音韻覺識，視覺技巧與中、英文閱讀關係之研究

Phonological Awareness and Visual Skills in Learning to Read Chinese and English

本研究係在比較英國、香港及臺灣137位8歲兒童在音韻覺識、視覺技巧和閱讀能力之差異。當排除智力的影響後，香港與臺灣兒童在視覺技巧測驗與閱讀測驗上的關係仍遠高於英國兒童。對於英國兒童而言，音韻覺識能力與英文閱讀能力有高的相關。縱使排除智力的影響，刪音測驗的表現與臺灣、香港兒童的中文閱讀能力亦有顯著相關。然而此音韻覺識與中文閱讀的相關可能係由於二者皆與兒童的詞彙能力有關。在本研究中亦發現香港與英國兒童在音韻技巧的本質上有所差異。舉例而言，英國兒童覺得刪除子音串（consonantcluster）的第一個音（如從star刪掉／s／）比刪除子音加母音（如從sit刪除／s／）的單子音更困難，香港兒童卻剛好相反，認為刪除子音的第一個音較簡單。除此之外，兒童在刪音測驗的表現與其是否曾學習該種語言有密切之關聯。

This study compared the performance of 137 eight-year-old primary children from Britain, Hong Kong and Taiwan on tests of phonological awareness, visual skills and reading ability. It was found that visual skills (visual paired associates learning and visual form discrimination) were significantly related to the reading ability of the children in Hong Kong and Taiwan, but not to the reading of the British children when the effects of IQ had been partialled out. Performance on the phonological awareness tests (rhyme and phoneme detection) was significantly related to the reading ability of British children. Performance on the phoneme deletion test was also correlated with Chinese reading for the Taiwan and Hong Kong subjects, even after the effects of IQ had been partialled out. It is appeared to be the case, however, that the relationship between performance on the phonological awareness tasks and Chinese reading came about because scores on both tests were correlated with the child's vocabulary skills. The nature of rhyme and phoneme deletion skills also differed in children from Britain and Hong Kong. For example, whereas British children found it more difficult to delete the first phoneme from an initial consonant blend (e.g. deleting/s/from star) than from a word which contained a single consonant before the vowel, (e.g. deleting/s/from sit), children form Hong Kong showed exactly the opposite pattern. In addition.