Effect of computer-assisted intervention on early phonological processing skill for kindergarten children in Hong Kong

Abstract

The present study investigates the effect of computer-assisted intervention targeting phonological processing skill in Hong Kong kindergarteners who learn English as a second language (ESL).

Thirty children received eighteen sessions of 45 minutes phonological processing skill intervention over nine weeks. Children in the experimental group (n = 15) received computer-assisted intervention, while the control group (n = 15) received intervention by traditional (pencil-and-paper) teaching approach. Following a pretest – posttest – retention test design, participants were assessed for their phonological processing skill changes by alliteration test, blending test, phoneme segmentation test and rhyme test before the intervention, after the intervention and 10 weeks after the intervention.

The results indicated that children in the experimental group outperformed than those in the control group in all subtests during the posttest. A retention test which held 10 weeks after the intervention revealed that significant gains in the experimental group had only maintained in the alliteration test and rhyme test.

To conclude, findings suggest that computer-assisted intervention has striking effect on enhancing children’s phonological processing skill in short term, yet, the long-term positive effect may not necessarily cover all aspects of the phonological processing skill. The current study may be of importance in explaining the feasibility and universality of computer-assisted intervention, as well as providing a better understand of how information technology could enhance children’s learning in phonological processing skill for stakeholders in the educational field.