The road to reading for South African learners: The role of orthographic depth Maike Malda a, ⁎ ,1 , Carisma Nel a , Fons J.R. van de Vijver b,c,d a School for Curriculum-Based Studies, Faculty of Education Sciences, North-West University, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom, 2520, South Africa b Department of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Tilburg University, PO Box 90153, 5000 LE Tilburg, The Netherlands c North-West University, South Africa d University of Queensland, Australia abstract article info Article history: Received 20 February 2013 Received in revised form 2 October 2013 Accepted 16 November 2013 Keywords: Reading Memory Orthographic depth Child South Africa The study examined profiles of reading skills and cognitive skills for South African children from schools that dif- fered in opacity of medium of instruction. The sample included 122 third graders instructed in Afrikaans (trans- parent language), 109 in Setswana (transparent), and 127 in English (opaque). The link between cognitive skills (short-term memory and working memory) and reading comprehension was expected to be mediated by pho- nological awareness, word fluency, text fluency, and vocabulary. Multigroup invariance analyses revealed differ- ences in strength of relations between cognitive skills and reading skills across mediums of instruction. For English, phonological awareness played a smaller and vocabulary a larger role compared to Afrikaans and Setswana, largely in line with theories on orthographic depth and reading; furthermore, predictors of reading comprehension showed weaker interrelations in Afrikaans and Setswana. Our study stresses the need to align reading instruction with orthography. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Requirements for becoming a skilled reader may depend on orthog- raphy (Aro & Wimmer, 2003; Georgiou, Torppa, Manolitsis, Lyytinen, & Parrila, 2012; Ziegler et al., 2010). We focus on profiling reading skills as it is an important prerequisite for appropriate reading instruction and improvement. In our study context, profiling refers to the combination of information from assessments of several reading components to cre- ate an overview of learners' strengths and needs (Chall, 1994; McShane, 2005). Knowledge of profiles is particularly relevant in a multilingual setting like South Africa where languages with both shallow and deep orthographies are used. By studying reading profiles for Grade 3 learners from South African schools with different opacities in medium of instruction (i.e., Afrikaans, English, and Setswana), we address the re- lations between orthographic depth, various reading skills and cognitive skills. 1.1. Reading literacy in South Africa The present study also has an important applied component. The current South African school context poses a serious challenge for many learners. Low reading literacy levels are found across all language groups and across all phases of the educational system, from the foun- dation phase up to university level (Nel, Dreyer, & Kopper, 2004; Republic of South Africa, Department of Basic Education, 2002, 2010a, 2010b; Republic of South Africa, