Comprehension of inferences: comparing the abilities of four and five year old children in dialogic reading
Listening comprehension is a cornerstone of the educational success of young children. This study focuses specifically on the comprehension of inferences in children aged four and five in a context of dialogic reading. The results distinguish the two age groups. Indeed, the four year old participants are able to infer the emotion of a character but they are less skilled than the five year olds with regards to predicting the next stage of the narrative and to establishing links with information needed to understand the story. These findings suggest targeting these skills explicitly to maximize school readiness.