Hong Kong Chinese kindergartners learn to read English analytically

We examined the extent to which young Hong Kong Chinese children, taught to read English as a second language via a logographic "look and say" method, used information about letter names and letter sounds to learn English words. Forty children from each of three kindergarten grade levels (mean ages 3.8, 5.0, and 5.9 years old, respectively) were taught to pronounce novel English spellings that were based on letter-name (e.g., DK=Deke), letter-sound (DK=Dick), or visual (DK=Jean) cues. By the 2nd year of kindergarten, children performed significantly better in the name condition than the other conditions. The 3rd-year kindergartners performed better in the sound condition than the visual condition as well. The results point to the importance of letter-name and letter-sound knowledge for learning to read English, regardless of native-language background or method of instruction.