Assessing the Impact of the Syllabary Approach on German Literacy Gains for Tigrinya Non-Roman Alphabet Literate Learners

Abstract

This article presents the preliminary results of a research project on the acquisition of literacy by non-Roman alphabet literate refugees in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. It addresses the written production (dictation) of 39 Eritrean participants whose mother tongue is Tigrinya. The results indicate that the syllabary approach could have a positive influence on learning success during literacy acquisition and for the standardized A1-level test but not on subsequent language lessons at A1 level. The findings also demonstrate a highly significant negative influence on the variable of the institution, suggesting that this variable should receive more attention in studies.