Prediction of English Word skills from oral proficiency and phonological awareness among EFL Children: the Impact of Language Learning Environment

This study investigated the contribution of English oral proficiency (OP) and phonological awareness (PA) in predicting subsequent English word decoding and word meaning access in young children who learn English as a foreign language (EFL) in two environments, English immersion (EI) and non-immersion (NIMM) programs. The results showed that word decoding and meaning access were both predicted by OP and PA in the EI children. For NIMM children, OP and PA significantly predicted word decoding but not word meaning access. Finally, we proposed that language learning environment has an impact on the development of word recognition in young EFL learners.