Early Identification of Chinese Linguistics Growth Patterns

Abstract

Early identification of different distributions of linguistics growth patterns can benefit in classifying accurate linguistics deficits, proceeding proper linguistics instructions and formatting effective intervention programs. While significant evidence shows (see e.g., Francis, Shaywitz, Stuebing, Shaywitz, & Fletcher, 1996; Boscardin, & Muthen, 1999; Muthen, Khoo, Francis, & Boscardin, 1998) that early identification of different English learning growth patterns can be feasible, fewer peer examples were found in research of Chinese learning patterns. In this paper, a longitudinal study was designed and carried out to demonstrate the proposed procedure for early identification of Chinese linguistic abilities growth patterns. Specifically, the sequential relationship between various Chinese linguistic abilities, i.e., phonemic/tonic awareness, visual skills and word recognition abilities can be modeled by using new standardized assessment battery and proposed statistical methodology. Not only investigating relationship between phonemic awareness and word recognition that were suggested as important factors for linguistics growth by literature (MacDonald, & Cornwall, 1995; Wagner, Torgesen, & Rashotte, 1994), this project is also studying specific factors, e.g., tonic awareness and visual skills, that are particularly crucial to Chinese linguistics growth. The new standardized Chinese linguistic assessment battery was used longitudinally by a local sample in which about 300 Grade 1 elementary pupils were tested to verify satisfying psychometric properties of the battery. Using new statistical analysis techniques, i.e., growth mixture modeling and latent transition analyses (LTA), we conclude that in the early stages of Chinese linguistics learning, different growth patterns between subjects can be identified successfully. Moreover, the sequential relationship between Chinese linguistic abilities, i.e., phonemic/tonic awareness, visual skills and word recognition abilities is analyzed and discussed in this paper.