Beginning to Read in Vietnamese: Kindergarten Precursors to First Grade Fluency and Reading Comprehension

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Linguistics

Background:

• Reading acquisition predictors vary across languages, influenced by orthographic depth.
• Vietnamese, a transparent orthography, has not been previously studied for early reading predictors.
• Understanding these predictors is crucial for effective early literacy instruction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the predictive relationship between early decoding and oral language skills and later reading comprehension in Vietnamese children.
• To examine the roles of phonological awareness (PA), rapid automatized naming (RAN), and vocabulary in predicting first-grade reading outcomes.
• To establish the first evidence base for early reading development in a transparent orthography like Vietnamese.

Main Methods:

• Eighty-two Vietnamese kindergarteners completed assessments of PA, RAN, vocabulary, and decoding.
• The same children were assessed for decoding and reading comprehension in first grade.
• Statistical analyses controlled for maternal education and prior decoding skills.

Main Results:

• Kindergarten PA and RAN significantly predicted first-grade decoding, with PA being a stronger predictor.
• First-grade decoding was the strongest predictor of reading comprehension, followed by kindergarten expressive vocabulary.
• Vietnamese children demonstrated near-ceiling word reading accuracy but variable nonword and text reading after one year of instruction.

Conclusions:

• Phonological awareness and rapid automatized naming are valuable indicators for identifying Vietnamese children needing decoding support.
• Early expressive vocabulary is a significant predictor of reading comprehension, highlighting the importance of language development.
• Findings underscore the utility of PA and RAN in guiding differentiated instruction for early decoding skills in Vietnamese.