Development of Phonological Awareness Skills: Cantonese-Speaking and Spanish-Speaking English Learners

• In Event: Poster Session 5
  In Poster Session: Vocabulary Research and Instruction

Abstract

This study describes the development of English phonological awareness skills of Spanish-speaking and Cantonese-speaking English learners (ELs) over a three year period, from kindergarten through second grade. Individual growth modeling analysis show no differences in growth trajectories on phonological awareness development between children whose two languages share a writing system (Spanish-speaking ELs) and children whose language does not share a writing system (Cantonese-speaking ELs). Additionally, there were also no significant differences in growth of phonological awareness between children attending bilingual programs and mainstream programs. However, there were effects of English decoding, English vocabulary, and English book reading on phonological awareness development for both English learner groups. Implications for early educational practices will be discussed.

Authors

• Yuuko Uchikoshi, University of California - Davis

• Lu Yang, University of California - Davis