Letter recognition and hand-copying skills of children: A comparative study of Dari and English alphabet letters

Year 2023, , 267 - 275, 30.09.2023

Mohammad Kazem Timor Sayeed Naqibullah Orfan

https://doi.org/10.24289/ijsser.1284079

Abstract

The study comparatively examined the difficulty level in recognizing Dari and English alphabet letters and hand-copying skills among children. The study participants were preschool children between four and five years old at the time of the study. The participants were administered a pretest, a class session, and a post-test. The data was analyzed by Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN), descriptive statistics, and a paired samples T-test. The study's findings showed no significant difference in letter recognition between English and Dari letters; however, there was a significant difference in the hand-copying test. Also, the study’s results revealed that the shapes of the letters played an important role in hand-copying the alphabet letters, while it did not impact the letter recognition process.

Keywords

English and Dari alphabet, Letter recognition, Hand-copying, RAN, Preschoolers

References

• Abu-Rabia, S. (1997). Reading in Arabic orthography: The effect of vowels and context on reading accuracy of poor and skilled native Arabic readers. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 9(4), 65–78. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1007962408827
• Afghanistan. (2004). Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Retrieved from http://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/af00000.html
• Arab, S. & Orfan, S. N. (2023). Perceptions of Afghan EFL undergraduate students about exam cheating. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 10(1), 2215564. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2023.2215564
• Aram, D. (2006). Early literacy interventions: The relative roles of storybook reading, alphabetic activities, and their combination. Reading and Writing, 19, 489–515. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-006-9005-2
• Aram, D., & Biron, S. (2004). Joint storybook reading and joint writing interventions among low SES preschoolers: Differential contributions to early literacy. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 19(4), 588–610. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2004.10.003
• Azami, D. (2009, January 12). English takes hold in Afghanistan. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7493285.stm
• Baluch, B. (1996). Word frequency in naming for experienced and previously experienced adult readers of Persian. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 8, 433–441. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00404004
• Baluch, B., & Besner, D. (1991). Visual word recognition: evidence for strategic control of lexical and nonlexical routines in oral reading. Journal of Experimental Psychology; Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 17(4), 644–652. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.17.4.644
• Berninger, V., & Fuller, F. (1992). Gender differences in orthographic, verbal, and compositional fluency: Implications for assessing writing disabilities in primary grade children. Journal of School Psychology, 30(4), 363–382. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-4405(92)90004-o
• Both-de Vries, A. C., & Bus, A. G. (2014). Visual processing of pictures and letters in alphabet books and the implications for letter learning. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 39(2), 156-163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2014.03.005
• Bowers, P. G., Steffy, R., & Tate, E. (1988). Comparison of the effects of IQ control methods on memory and naming speed predictors of reading disability. Reading Research Quarterly, 23(3), 304–319. https://doi.org/10.2307/748044
• Boyle David, A. (2014). Descriptive grammar of Pashto and its dialects. Berlin: Mouton De Gruyter.
• Bradbury, N. A. (2016). Attention span during lectures: 8 seconds, 10 minutes, or more?. Advances in physiology education, 40(4), 509-513. https://doi.org/10.1152/advan.00109.2016
• Central Intelligence Agency. (2019). In the world factbook. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/402.html
• Coyle, D.W. (2014). Placing Wardak among Pashto varieties (Master’s dissertation). University of North Dakota.
• Davis, B. G. (1993). Preparing or revising a course. Tools for teaching.
• Denckla, M. B. (1972). Color-naming defects in dyslexic boys. Cortex, 8(2), 164–176. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0010-9452(72)80016-9
• Di Filippo, G., Brizzolara, D., Chilosi, A., De Luca, M., Judica, A., Pecini, C., et al (2005). Rapid naming, not cancellation speed orarticulation rate, predicts reading in an orthographically regular language (Italian). Child Neuropsychology, 11(4), 349–361. https://doi.org/10.1080/09297040490916947
• Dunn-Rankin, P. (1990). Eye movement research on letters and words. In R. Groner, G. d’Ydewalle, & R. Parham (Eds.), From eye to mind: Information acquisition in perception, search and reading (pp. 155–163). Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier Publishers.
• Evans, M. A., Saint-Aubin, J., & Landry, N. (2009). Letter names and alphabet book reading by senior kindergarteners: An eye movement study. Child Development, 80(6), 1824–1841. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01370.x
• Fiset, D., Blais, C., Arguin, M., Tadros, K., Ethier-Majcher, C., Bub, D. N., et al. (2009). The spatio-temporal dynamics of visual letter recognition. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 26, 23–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/02643290802421160
• Fiset, D., Blais, C., Ethier-Majcher, C., Arguin, M., Bub, D. N., & Gosselin, F. (2008). Features for uppercase and lowercase letter identification. Psychological Science, 19(11), 1161–1168. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02218.x
