Language, reading, and reading-related tasks were administered to 148 children from lower primary （Standard 1, 2, and 3） in Kenyan schools. The aim was to investigate the literacy developmental trends across the yea...Language, reading, and reading-related tasks were administered to 148 children from lower primary （Standard 1, 2, and 3） in Kenyan schools. The aim was to investigate the literacy developmental trends across the years and establish which of the two variables, word identification skills or target language oral proficiency influenced reading comprehension performance. The results indicated that word identification skills independently influenced reading comprehension performance in both standard 2 and standard 3 classes, but target language oral skills did not. Further, the analysis of invented spelling task performance revealed evidence of transfer of alphabetic coding skills of first language to English orthography. The spelling errors reflected letter-sound patterns not found in English orthography. Analysis of the miscues in the spelling task revealed that children rely on first language phonological processes to spell target language unfamiliar words as long the languages have a common alphabetic system.展开更多
As a key objective of Rethinking Education, multi-linguistic skill is becoming increasingly important for the future European workers as well as the common folks. Being able to communicate in at least one foreign lang...As a key objective of Rethinking Education, multi-linguistic skill is becoming increasingly important for the future European workers as well as the common folks. Being able to communicate in at least one foreign language is considered to be critical for the future talents against EU＇s vast linguistic diversity and increasing integration. It is widely acknowledged that language competence facilitates mobility, employability, active assimilation, as well as personal development of the individuals, especially the young people, therefore, it is given top priority in the Europe 2020 strategy for growth and employment. This paper is intended to explore the strength of the rethinking program from a linguistic perspective and offer some inspirations to domestic foreign language education reform展开更多
文摘Language, reading, and reading-related tasks were administered to 148 children from lower primary （Standard 1, 2, and 3） in Kenyan schools. The aim was to investigate the literacy developmental trends across the years and establish which of the two variables, word identification skills or target language oral proficiency influenced reading comprehension performance. The results indicated that word identification skills independently influenced reading comprehension performance in both standard 2 and standard 3 classes, but target language oral skills did not. Further, the analysis of invented spelling task performance revealed evidence of transfer of alphabetic coding skills of first language to English orthography. The spelling errors reflected letter-sound patterns not found in English orthography. Analysis of the miscues in the spelling task revealed that children rely on first language phonological processes to spell target language unfamiliar words as long the languages have a common alphabetic system.
文摘As a key objective of Rethinking Education, multi-linguistic skill is becoming increasingly important for the future European workers as well as the common folks. Being able to communicate in at least one foreign language is considered to be critical for the future talents against EU＇s vast linguistic diversity and increasing integration. It is widely acknowledged that language competence facilitates mobility, employability, active assimilation, as well as personal development of the individuals, especially the young people, therefore, it is given top priority in the Europe 2020 strategy for growth and employment. This paper is intended to explore the strength of the rethinking program from a linguistic perspective and offer some inspirations to domestic foreign language education reform
