Cross-language correlates in phonological awareness and naming speed: evidence from deep and shallow orthographies

Abstract

Phonological awareness (PA) and rapid automatised naming (RAN) skills in relation to reading acquisition were examined using two languages, one with a deep orthography (English) and the other with a shallow orthography (Korean). Participants were 50 Korean American children who spoke English as a dominant language (DL) and were learning to read Korean as a sequential language (SL). Parallel measures in English and Korean assessed PA, RAN and reading skills. The results showed the similarities and differences between the DL and SL acquisition patterns for PA and RAN. While PA skills of the DL were a dominant predictor in SL reading achievement, RAN became important for the children with the higher level of SL reading performance. This cross-sectional study indicates that proficiencies of PA and RAN in the DL are the pathway to reading success in an SL. This suggests that a universal thread exists in learning dual languages, despite dissimilar orthography, phonology and writing systems.