Literacy Achievement Levels Among Egyptian Primary School Efl Learners In An International School
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Date
2013-05
Authors
Kamal Shaheen, Rania
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Abstract
The main aim of the present study was to investigate the extent to which Egyptian
primary school learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) at an international
school in Alexandria, Egypt, can succeed in acquiring literacy in English. First, the
level of literacy achievement was determined. Second, it was compared to that of
same-age native speakers of English at state schools in the U.K. The instrument
chosen to do this was the package of tests developed by the Qualifications and
Curriculum Authority of the U.K. Department of Education. The reason this package
of tests was chosen is that not only does it offer a means of testing the children's level
of achievement in literacy but that it also offers a means of comparing such a level to
the national average in the U.K. The theoretical framework guiding this study was
derived from work on the role of phoneme-grapheme correspondence rules (Lonzon,
2007), phonological awareness (Whitehurst and Lonigan, 1998), meaning (Ehri,
1992) and knowledge of oral language (Palinscar and Duke, 2004). Research by
Verhoeven and Vermeer (2006) and Gundersen (2007) provided the theoretical
framework for the acquisition of literacy in a language other than the learner's primary
language. The sample of the study comprised 18 Arabic-speaking Egyptian children
between the ages of 7 and 8 from upper-income families in the city of Alexandria that
have been in the same class ever since they started school. The children's level in
reading, writing and spelling was tested in May 2011 as part of their normal school
exams at the end of year two.
Description
Keywords
Literacy Achievement , Efl Learners