| Abstract: | The multidimensionality of Chinese morphological awareness (MA) and orthographic awareness (OA) has not been extensively explored. Also, the overall correlation between phonological awareness (PA), MA, and OA and reading Chinese as a second language (CSL), specifically character recognition and vocabulary, has not been exhaustively analyzed. Three studies were thus conducted to examine metalinguistic awareness and literacy development in Chinese. In study 1, 204 Chinese children were measured for MA that assessed lexical compounding, homograph, and semantic radical, as well as vocabulary definition. Latent growth modeling showed that all three facets of MA in grade one were significant predictors of initial vocabulary levels, whereas only homograph awareness predicted vocabulary growth. In study 2, the same participants completed tasks of OA, measuring component, positional and functional awareness, and character dictation. Cross-lagged path analysis implied a reciprocal-causal relationship between OA and character writing where orthographic awareness and character writing predicted each other in a cross-lagged manner. The measurement model suggested that positional awareness and component awareness yielded the largest and second largest factor loadings, while functional awareness had the smallest influence across time. Study 3 synthesized 42 studies, yielding 218 effect sizes, with 50 independent samples representing 3,630 CSL learners from kindergarten to university. Multivariate meta-analysis showed that MA and OA played more critical roles in CSL reading. In addition, age might impact the role of PA and MA in character recognition, while script and dialect could moderate the role of OA in character recognition. Study 1 adds to the multidimensionality of Chinese MA and the relative importance of each facet of MA in vocabulary development. Study 2 provides evidence of the reciprocal cross-lagged relationship between OA and character writing. Study 3 points to the importance of MA and OA in CSL reading and identifies factors that might impact the correlations between PA, MA, and OA and CSL reading. These findings extend our understanding of the complexity of Chinese MA and OA and build our knowledge of the mechanism of CSL reading across groups of learners, which will benefit instructional practice for teaching Chinese as a first and second language. The electronic version of this dissertation is accessible from https://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/197935 |
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