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 pretest –
posttest – 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.
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).
Cite: Man Ching Law and Khe Foon Hew, "Effect of Computer-Assisted Intervention on Early Phonological Processing Skills for Kindergarten Children in Hong Kong," International Journal of Information and Education Technology vol. 7, no. 12, pp. 876-883, 2017.