Home Chinese and Dyslexia Why Does Your Child Understand Spoken Chinese but Struggles to Read It 为什么孩子听得懂，却读不懂？

Chinese and Dyslexia

Why Does Your Child Understand Spoken Chinese but Struggles to Read It 为什么孩子听得懂，却读不懂？

Written by Chan Chia Chee,
Chinese Educational Therapist

许多家长在陪伴孩子学习华文时，都会遇到类似的情况：

孩子听家长或老师朗读时，似乎能够理解内容，也能回答问题；可是轮到自己阅读时，却常常读了几句就停下来，甚至不愿意继续。

在教育治疗课堂上，我也常观察到类似的情况：有些学生听完故事后能够回答问题，自己阅读时却会说：“老师，我不会。”这也让家长担心：孩子是不是没有认真读，还是理解能力不好？

其实，对于一些读写障碍或华文学习有困难的孩子来说，问题可能并不在于听不懂故事，而是卡在了认字这一关。

“认得字”和“看得懂”是两回事

阅读包含两个重要的部分。

第一个是解码（Decoding），也就是把文字认出来、读出来。

第二个是理解（Comprehension），也就是明白文章在说什么。

一般孩子看到一句话，很快就能认出大部分的字，因此可以把更多注意力放在理解内容上。

可是，对一些读写障碍或华文阅读有困难的学生来说，认字本身已经非常吃力。他们可能要一个字、一个字慢慢认，遇到不熟悉的词语还要停下来猜。有时好不容易读到句尾，已经忘记前面读了什么。

有些学生也会说：

“老师，我读完了，可是我不知道它在讲什么。”

这并不是因为他们没有投入专注力，而是大部分的注意力都用来认字了。

为什么听别人朗读时，孩子比较容易理解？

家长或老师朗读时，等于暂时帮助孩子跨过认字这道障碍。孩子不必把所有力气都用在辨认文字上，才有余力听故事、想象情节和理解内容。

不过，老师朗读后，学生也未必能马上独立回答问题。对于一些学生来说，他们或许还需要图片或问题提示，才能逐步建立对故事内容的理解。

图片可以帮助学生看见人物、地点和事情的经过，更容易掌握故事的大意。老师的提问，则帮助他们知道应该注意哪些内容。

这至少让我们看见：孩子并不是完全没有理解能力。只是自己阅读时，认字的困难影响了他们的表现。

当然，每个孩子的情况都不一样。除了认字，词汇量、语言理解、注意力和对故事背景的认识，也会影响阅读表现。

在 DAS 华文课程中，我们采用显性教学与多感官策略，引导学生逐步建立篇章理解力：

策略一：默读预读与猜测（Predicting）

开始一篇新的阅读理解练习时，我们通常会先让学生自己默读，再猜一猜故事大意。

即使他们不能认出所有的字，也可以先看看图片、找出认识的词语，然后轮流说说：“我觉得这个故事可能在讲……”

有时他们猜得不完全正确，也没有关系。这个过程让他们愿意先接触文章，而不是一看到不认识的字就马上说：“我不会。”

接着，我们会朗读文章。学生一边听，一边看看自己刚才猜对了多少。

策略二：结合“四何提问法”与“故事山”（Story Mountain）

朗读后，我们一起找出故事中的“四何”：

  • 何人：故事里有谁？
  • 何时：事情什么时候发生？
  • 何地：事情在哪里发生？
  • 何事：发生了什么事？

有时我们也会画出简单的故事山，把故事的开头、发展、高潮和结尾整理出来。学生看见故事的结构后，原本很长、很乱的一篇文章，就会变得比较清楚。

策略三：提取题目中的关键词

回答问题时，我们也会让他们知道，要先圈出提问词，再从文章中寻找相关的关键词。对于书写或认字极其吃力的学生，初期可适当使用选择题形式，降低书写与表达负担，让学生专注于文章理解本身。

选择题不是为了让题目变得太简单，而是暂时减少书写和组织答案的负担，让学生先把注意力放在理解文章上。

以上三种策略，都是为了帮助学生逐步建立对文章的理解。在实际课堂中，除了提问、故事结构和关键词，图片也是一种常用的辅助工具。

图片是帮助，不是答案

图片对学生很有帮助，但也要留意：学生是真的理解文字，还是只根据图片猜答案。

因此，图片可以先帮助学生进入故事，之后还是要带他们回到文章，找出支持答案的词语或句子。

如果拿掉图片，学生的表现明显下降，就说明图片确实在帮助他们建立故事情境。接下来要做的，不是马上把图片全部拿走，而是逐步减少提示，让他们慢慢学会从文字中寻找线索。

当孩子在阅读中反复遇到困难时，他们很容易把阅读和失败联系在一起，也可能还没开始就先说：“我不会。”

“我不会”不一定是懒惰

有些孩子打开阅读理解，只读了两三句就说：

“我不会。”

“太难了。”

“我不要做了。”

