Word reading transfer in two distinct languages in reading interventions: How Chinese-English bilingual children with reading difficulties learn to read.
Teach English phonics first to bilingual kids with reading trouble—it lifts both languages, while Chinese-only lessons stay stuck in Chinese.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Yeung et al. (2023) split Chinese-English bilingual kids with reading trouble into two groups. One group got English phonics lessons. The other got Chinese character-shape lessons. After the lessons, the team checked reading scores in both languages.
The study used a coin-flip design so each child had an equal shot at either lesson type.
What they found
Kids who studied English phonics got better at both English and Chinese word reading. Kids who studied Chinese shapes only got better at Chinese. English skills did not budge.
In short, English phonics spilled over and helped Chinese, but Chinese training stayed in its own lane.
How this fits with other research
Ulriksen et al. (2024) also saw phonics win big. Their kids had ID and used talk devices. After phonics, every child could sound out new words. Together, the two studies say phonics works across different needs.
Benitez et al. (2023) used a different method—equivalence-based drills—but still lifted word reading to 80 % accuracy. The pattern is the same: direct, skills-first reading lessons pay off.
Wu et al. (2015) built a test for Chinese shape skills. Their tool shows which strokes trip kids up. That test could flag who needs the Chinese-side help that Kit-Yu found stays locked in Chinese.
Why it matters
If you serve bilingual learners, start with English phonics. You get two gains for one lesson block. Keep Chinese shape work for kids who mainly miss Chinese. And if the child uses AAC or has ID, the same phonics logic still holds—Britt and Benitez already proved it.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
PURPOSE: Skills developed from literacy training in L1 are shown to transfer to reading in L2 when both languages involve an alphabetic writing system. However, transfer of literacy skills between a logographic L1 and an alphabetic L2 is less studied. This study examined whether the gain in literacy skills after an 8-week training on 1) Chinese character recognition or 2) English phonics, may generalize across the two languages in Chinese elementary students with reading disabilities. METHODS: Chinese-speaking students identified with reading difficulties were randomly assigned to the Chinese intervention (Chinese character orthography training), English intervention (English phonics training), and control groups. Their Chinese and English literacy skills were measured before and after the interventions. RESULTS: Though training on the orthography of Chinese characters significantly improved performance in Chinese word reading and Chinese orthographic awareness, our results did not provide evidence for the generalization of word-decoding skills from L1 Chinese to word reading in L2 English. However, phonics training in L2 English benefitted not only English word reading, but also cross-language word reading in L1 Chinese. CONCLUSION: We postulated that teaching children analytical skills in decoding words in an alphabetic writing system might likewise benefit their word decoding in a logographic script.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2023 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2023.104501