Developing Accessible Learning Tools in Hong Kong for Dyslexia in Chinese
Dr Cecilia CHAN Yuet-hung’s new platform is a rare and valuable tool for helping children who face difficulties reading Chinese characters
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When the Department of Health’s Child Assessment Service announced in 2018 that up to 12.6 per cent of children in Hong Kong suffer from dyslexia, it came as no surprise to Dr Cecilia Chan Yuet-hung, a linguistics expert who last year developed a multimedia platform to help dyslexic junior primary school students in the city.
Chan is Associate Professor and Associate Head at CityU’s Department of Linguistics and Translation. Her credentials include a doctorate from the University of Essex, serving as a specialist for the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications, and more than 30 years teaching experience at CityU.
Previous research on Chinese dyslexia found that various types of deficits are associated with this specific language disorder. The ability to recognise and decode Chinese characters is crucial for reading in Chinese. Dyslexia in Chinese characters brings a new dimension to the problem as opposed to foreign languages that use an alphabet, for example.
Combatting a Lack of Dyslexic Resources
“For English, it is the order of the letter or the shape of the letter that may make it hard for those suffering from dyslexia,” explains Chan. “The difficulty with Chinese characters is in recognition and decoding. A Chinese character consists of a form or shape, meaning, and pronunciation. So, all these elements are very important for recognising a Chinese character.”