Abstract
The contribution of teacher knowledge to learning outcomes at the beginning stages of literacy acquisition is of growing concern because the ability to provide quality instruction is central to successful literacy acquisition, particularly for pupils with dyslexia. To date, the majority of research has focused on teachers of English as a first language. Yet, English is the most widely taught foreign language today. The present study extends the exploration of teacher knowledge by probing two heretofore unexamined groups of teachers who are responsible for teaching beginning stages of literacy in English as a foreign language: regular class teachers who are non-native English-speaking (N = 96) and native English-speaking teachers (N = 24) working in the kindergarten setting in Hong Kong. As these two teacher groups serve as gatekeepers of beginning English as a foreign language literacy for kindergarten children in Hong Kong, it is crucial to gather information about the depth and quality of their teacher knowledge. This information can be instrumental to improving the quality of beginning literacy instruction in English and assisting early identification of dyslexia. Both groups completed the basic language constructs survey (Binks-Cantrell, Joshi, & Washburn, Annals of Dyslexia, 62, 153–171, 2012a). Results showed while native English teachers performed significantly better than non-native English teachers, total percentage correct scores were below 50%, except for phonological awareness tasks. All teachers scored higher in items requiring syllable as opposed to phoneme manipulation. Only teacher type predicted teachers’ performance on the survey. The need for quality instruction, particularly for children at-risk for dyslexia or those struggling at the beginning stages of literacy acquisition, is addressed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams, M. (1990). Beginning to read: thinking and learning about print. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Adger, C. T., Snow, C. E., & Christian, D. (Eds.). (2018). What teachers need to know about language. Bristol, England: Multilingual Matters.
Binks-Cantrell, E., Joshi, R. M., & Washburn, E. K. (2012a). Validation of an instrument for assessing teacher knowledge of basic language constructs of literacy. Annals of Dyslexia, 62, 153–171. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-012-0070-8.
Binks-Cantrell, E., Washburn, E., Joshi, R. M., & Hougen, M. (2012b). Peter effect in the preparation of reading teachers. Scientific Studies of Reading, 16, 526–536. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888438.2011.601434.
Bos, C., Mather, N., Dickson, S., Podhajski, B., & Chard, D. (2001). Perceptions and knowledge of preservice and inservice educators about early reading instruction. Annals of Dyslexia, 51, 97–120. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-001-0007-0.
Carlisle, J. F., Correnti, R., Phelps, G., & Zeng, J. (2009). Exploration of the contribution of teachers’ knowledge about reading to their students’ improvement in reading. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 22, 459–486. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-009-9165-y.
Cheesman, E., Mcguire, J., Shankweiler, D., & Coyne, M. (2009). First-year teacher knowledge of phonemic awareness and its instruction. Teacher Education and Special Education: The Journal of The Teacher Education Division of The Council for Exceptional Children, 32, 270–289. https://doi.org/10.1177/0888406409339685.
Cunningham, A., Perry, K., Stanovich, K., & Stanovich, P. (2004). Disciplinary knowledge of K-3 teachers and their knowledge calibration in the domain of early literacy. Annals of Dyslexia, 54, 139–167. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-004-0007-y.
Darling-Hammond, L., & Baratz-Snowden, J. (Eds.). (2007). A good teacher in every classroom: Preparing the highly qualified teachers our children deserve. Educational Horizons, 85(2), 111–132.
EACEA/Eurydice. (2012). Key data on teaching languages at school in Europe 2012. The Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA P9 Eurydice and Policy Support). Brussels: EACEA P9 Eurydice. https://doi.org/10.2797/83967.
Fielding-Barnsley, R. (2010). Australian pre-service teachers’ knowledge of phonemic awareness and phonics in the process of learning to read. Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties, 15, 99–110. https://doi.org/10.1080/19404150903524606.
Fuchs, S., Kahn-Horwitz, J., & Katzir, T. (2019). Theory and reported practice in EFL literacy instruction: EFL teachers’ perceptions about classroom practices. Annals of Dyslexia, 69(1), 114–135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-018-00172-4.
Goldfus, C. (2012). Knowledge foundations for beginning reading teachers in EFL. Annals of Dyslexia, 62(3), 204–221. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-012-0073-5.
IDA (2019). Educator initiatives training brief: structure literacy in introductory guide, International Dyslexia Association, retrieved from https://app.box.com/s/mvuvhel6qaj8tghvu1nl75i0ndnlp0yz
IRA. (2017). Standards for the preparation of literacy professionals 2017. International Reading Association. retrieved from https://literacyworldwide.org/get-resources/standards/standards-for-readingprofessionals.
Joshi, R. M., Binks, E., Hougen, M., Dahlgren, M., Ocker-Dean, E., & Smith, D. (2009). Why elementary teachers might be inadequately prepared to teach reading. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 42, 392–402. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219409338736.
Kahn-Horwitz, J. (2015). “Organizing the mess in my mind”: EFL teachers’ perceptions and knowledge of English orthography. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 28(5), 611–631. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-015-9541-8.