很多时候，大人会以为孩子不愿意尝试。

可是，想象一下，如果一行十个字里面，只认识三四个，阅读会是一件多么辛苦的事。

一个字不会，停下来。下一个词语不认识，又停下来。句子读得断断续续，意思自然连不起来。

经历多次失败后，有些孩子还没开始读，就已经觉得自己一定不会。我们看到的是他放弃得很快；他感受到的，却可能是：“我已经试过很多次了，还是看不懂。”

家长在家可以怎样陪读？

  1. 采用“一人一句”轮读法

在家陪孩子阅读时，建议采用“一人一句”的方式，而不是由家长从头读到尾，也不是把整篇文章都交给孩子自己读。

一人一句比较有互动性，也不会让孩子觉得整篇文章都是自己的负担。

  1. 允许“合理跳读与预测”

如果遇到不会读的字，可以先跳过去，继续看看后面的内容；也可以根据图片猜一猜，或者让孩子用自己的话编一编：“你觉得接下来会发生什么？”

猜错了也不要紧。重点是让孩子愿意继续接触故事、表达想法，而不是每遇到一个不会的字，阅读就停下来。

  1. 开展对话式互动

家长也可以和孩子聊聊：

“故事里有谁？”

“发生了什么事？”

“如果是你，你会怎么做？”

这些问题不一定要像考试，也不需要每次都要求孩子写答案。有时只是一起说一说，已经是在增加孩子使用华文的机会。

  1. 明确不同阅读阶段的核心目标

如果这一次的目的是了解孩子能不能听懂故事，家长可以多读一些，再通过提问了解他的想法。

如果目的是练习认字，就保留一小部分比较短、比较熟悉的句子，让孩子自己读。

两个目标不同，给予的帮助也会不同。

家庭陪读最重要的，不只是完成一篇阅读理解，而是陪伴孩子建立阅读习惯，增加接触华文的机会。

家里平时多说一点华文、一起读一点故事、聊一聊图片和情节，这些都是语言输入。孩子接触得越多，以后看到相关的词语和句子时，就越容易理解。

这些课堂策略和家庭陪读方法，看似不同，目标其实一致：根据孩子目前的能力给予适当支持，再逐步减少提示，让他们慢慢走向独立阅读。

搭建顺畅桥梁，陪孩子重建阅读自信

从“老师读”、“共同读”再到“独立读”，需要经历循序渐进的过程。

当孩子听了故事后，在图片和提示的帮助下能够回答，我们至少可以看见：他具备一定的语言理解和思考能力。

接下来要做的，不是急着拿走所有帮助，而是一步一步搭桥，让他从“听得懂”，慢慢走向“自己也能读懂”。

想为孩子寻找更适合他们学习方式的华文支持？DAS华文课程采用多感官教学方式，帮助有读写困难的孩子逐步提升华文读写能力，并建立学习华文的信心。

Many parents encounter a similar situation when helping their children learn Chinese.

When a parent or teacher reads aloud, their child seems to understand the content and can answer questions. Yet when it is their turn to read independently, they often stop after a few sentences or become reluctant to continue.

I often observe this in educational therapy sessions too. Some students can answer questions after listening to a story, but when asked to read it themselves, they say, “Teacher, I can’t do it.” This leaves parents wondering whether their child is reading carefully enough or has difficulty understanding.

For some children with dyslexia or difficulties learning Chinese, however, the problem may not be understanding the story. They may be getting stuck at recognising the characters.

Recognising Chinese characters and understanding a text are different skills

Reading involves two important components.

The first is decoding, which means recognising written characters and reading them aloud.

The second is comprehension, which means understanding what a text is saying.

Children who recognise most of the characters in a sentence quickly can devote more attention to understanding its meaning.

For some students with dyslexia or difficulties reading Chinese, however, recognising characters already takes considerable effort. They may have to work through the text slowly, one character at a time, stopping to guess unfamiliar words. Sometimes, by the time they finally reach the end of a sentence, they have forgotten what they read at the beginning.

Some students also say:

“Teacher, I’ve finished reading, but I don’t know what it’s about.”

This does not mean they were not paying attention. Rather, most of their attention was spent on recognising the characters.

Why is it easier for children to understand when someone reads aloud?

When a parent or teacher reads aloud, they temporarily help the child get past the barrier of character recognition. The child no longer has to put all their effort into identifying the written characters, leaving them more capacity to listen to the story, imagine what happens and understand its meaning.

However, students may not be able to answer questions independently straight away, even after a teacher has read the text aloud. Some may still need pictures or guiding questions to gradually build their understanding of the story.

Pictures help students visualise the characters, setting and sequence of events, making it easier to grasp the main idea. The teacher’s questions help them identify which details to pay attention to.

This shows us, at the very least, that these children do have some ability to understand. When reading independently, however, difficulties recognising characters affect their performance.

Of course, every child is different. Besides character recognition, vocabulary, language comprehension, attention and familiarity with the story’s background can also affect reading.

How the DAS Chinese Programme builds reading comprehension

In the Chinese Programme at the Dyslexia Association of Singapore (DAS), we use explicit teaching and multisensory strategies to help students gradually develop their understanding of texts.

