Is Chinese Special? Four Aspects of Chinese Literacy Acquisition that Might Distinguish Learning Chinese from Learning Alphabetic Orthographies

McBride, Catherine

doi:10.1007/s10648-015-9318-2

Cited by 154 publications

(120 citation statements)

References 96 publications

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“…The finding that semantic radical representation contributed a significant amount of variance to reading comprehension even after controlling for word reading is consistent with Perfetti's (2007) lexical quality hypothesis. Results in the present study further supported the unique role of semantic radical representation in Chinese literacy development (McBride, 2015). Semantic radicals are thought to affect not only configuration and orthographic processing but also the meaning of characters.…”

Section: Orthographic Skills and Chinese Text Level Literacy Skillsupporting

confidence: 82%

“…In the hierarchical model of the mental representation of the Chinese character by Ding, Peng, and Taft (2004) and McBride's (2015) model of the acquisition of radicals, characters and words in Chinese, multiple levels of lexical representation were proposed. Both models highlighted the importance of radicals in Chinese character recognition.…”

Section: Chinese Writing Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both models highlighted the importance of radicals in Chinese character recognition. According to McBride (2015), the role of radicals is one major aspect that distinguishes Chinese literacy acquisition from literacy acquisition in alphabetic orthographies. There is no lexical unit in alphabetic orthographies that corresponds to the semantic radical in Chinese.…”

Section: Chinese Writing Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Orthographic skills important to Chinese literacy development: the role of radical representation and orthographic memory of radicals

Yeung

Chan

et al. 2016

Read Writ

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A 3-year longitudinal study among 239 Chinese students in Grades 2-4 was conducted to investigate the relationships between orthographic skills (including positional and functional knowledge of semantic radicals and phonetic radicals, and orthographic memory of radicals) and Chinese literacy skills (word reading, word spelling, reading comprehension and written composition). Phonetic radical knowledge was the only significant longitudinal predictor of word reading, whereas all orthographic skills examined were significant longitudinal predictors of word spelling. Reading comprehension was uniquely predicted by semantic radical knowledge. A model showing the relationships between orthographic skills and literacy skills was postulated.

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Section: Orthographic Skills and Chinese Text Level Literacy Skillsupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Chinese Writing Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Chinese Writing Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Orthographic skills important to Chinese literacy development: the role of radical representation and orthographic memory of radicals

Yeung

Chan

et al. 2016

Read Writ

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“…Children's ability to recognize and manipulate morphemes is likely to reflect (at least partly) general semantic knowledge, which is also captured by our measure of vocabulary. It has also been suggested that strong oral vocabulary skills are a prerequisite for morphological skills to facilitate reading (McBride, ). The fact that morphological construction shared substantial common variance with vocabulary, along with a number of other variables (including phonological awareness and visual discrimination) in this study appears to provide an explanation for why it was not a unique predictor in the current study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Learning to read in Chinese: Evidence for reciprocal relationships between word reading and oral language skills

Hulme

Zhou

Tong

et al. 2018

Developmental Science

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This study investigates the longitudinal predictors of the development of Chinese word reading skills and potential bidirectional relationships between Chinese word reading and oral language skills. We examine, in a 2-year longitudinal study, a wide range of theoretically important predictors (phonological awareness, tone awareness, morphological awareness, visual skills, rapid automatized naming, Pinyin knowledge, and vocabulary knowledge) of reading in 143 primary-school children living in mainland China. Initial levels of reading were predicted by vocabulary knowledge, phonological awareness, and visual discrimination skills. Only initial reading levels predicted growth in reading. Initial reading also predicted growth in vocabulary knowledge and morphological construction. This pattern demonstrates that the early stages of learning to read in Chinese places demands on semantic (vocabulary) and visual skills in addition to phonological skills. Furthermore, early levels of word reading predict the growth of vocabulary knowledge and morphological awareness suggesting that the development of these oral language skills is facilitated by learning to read.

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“…Meta‐linguistic skills reflect one's insights into the structure of a language in various aspects such as phonology, syntax, and orthography (Chaney, ; Wang, Yang, & Cheng, ). Awareness of these linguistic building blocks enables young children to apply print‐sound corresponding rules in learning to read and spell across orthographies (Ehri, ), including Chinese (McBride, ). Nevertheless, Chinese language and orthography are drastically different from alphabetic systems.…”

Section: The Role Of Child‐level Characteristics In Young Chinese Chimentioning

confidence: 99%

Young Chinese Children's Academic Skill Development: Identifying Child-, Family-, and School-Level Factors

Zhang

Ren

et al. 2019

New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development

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This chapter addresses how child‐, family‐, and school‐level characteristics are associated with Chinese children's academic skill development during their preschool years. Academic skills are defined in terms of young children's emergent competencies in academic domains including literacy, mathematics, and science. First, we review the relations of young Chinese children's cognition (language, visuospatial, and executive functioning), behavior (social behavior and behavioral regulation), and affect (interest and attitude) to their performance in these academic domains. Second, we review the roles of familial variables, including family socioeconomic status and broad and specific aspects of parenting practices and parental involvement. Third, we review school‐ and classroom‐level factors, with a special emphasis on preschool and classroom quality that is particularly relevant to young Chinese children's academic skills. We discuss the educational implications of these study findings and identify methodological limitations that may threaten their internal and external validity. Our aim is to bring attention to the growing body of research on young Chinese children's academic skill development and to highlight several areas that need further research.

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Is Chinese Special? Four Aspects of Chinese Literacy Acquisition that Might Distinguish Learning Chinese from Learning Alphabetic Orthographies

Cited by 154 publications

References 96 publications

Orthographic skills important to Chinese literacy development: the role of radical representation and orthographic memory of radicals

Orthographic skills important to Chinese literacy development: the role of radical representation and orthographic memory of radicals

Learning to read in Chinese: Evidence for reciprocal relationships between word reading and oral language skills

Young Chinese Children's Academic Skill Development: Identifying Child-, Family-, and School-Level Factors

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