Kahn-Horwitz, J. (2016). Providing English foreign language teachers with content knowledge to facilitate decoding and spelling acquisition: a longitudinal perspective. Annals of Dyslexia, 66(1), 147–170. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-015-0120-0.
Lane, H. B., Hudson, R. F., Leite, W. L., Kosanovich, M. L., Strout, M. T., Fenty, N. S., & Wright, T. L. (2009). Teacher knowledge about reading fluency and indicators of students’ fluency growth in reading first schools. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 25, 57–86. https://doi.org/10.1080/10573560802491232.
Mather, N., Bos, C., & Babur, N. (2001). Perceptions and knowledge of preservice and inservice teachers about early literacy instruction. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 4, 471–482. https://doi.org/10.1177/002221940103400508.
McBride, C. (2019). Coping with dyslexia, dysgraphic and ADHD: a global perspective. New York: Routledge.
McCutchen, D., Abbott, R. D., Green, L. B., Beretvas, S. N., Cox, S., Potter, N. S., Quiroga, T., & Gray, A. L. (2002). Beginning literacy: links among teacher knowledge, teacher practice, and student learning. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 35, 69–86. https://doi.org/10.1177/002221940203500106.
McMahan, K.M., Oslund, E. L., &, Odegard, T.N. (2019). , Characterizing the knowledge of educators receiving training in systematic literacy instruction. Annals of Dyslexia, 69 (1): 21–33. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-018-00174-2.
Moats, L. (2009). Still wanted teachers with knowledge of language. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 42, 387–391. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219409338735.
Moats, L. C. (1994). The missing foundation in teacher education: knowledge of the structure of spoken and written language. Annals of Dyslexia, 44, 81–102. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02648156.
Moats, L. C. (2014). What teachers don’t know and why they aren’t learning it: addressing the need for content and pedagogy in teacher education. Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties. https://doi.org/10.1080/19404158.2014.941093.
Morais, J. (2003). Levels of phonological representation in skilled reading and in learning to read. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 16(1/2), 123–151. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021702307703.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel: teaching children to read-an evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction. Bethesda: NICHD, National Institutes of Health.
National Reading Panel. (2000). Teaching children to read: an evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction (Vol. 23). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Retrieved from http://www.nationalreadingpanel.org.
Piasta, S. B., Connor, C. M., Fishman, B. J., & Morrison, F. J. (2009). Teachers’ knowledge of literacy concepts, classroom practices, and student reading growth. Scientific Studies of Reading, 13, 224–248. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888430902851364.
Purvis, C. J., McNeill, B. C., & Everatt, J. (2016). Enhancing the metalinguistic abilities of pre-service teachers via coursework targeting language structure knowledge. Annals of Dyslexia, 66(1), 55–70. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-015-0108-9.
Snow, C. E., Griffin, P., & Burns, M. S. (Eds.). (2005). Knowledge to support the teaching of reading: preparing teachers for a changing world. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Spear-Swerling, L., & Brucker, P. (2003). Teachers’ acquisition of knowledge about English word structure. Annals of Dyslexia, 53, 72–103. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-003-0005-5.
Spear-Swerling, L., Brucker, P. O., & Alfano, M. P. (2006). Teachers’ literacy-related knowledge and self-perceptions in relation to preparation and experience. Annals of Dyslexia, 55(2), 266–296. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-005-0014-7.
Spear-Swerling, L., & Sternberg, R. J. (2001). What science offers teachers of reading. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 16, 51–57. https://doi.org/10.1111/0938-8982.00006.
Wagner, R. K., & Torgesen, J. K. (1987). The nature of phonological processing and its causal role in the acquisition of reading skills. Psychological Bulletin, 101, 192–212. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.101.2.192.
Washburn, E., Binks-Cantrell, E., Joshi, M., Martin-Chang, S., & Arrow, A. (2016). Preservice teachers’ knowledge of basic language constructs in Canada, England, New Zealand, and the USA. Annals of Dyslexia, 66, 7–26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-015-0115-x.
Washburn, E., Joshi, R. M., & Binks-Cantrell, E. (2011). Teacher knowledge of basic language concepts and dyslexia. Dyslexia, 17, 165–183. https://doi.org/10.1002/dys.426.
Wei, R., & Su, J. (2012). The statistics of English in China: an analysis of the best available data from government sources. English Today, 28(3), 10–14. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266078412000235.
Yeung, S., & Ganotice, F. (2014). The role of phonological awareness in biliteracy acquisition among Hong Kong Chinese kindergarteners who learn English-as-a-second language (ESL). The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 23(3), 333–343. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-013-0108-7.
Zhao, J., Joshi, R., Dixon, L., Huang, L., Joshi, R. M., & Dixon, L. Q. (2016). Chinese EFL teachers’ knowledge of basic language constructs and their self-perceived teaching abilities. Annals of Dyslexia, 66(1), 127–146. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-015-0110-2.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wong, R.KS., Russak, S. Do kindergarten teachers possess adequate knowledge of basic language constructs to teach children to read English as a foreign language?. Ann. of Dyslexia 70, 79–93 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-020-00197-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-020-00197-8