Cross-linguistic sharing of phonological awareness in word spelling among early Chinese-English literacy learners: A three-wave cross-lagged panel analysis

IF 3.8 1区心理学 Q1 PSYCHOLOGY, EDUCATIONAL

Learning and Individual Differences Pub Date : 2025-04-10 DOI:10.1016/j.lindif.2025.102691

Jiexin Lin , Jiayun Li

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This study examines the longitudinal cross-linguistic associations of phonological awareness (PA) at suprasegmental and segmental levels with word spelling in Chinese and English. An initial sample of 161 Chinese-English bilingual children was followed up every six months from the end of grade 3 to the end of grade 4. Cross-lagged panel models revealed reciprocal cross-linguistic relations between segmental PA and word spelling in both languages from the end of grade 3 to halfway grade 4. However, this reciprocity in the L1 (Chinese)-to-L2 (English) direction was observed only for English pseudoword spelling, not real word spelling. By the end of grade 4, this reciprocity vanished, leaving only a unidirectional prediction from Chinese segmental PA to English pseudoword spelling, which also extended to English real word spelling. The findings illustrate dynamically changing cross-linguistic relations between PA and bilingual word spelling and underscore segmental PA as a shared linguistic resource in bilingual spelling development.

Educational relevance statement

Recent advances in Chinese-English bilingual children’s biliteracy acquisition have implicated an important role of suprasegmental phonological awareness, in addition to segmental features, in biliteracy acquisition. This study explores the bidirectional cross-linguistic influence of phonological awareness (PA) at both suprasegmental and segmental levels on word spelling development in Chinese-English bilingual children. Results indicate a bi-directional cross-linguistic transfer of PA and complex developmental interplay between PA and word spelling, together with a consistent grain size effect of segmental PA in predicting bilingual word spelling. It sheds light on the biliteracy theoretical accounts from a developmental lens and informs specifics and universals of phonology in relation to cross-linguistic gains of spelling. It also provides pedagogical implications for bilingual spelling instruction for Chinese-English literacy learners.

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来源期刊

Learning and Individual Differences PSYCHOLOGY, EDUCATIONAL-

CiteScore

6.60

自引率

2.80%

发文量

期刊介绍： Learning and Individual Differences is a research journal devoted to publishing articles of individual differences as they relate to learning within an educational context. The Journal focuses on original empirical studies of high theoretical and methodological rigor that that make a substantial scientific contribution. Learning and Individual Differences publishes original research. Manuscripts should be no longer than 7500 words of primary text (not including tables, figures, references).