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Bilingual PA and its influence on biliteracy for Korean English as a foreign language learners

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Abstract

This study examines the relationship between phonological awareness (PA) in the two languages of Korean English as a foreign language learning children in relation to L1 characteristics and school experiences, and its predictive role in word decoding skills in each language. Seventy-two 5–6-year-old Korean children who had attended English-medium preschools and kindergartens for at least 18 months were tested on a range of PA and emergent literacy skill measures in both Korean (L1) and English (L2). The findings indicate that the phonological representations of the participants reflect more of the L1, rather than school language, characteristics. In addition, L1 PA, syllable and phoneme awareness in particular, was predictive of L2 decoding abilities after accounting for L2 PA and emergent literacy skills. The results are discussed in terms of language-specific L1 phonological and orthographic characteristics, as well as their L2-learning contexts.

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Notes

  1. In this study, for all the items on the rime awareness tasks in the two languages, rhyming was constrained to syllable level and did not occur across syllable boundaries. Thus, it will be referred to as rime awareness, rather than rhyme awareness, in this study.

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  1. Department of English Education, Korea University, Sungbook-Ku Anam-Dong 5-ka, Seoul, Korea

    Jennifer Yusun Kang

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  1. Jennifer Yusun Kang
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Kang, J.Y. Bilingual PA and its influence on biliteracy for Korean English as a foreign language learners. Read Writ 25, 1307–1326 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-011-9319-6

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