Role of decoding competence in the Chinese reading comprehension development of ethnic minority students in Hong Kong

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study examines the development of the reading comprehension of young learners of Chinese as a second language (CSL) in Hong Kong, with reference to the Simple View of Reading model. The model postulates that reading comprehension is a product of decoding and linguistic comprehension. A sample of 121 ethnic minority senior primary students was assessed with Chinese decoding, listening, and reading comprehension tests at grades 4 and 6. The students showed a statistically significant improvement in attainment across the comprehension tests over the years. Results from structural model analysis showed that the students’ grade-4 Chinese decoding competence, a latent variable with Chinese character recognition and orthographic knowledge as indicators, was a strong predictor of their reading comprehension attainment by grade 4 and its progress by grade 6, controlling for the influence of listening comprehension at both grades. The findings suggested that acquiring fluent Chinese character recognition skills that build on good orthographic knowledge is crucial for young CSL learners’ reading performance. This is argued to have clear implications for implementing a curriculum that better supports students’ progress in Chinese literacy.