Copying, Reading, and Writing of Kana and Simple Forms by Japanese Preschoolers

Summmy.AZ Japanese preschoolers were administered tasks of copying, reading, and writing of Japanese kana (cursive syllabic letters) and simple forms. Multiple regression analyses were used to determine whether two kanacopying measures, speed and span, make significant contributions to children's reading and writing achievement after a conventional form-qualiry measure had been conuolled. Analysis showed that speed or span accounts uniquely for a significant and sizable amount of the variance of reading and writing, suggesting that kana-copying is a good predictor of reading and writing for Japanese preschoolers. Substantial evidence supports the view that visual-motor skill, as measured by standardized tests like the Bender-Gestalt and Primary Visual Motor Test, is a good predictor of reading achievement of young children (Koppitz, 1964; Keogh & Smith, 1967; Haworch, 1970). However, letter-copying, which also involves a visual-motor skill, does not appear to be associated with reading. De Hirsch, Jansky, and Langford ( 1966), for example, showed that preschool letter-copying did not predict reading scores at the end of the second grade although it did predict writing and spelling scores. More recently, Jorm, Share, McLean, and Matthews ( 1986), using a letter-copying task and controlling intelligence, found no difference in retarded 5-yr.-olds on reading as compared to their normal peers. One reason for these negative findings about reading may be that the letter-copying test, administered individually or in groups, has focused mainly on the end product, i.e., the form quality of the copy and so may involve only one aspect of the visual-motor skill. There may exist more revealing measures of letter-copying for predicting reading sl