Abstract
Comparing the analyses based on the data of 1,235 Chinese children referred for government services and subsequently diagnosed as children with dyslexia in Hong Kong and those of 690 Chinese children in the sample for the normative study of the Hong Kong Test of Specific Learning Difficulties in Reading and Writing, we explored the reading–writing connection through a series of regression and correlation analyses. Specifically, orthographic knowledge, naming speed, and phonological memory were found to be salient predictors predicting both reading and writing, and when they were controlled and partialed out, the correlations between reading and writing were sizably attenuated, suggesting that these cognitive abilities or skills could act as third-variables contributing to the relationship between reading and writing. Issues related to causal inference, directionality of causality, and implications of the findings for intervention efforts and future research are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Badian N. A., (1997). Dyslexia and the double deficit hypothesis Annals of Dyslexia 47:69–87
Bowers P. G., Wolf M., (1993). Theoretical links among naming speed, precise timing mechanisms and orthographic skill in dyslexia Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal 5:69–85
Chan D. W., Ho C. S.-H., Tsang S., Lee S., Chung K. K. H., (2003). Reading-related behavioral characteristics of Chinese children with dyslexia: The use of the teachers’ behavior checklist in Hong Kong Annals of Dyslexia 53:300–323
Corcos E., Willows D., (1993). The role of visual processing in good and poor readers’ utilization of orthographic information in letter strings In: S. F. Wright, R. Groner (Eds) Facets of dyslexia and its remediation Amsterdam, The Netherlands Elsevier Science Publishers B. V (pp. 95–106)
Gathercole S. E., Baddeley A. D., (1993). Working memory and language Hove, UK: Erlbaum
Goswami U., (2002). Phonology, reading development, and dyslexia: A cross-linguistic perspective Annals of Dyslexia 52:141–163
Ho C. S.-H., Bryant P., (1997a). Learning to read Chinese beyond the logographic phase Reading Research Quarterly 32:276–289
Ho C. S.-H., Bryant P., (1997b). Phonological skills are important in learning to read Chinese Developmental Psychology 33:946–951
Ho C. S.-H., Lai D. N.-C., (1999). Naming-speed deficits and phonological memory deficits in Chinese developmental dyslexia Learning and Individual Differences 11:173–186
Ho C. S.-H., Chan D. W., Lee S., Tsang S., Chung K. K. H., (2003). The Chinese Word Reading Training Package Hong Kong Hong Kong Specific Learning Difficulties Research Team [In Chinese]
Ho C. S.-H., Chan D. W., Lee S., Tsang S., Luan V. H., (2004). Cognitive profiling and preliminary subtyping in Chinese developmental dyslexia Cognition 91:43–75
Ho C. S.-H., Chan D. W., Tsang S., Lee S., (2000). The Hong Kong test of specific learning difficulties in reading and writing (HKT-SpLD) manual Hong Kong Hong Kong Specific Learning Difficulties Research Team [In Chinese]
Ho C. S.-H., Chan D. W., Tsang S., Lee S., (2002). The cognitive profile and multiple-deficit hypothesis in Chinese developmental dyslexia Developmental Psychology 38:543–553
Ho C. S.-H., Law T. P., Ng P. M., (2000). The phonological deficit hypothesis in Chinese developmental dyslexia Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal 13:57–79
Holm A., Dodd B., (1996). The effect of first written language on the acquisition of English literacy Cognition 59:119–147
Hu C.-F., Catts H. W., (1998). The role of phonological processing in early reading ability: What we can learn from Chinese Scientific Studies of Reading 2:55–79
Huang H., Hanley J. R., (1995). Phonological awareness and visual skills in learning to read Chinese and English Cognition 54:73–98
Lam C. C. C., (1999). Developmental dyslexia and other specific learning disabilities. The state of practice: International and Hong Kong perspective Hong Kong Journal of Paediatrics 4:145–150
Leong C. K., (1997). Paradigmatic analysis and Chinese word reading: Research findings and classroom practice In: C. K. Leong, R. M. Joshi (Eds) Cross-language studies of learning to read and spell: Phonological and orthographic processing Dordrecht, Holland: Kluwer Academic Publishers (pp. 379–418)
Leong C. K., Cheng P. W., Lam C. C. C., (2000). Exploring reading–spelling connection as locus of dyslexia in Chinese Annals of Dyslexia 50:239–259
McBride-Chang C., Kail R. V., (2002). Cross-cultural similarities in the predictors of reading acquisition Child Development 73:1392–1407
McBride-Chang C., Manis F., (1996). Structural invariance in the associations of naming speed, phonological awareness, and verbal reasoning in good and poor readers: A test of the double deficit hypothesis Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal 8:323–339
Miles T. R., Miles E., (1999). Dyslexia: A hundred years on (2nd ed.) Buckingham, UK Open University Press
Siok W. T., Fletcher P., (2001). The role of phonological awareness and visual-orthographic skills in Chinese reading acquisition Developmental Psychology 37:886–899
Snowling M. J., (2000). Dyslexia (2nd ed.) Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishers
South China Morning Post (2005, June 10). Learning to write is key to reading
Spafford C. A., Grosser G. S., (2005). Dyslexia and reading difficulties: Research and resource guide fro working with all struggling readers (2nd ed.) Boston Allyn & Bacon
Tan L. H., Spinks J. A., Eden G. F., Perfetti C. A., Siok W. T., (2005). Reading depends on writing, in Chinese Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 102:8781–8785
Wimmer H., (1993). Characteristics of developmental dyslexia in a regular writing system Applied Psycholinguistics 14:1–33
Wolf M., Bowers P., (1999). The double-deficit hypothesis for the developmental dyslexia Journal of Educational Psychology 91:1–24
Woo E. Y. C., Hoosain R., (1984). Visual and auditory functions of Chinese dyslexics Psychologia 27:164–170
Yamada J., (1995). A case study of developmental dyslexia in Japanese Dyslexia: An International Journal of Research and Practice 1:120–122
Yin W. G., Weekes B. S., (2003). Dyslexia in Chinese: Clues from cognitive neuropsychology Annals of Dyslexia 53:255–279
Ziegler J. C., Goswami U., (2005). Reading acquisition, developmental dyslexia, and skilled reading across languages: A psycholinguistic grain size theory Psychological Bulletin 131:3–29
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
CHAN, D.W., HO, C.SH., TSANG, SM. et al. Exploring the reading–writing connection in Chinese children with dyslexia in Hong Kong. Read Writ 19, 543–561 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-006-9008-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-006-9008-z