Bilingual Narrative Competence and Vocabulary of Preschoolers in Costa Rica

The studies in this thesis concentrate on narrative competence and its significant role in shaping future literacy outcomes. These studies are based on the premise that fostering narrative competence early on can enhance emergent literacy skills, significantly impacting children's educational trajectories. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the unique characteristics of the target population and to pilot appropriate narrative-focused interventions. The contents of this thesis are organized into four chapters. The first chapter provides an overview of the theoretical background and previous literature on early childhood linguistic experiences, emphasizing assessments and interventions aimed at enhancing narrative competence in young children. Chapter 2 presents the results of an exploratory study investigating current linguistic, cognitive, and narrative abilities in preschoolers, offering initial insights into the abilities of an underrepresented sample and informing future intervention designs. Chapter 3 details the outcomes of a bilingual narrative-focused intervention on Spanish vocabulary, narrative production, and narrative comprehension, highlighting important considerations for designing such interventions and the need for further research. Finally, Chapter 4 offers a general discussion of the main findings presented in this thesis and outlines potential future directions for research and intervention designs targeting narrative competence.