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Published on: October 11, 2018
Metalinguistic awareness and reading performance: a cross language comparison
Raphiq Ibrahim1, Zohar Eviatar, Judith Aharon-Peretz
1Learning Disabilities Department, University of Haifa, Haifa, 31905, Israel. Raphiq@psy.haifa.ac.il
Journal of Psycholinguistic Research
|February 24, 2007
Summary
Bilingualism enhances phonological awareness, impacting reading skills. Arabic orthography presents greater visual complexity, posing challenges for reading acquisition compared to Hebrew.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Linguistics
- Education
Background:
- Phonological awareness is crucial for reading development.
- Bilingualism's impact on cognitive skills, including phonological awareness, is well-documented.
- Orthographic depth and complexity can influence reading acquisition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of bilingualism on phonological awareness and reading performance.
- To examine how orthographic characteristics influence reading and interact with phonological awareness.
- To compare monolingual Hebrew, bilingual Russian-Hebrew, and Arabic-speaking first graders.
Main Methods:
- Assessed phonological metalinguistic abilities and reading measures.
- Utilized a comparative design across three distinct linguistic groups.
- Employed standardized reading and phonological awareness assessments.
Main Results:
- Bilingual and Arabic speakers demonstrated superior phonological awareness compared to Hebrew speakers.
- Hebrew readers exhibited stronger text reading ability and a significant correlation between phonological awareness and reading.
- Arabic readers showed a slight advantage in word/nonword reading but weaker phonological-reading correlations, suggesting orthographic processing challenges.
Conclusions:
- Language experience significantly shapes phonological awareness.
- Arabic orthography's visual complexity may impede reading acquisition compared to Hebrew.
- The interplay between phonological skills and orthographic processing varies across languages.
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