Literacy and cognitive profiles of dyslexic Chinese-English bilingual primary school students in Hong Kong and the effects of literacy and cognitive changes after Chinese orthographic and English phonics training

Abstract

Do Chinese dyslexic children experience difficulties learning English as a second language (L2)? Do Chinese dyslexic children differ from their non-dyslexic peers with respect to English literacy and literacy-related cognitive performance? If so, do common cognitive deficits underly these learning difficulties? What kind of intervention support is required for Chinese dyslexic children learning their first language (L1) and L2 English? Is the support provided by Hong Kong schools sufficient to address the needs of these children? Three studies aimed at addressing the above questions were conducted to provide data for this thesis. The aim of the first study was to examine whether Chinese dyslexic children would have difficulty learning English as a second language and whether they would also differ from non-dyslexic children with respect to English literacy and literacy-related cognitive performance. In addition, it investigated whether, for this group, common cognitive deficits might be causing difficulties in learning L1 Chinese and L2 English. In the first study, 121 primary 1 and 2 students from 31 schools were tested on literacy, rapid naming, phonological awareness, and orthographic and morphological skills in both Chinese and English. Based on the diagnostic criteria for dyslexia and using the Hong Kong Test of Specific Learning Difficulties in Reading and Writing for Primary School Students – Third Edition (Junior Primary) [HKT-P(III)] (Ho et al., 2016), children with and without dyslexia were identified. The former performed significantly worse than their counterparts in all Chinese literacy and cognitive domains; they also performed significantly worse than children without dyslexia in the English literacy, rapid letter naming, English phonological awareness and English orthographic domains, suggesting that some common cognitive deficits underlie difficulties in learning the two languages. Even though enormous differences exist between the Chinese and English language systems, as found in Study One, they share common cognitive deficits. Study Two examined the intervention support Chinese dyslexic children require when learning Chinese and English and whether there are literacy and cognitive gains after training. In Study Two, 60 native Chinese-speaking students (38 boys and 22 girls; mean age = 6 years 8 months, SD=6.43) diagnosed with dyslexia were randomly assigned to Chinese intervention, English intervention, and control groups. After completing 8 weeks of orthographic training focusing on Chinese characters, the Chinese intervention group performed significantly better than the control group in Chinese word reading and Chinese orthographic awareness. However, no improvements were found in English word reading, English phonological awareness, or English orthographic processing skills. By contrast, after receiving English phonics training for 8 weeks, the English intervention group outperformed the control group in English word reading, English phonological awareness and English orthographic tasks as well as Chinese word reading. Our results suggest Chinese orthographic training in L1 Chinese improved only Chinese word reading and cognitive skills but not word reading in L2 English and cognitive skills. However, phonics training in L2 English improved not only English word reading, but also word reading in L1 Chinese. This led us to postulate that teaching children analytical skills for decoding words in an alphabetic language might likewise benefit their word decoding in a logographic language. Study One revealed that deficits in rapid naming, phonological awareness and orthographic skills are common across Chinese and English. Study Two showed that orthographic training was effective in improving Chinese word reading and Chinese orthographic awareness while phonics training was effective in improving English word reading. It was further found that phonics training improved not only English word reading, but also Chinese word reading. Building on these results, Study Three examined the various types of intervention support available for Chinese and English learning. A teacher questionnaire was administered to investigate the local situation regarding the kind of intervention support provided dyslexic children attending Hong Kong primary and secondary schools. School personnel provided feedback totalling 121 comments. The results show that more support was provided for Chinese learning as opposed to English intervention programs. There was also less support at the secondary school as opposed to the primary school level. Teachers at both the primary and secondary school levels favored learning phonics sounds and vocabulary, along with reading skills, provided English training was available for dyslexic students. Lastly, teacher and parent education were found to be important in helping students with dyslexia, but our data revealed that teacher and parent support are insufficient. Given the fact that there are common deficits across the two languages, it is possible that dyslexic children may also encounter difficulties in learning English. There is a need for English intervention programs to support students that are learning English. There is also a need for English standardized assessment tools. If we can develop English standardized assessment tools for assessing the literacy and cognitive profiles of these students, we would be able to understand more about their difficulties and develop more effective intervention programs to address individual needs.