Effect of Computer-Assisted Intervention on Early Phonological Processing Skills for Kindergarten Children in Hong Kong

Abstract

Abstract-The present study investigates the effect of computer-assisted intervention targeting phonological processing skills in Hong Kong kindergarteners who learn English as a second language (ESL). Thirty children received 18 sessions of 45 minutes phonological processing skills intervention over nine weeks. Children in the experimental group (n = 15) received computer-assisted intervention, while the control group (n = 15) received intervention by traditional (pencil-and-paper) teaching approach. Following a pretestposttest -retention test design, participants were assessed for their phonological processing skills changes by alliteration test, blending test, phoneme segmentation test and rhyme test before the intervention, after the intervention and 10 weeks after the intervention. The results indicated that children in the experimental group outperformed than those in the control group in all subtests during the posttest. A retention test which held 10 weeks after the intervention revealed that significant gains in the experimental group were maintained in the alliteration test and rhyme test.Index Terms-Computer-assisted intervention, CAI, early reading development, phonological processing skills. I. INTRODUCTIONOver the past few decades, technology trends and the use of information technology (IT) to enhance teaching and learning has influenced the pedagogy in the education settings. Preliminary studies on IT in education mainly focused on the computer-assisted interventions (CAI) that were designed for medical use in helping children with learning difficulties. Computer-based tools were developed and used for training young children with autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), hearing problems or reading disabilities [1]- [3]. The positive effects of CAI on children with special educational needs has given rise to studies that attempted to integrate CAI into the curriculum across different subjects such as English, mathematics, physics and music [4]- [6]. Although considerable attention has been paid in the studies related to the use of IT at schools, little research has been done on the effectiveness of using CAI for language acquisition [7], [8].The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of computer-assisted intervention targeting phonological processing skills in Hong Kong kindergarteners who learn Manuscript received October 25, 2016; revised February 15, 2017. M. C. Law is with the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong (e-mail: pixytess@hku.hk).K. F. Hew is with the Faculty of Education, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong (e-mail:kfhew@hku.hk).English as a second language (ESL). While previous clinical studies supported that CAI may improve phonological processing skills of young children with special educational needs, the present study aims to extend current literature by investigating the usefulness of CAI on children without learning difficulties. It is important to note that most of the existing studies are conducted in Western countries such as UK, America, Net...

Computer-Assisted Cognitive Re-Training as An Intervention for Children with Specific Learning Disability: A Review

“…RTE can only be made a success if India steps forward towards inclusive education and to attain that goal computer-assisted learning intervention can prove to be an important tool in the armory of educators. Lastly, if the effectiveness is proved for such computer-assisted cognitive interventions in enhancing the learning skills of children, then the learning software can also be used as a study aid not only for children with a learning disability but for the improved performance of normal school-going children too (Law, 2017).…”

“…Another important research was done by (Law, 2017) to evaluate the effectiveness of computer-assisted intervention targeting phonological processing skills for normal kindergarten children in Hong Kong who learn English as a second language. Children in the experimental group and control group were taught with computer-assisted and penciland-paper teaching approaches, respectively.…”

Multisensory Learning Approach: Impacts on Phonological Awareness among Young ESL Learners in a Rural Setting

“…According to Jamaluddin et al [20], Jolly Phonics can effectively enhance the phoneme-segmentation ability of learners along with their phonographic and other PA skills, helping learners from rural areas develop their reading skills. Law and Hew [28] compared the results between computer-based Jolly Phonics and conventionally delivered contents of Jolly Phonics. They found that computer-based treatments, such as Computer Assisted Instructions, have statistically positive and significant effects on the alliteration, phoneme segmentation, and rhyming skills of young ESL learners, whereas blending skills have no significant effects.…”