1. Previewing through silent reading and making predictions

When starting a new reading comprehension exercise, we usually ask students to read silently first and predict what the story might be about.

Even if they cannot recognise every character, they can begin by looking at the pictures and identifying familiar words. They then take turns sharing, “I think this story might be about…”

It is fine if their predictions are not entirely correct. This process encourages them to engage with the text, rather than immediately saying, “I can’t do it,” when they see unfamiliar characters.

We then read the passage aloud. As students listen, they check how closely their predictions match the story.

2. Using the four Ws and a story mountain

After reading aloud, we identify the story’s “four Ws” together:

  • Who is in the story?

  • When does it take place?

  • Where does it happen?

  • What happens?

Sometimes, we also draw a simple story mountain to organise the beginning, build-up, climax and ending. Once students can see the story’s structure, a passage that initially seemed long and confusing becomes easier to follow.

3. Identifying keywords in questions

When answering questions, we teach students to circle the question words first, then look for relevant keywords in the passage. For students who find writing or character recognition particularly difficult, multiple-choice questions can be used where appropriate in the early stages. This reduces the demands of writing and expressing an answer, allowing students to focus on understanding the text itself.

The purpose of multiple-choice questions is not to make the task too easy. It is to temporarily reduce the effort needed to write and organise an answer, so students can focus first on comprehension.

All three strategies help students gradually build their understanding of a text. Alongside questions, story structure and keywords, pictures are another tool we commonly use in the classroom.

Pictures help children understand but do not replace the text

Pictures can be very helpful, but we also need to consider whether students truly understand the words or are simply guessing answers from the pictures.

Pictures can help students engage with a story initially. After that, we still need to guide them back to the text to find words or sentences that support their answers.

If students perform noticeably less well when the pictures are removed, this indicates that the pictures are helping them establish the story’s context. The next step is not to remove all the pictures immediately, but to gradually reduce the prompts so students learn to find clues in the text.

When children repeatedly encounter difficulties with reading, they can easily begin to associate it with failure. They may say, “I can’t do it,” before they have even started.

Saying “I can’t do it” does not necessarily mean a child is being lazy

Some children open a reading comprehension exercise, read two or three sentences and say:

“I can’t do it.”

“It’s too difficult.”

“I don’t want to do this anymore.”

Adults often interpret this as an unwillingness to try.

But imagine how difficult reading would be if you recognised only three or four characters in a line of ten.

An unfamiliar character makes you stop. Another unfamiliar word makes you stop again. With the sentence broken up by constant pauses, it naturally becomes difficult to piece together the meaning.

After repeated experiences of failure, some children become convinced that they will not be able to read a passage before they even begin. We see a child who gives up quickly. What the child may be feeling, however, is, “I’ve tried so many times, and I still can’t understand it.”

How can parents read with their children at home?

1. Take turns reading one sentence each

When reading with your child at home, try taking turns to read one sentence each, rather than reading the entire passage aloud yourself or expecting your child to read it all independently.

Taking turns makes reading more interactive and helps your child feel that the whole passage is not theirs to tackle alone.

2. Allow some skipping and predicting

If your child encounters a character they cannot read, they can skip it for the moment and continue with what comes next. They can also use the pictures to make a prediction, or imagine what might happen next in their own words. You might ask, “What do you think will happen next?”

It is fine if their prediction is wrong. The aim is to keep them engaged with the story and willing to share their ideas, rather than stopping every time they encounter an unfamiliar character.

3. Make reading a conversation

You can also talk with your child about the story:

“Who is in the story?”

“What happened?”

“What would you do if it were you?”

These questions do not have to feel like a test, and your child does not need to write down an answer every time. Sometimes, simply talking together is already giving them more opportunities to use Chinese.

4. Be clear about the goal of each reading activity

If the aim is to find out whether your child understands a story when listening, you can read more of it aloud and ask questions to explore their understanding.

If the aim is to practise recognising characters, choose a short section with relatively brief, familiar sentences for your child to read independently.

The goals are different, so the help you provide will differ too.

Reading together at home is about more than completing a comprehension exercise. It is also about helping your child develop a reading habit and creating more opportunities to engage with Chinese.

Speaking a little more Chinese at home, reading stories together and discussing pictures and story events all provide language input. The more exposure children have, the easier it becomes for them to understand related words and sentences when they encounter them later.

Although these classroom strategies and home reading approaches may look different, they share the same goal. We provide support that matches the child’s current abilities, then gradually reduce the prompts as they move towards independent reading.

Building a bridge to help children regain confidence in reading

Moving from having a teacher read aloud, to reading together, to reading independently is a gradual process.

When a child can answer questions after listening to a story, with help from pictures and prompts, we can at least see that they have some capacity for language comprehension and thinking.

The next step is not to rush to remove all assistance. It is to build a bridge, step by step, helping the child move from “I understand when someone reads to me” towards “I can read and understand it myself.”

Looking for Chinese language support that better suits the way your child learns? The DAS Chinese Programme uses multisensory teaching approaches to help children with literacy difficulties strengthen their Chinese reading and writing skills while building confidence in learning the language.

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