Predicting
Pronunciation Accuracy in a Second Language: The Role of Phonological
Awareness
H. Cheung |
A
positive relationship between English phoneme deletion skill, a measure
of the theoretical construct phonological awareness, and pronunciation
accuracy, the ability to read aloud correctly familiar English words,
was found in two groups of Hong Kong high school students (7th and
10th graders) who learned English as a second language. English sight
vocabulary was also found to be predictive of pronunciation accuracy
for the 10th but not for the 7th graders. The present findings are
understood in light of the well-documented relationship between phonological
awareness and reading accuracy in the reading literature (e. g.,
Leather & Henry, 1994; Gathercole, Willis & Baddeley, 1991).
Their implications for second language education are also discussed.
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