implementing materials to sustain Indigenous languages.