• Frith, U. (1985). Beneath the surface of developmental dyslexia. In K.E. Patterson, J.C. Marshall, & M. Coltheart (Eds.), Surface dyslexia (pp. 301–330). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
• Georgiou, G. K., Parrila, R., Cui, Y., & Papadopoulos, T. C. (2013). Why is rapid automatized naming related to reading?. Journal of experimental child psychology, 115(1), 218-225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2012.10.015
• Geva, E., & Wade-Woolley, L. (1998). Component processes in becoming English-Hebrew biliterate. In A. Durgunoglu& L.Verhoevn (Eds.), Acquisition of literacy in a multilingual context: A cross cultural perspective (pp. 85–110). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
• Gholamain, M., & Geva, E. (1999). Orthographic and cognitive factors in the concurrent development of basic ReadingSkills in english and persian. Language learning, 49(2), 183-217. https://doi.org/10.1111/0023-8333.00087
• Gibson, E. J., Gibson, J. J., Pick, A. D., & Osser, H. (1962). A developmental study of the discrimination of letter-like forms. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 55(6), 897–906. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0043190
• Hartley, J., & Davies, I. K. (1978). Note‐taking: A critical review. Programmed learning and educational technology, 15(3), 207-224. https://doi.org/10.1080/0033039780150305
• Khanlari, P.N. (1979). The history of the Persian Language (Vol. 1). New Delhi: New Delhi Press.
• Lonigan, C. J., Purpura, D. J., Shauna, B. W., Walker, P. M., & Clancy-Menchetti, J. (2013). Evaluating the components of an emergent literacy intervention for preschool children at risk for reading difficulties. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 114(1), 111–130.
• Longcamp, M., Zerbato-Poudou, M., & Velay, J. (2005). The influence of writing practice on letter recognition in preschool children: A comparison between handwriting and typing. Acta Psychologica, 119(1), 67–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2004.10.019
• Lonigan, C. J., Farver, J. M., Phillips, B. M., & Clancy-Menchetti, J. (2011). Promoting the development of preschool children’s emergent literacy skills: A randomized evaluation of a literacy-focused curriculum and two professional development models. Reading and Writing, 24, 305–337. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-009-9214-6
• McKeachie, W. J., & Brewer, C. L. (2002). The teaching of psychology: Essays in honor of Wilbert J. McKeachie and Charles L. Brewer. Taylor & Francis.
• National Early Literacy Panel. (2008). Developing early literacy: A scientific synthesis of early literacy development and implications for intervention. Jessup, MD: National Institute for Literacy.
• Neumann, M. M., Hood, M., & Ford, R. M. (2013). Using environmental print to enhance emergent literacy and print motivation. Reading and Writing, 26(5), 771–793. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145- 012-9390-7
• Orfan, S. N. (2023). Lecturers’ perceptions of English medium instruction in Afghanistan’s public higher education. Issues in Educational Research, 33(1), 247-265. http://www.iier.org.au/iier33/0rfan.pdf
• Orfan, S. N., & Seraj, M. Y. (2022). English medium instruction in Higher Education of Afghanistan: students’ perspective. Language Learning in Higher Education, 12(1), 291-308. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2022-2041
• Orfan, S. N. (2021). High school English textbooks promote gender inequality in Afghanistan. Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 31(3), 403-418. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2021.1914148
• Orfan, S. N. (2020). Afghan undergraduate students’ attitudes towards learning English. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 7(1), 1723831. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2020.1723831
• Puranik, C. S., Petscher, Y., & Lonigan, C. J. (2013). Dimensionality and reliability of letter writing in 3-to 5-year-old preschool children. Learning and individual differences, 28, 133-141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2012.06.011
• Samuels, S. J. (1970). An Experimental Program for Teaching Letter Names of the Alphabet.
• Snow, C. E., Burns, M. S., & Griffin, P. (Eds.). (1998). Preventing reading difficulties in young children. Washington, DC: National Research Council.
• Spooner, B. (2012). 4. Persian, Farsi, Dari, Tajiki: Language Names and Language Policies. In Language policy and language conflict in Afghanistan and its neighbors (pp. 89-117). Brill.
• Sultany, S. (1977). Teaching Dari to English Speakers. Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1252&context=ipp_collection
• Svinicki, M.D. & McKeachie, W.J. (2011). Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research and Theory for College and University Teachers. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, engage Learning.
• Titrek, O., Kazem, M., Yılan, A., & İlkay, N. (2016). Turkish language proficiency: TÖMER graduates. ICLEL 2015, 8.
• Travers, R. (1967). Perceptual learning. Review of Educational Research, 37(5), 599-617. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.3102/00346543037005599
• Wankat, P. C. (2002). The effective, efficient professor: Teaching, scholarship, and service (pp. 107-112). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
• Wolf,M., Bally, H.,& Morris, R. (1986). Automaticity, retrieval processes and reading: A longitudinal study in average and impaired readers. Child Development, 57(4), 988–1005. https://doi.org/10.2307/1130373
• Zemlock, D., Vinci-Booher, S., & James, K. H. (2018). Visual–motor symbol production facilitates letter recognition in young children. Reading and Writing, 31(6), 1255-1271. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-018-9831-z