The Relationship Between Orthographic Awareness and Chinese Reading in Hong Kong’s Young CSL Learners

Purpose: This study investigates young Chinese as a second language (CSL) learners’ Chinese character reading performance and its relationship with their orthographic awareness. There is a pressing need to gain a better understanding of Hong Kong’s ethnic minority students’ CSL acquisition, so that more effective instruction can be provided. Design/Approach/Methods: A total of 157 Hong Kong ethnic minority CSL students in Grade 4 were evaluated using a range of assessments: orthographic awareness in identifying and utilizing character components, listening comprehension for vocabulary terms and short texts, and reading Chinese character lists with single- and two-character words. Findings: The students performed consistently across the two lists but made fewer errors when reading the two-character word list, most of which were orthographical. Multiple regression analysis showed that the students’ orthographic awareness contributed significantly to their character reading. Originality/Value: The findings suggest that orthographic awareness can help ethnic minority CSL learners improve their Chinese character reading skills. Chinese classes provided for such students, and for CSL learners in general, should place greater focus on literacy training.