COMPARING CORRELATES OF READING COMPREHENSION BETWEEN TRANSPARENT AND OPAQUE ORTHOGRAPHIES: A CASE OF CHINYANJA-ENGLISH BILINGUALS IN ZAMBIA

Bestern Kaani; Malatesha R. Joshi

Bestern Kaani University of Zambia
Malatesha R. Joshi Texas A&M University, USA

Keywords: Decoding, English, Chinyanja, Orthographic Depth, Reading Comprehension

Abstract

Orthographic transparency has a significant impact on reading and its development. Transparent orthographies are more beneficial for the reading process compared to opaque ones. This hypothesis was explored to examine the factors contributing to reading comprehension among bilingual children in Zambia. Two groups of fourth to sixth graders were administered equivalent measures of letter discrimination, phonological awareness, word reading, pseudo-word decoding, and reading comprehension skills in both Chinyanja and English languages. The results indicated that overall, reading proficiency is influenced by the writing system. Children tested in the transparent Chinyanja orthography performed better on all sub-tests compared to their counterparts tested in English, except for phonological awareness. The predictive power of the four variables on comprehension was specific to each orthography, with high correlations within each orthography. Word reading significantly predicted English reading comprehension, while pseudo-word decoding better predicted Chinyanja comprehension. The data from the English language aligned better with the conceptualised model of reading comprehension. This finding supports Share’s (2008) argument that reading models centred on the English language cannot be universally applied across orthographies with varying levels of transparency, as the English writing system is considered an exception.

Author Biographies

Bestern Kaani, University of Zambia

Bestern Kaani is a lecturer in the Department of Educational Psychology, Sociology, and Special Education (EPSSE), School of Education, at the University of Zambia. His teaching portfolio includes courses in educational psychology, social psychology, special education, and introduction to educational research. His research interests revolve around the acquisition of reading and writing skills among multilingual children in Zambia. Dr Kaani has published multiple book chapters and articles in influential journals. His most recent publication is the Handbook of Literacy in Africa (2023), which he co-authored with R. Malatesha Joshi, Catherine A. McBride, and Gad Elbeheri. The publication can be found at: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-26250-0.

Malatesha R. Joshi, Texas A&M University, USA

Malatesha R. Joshi is a University Professor of Literacy Education and Educational Psychology at Texas A&M University. He serves as the Editor of Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal and the monograph series Literacy Studies. Dr Joshi has published over 200 scientific papers in high-impact refereed journals, books, and chapters. His work has been featured in journals such as Reading Research Quarterly, Scientific Studies of Reading, Journal of Educational Psychology, and Review of Educational Research.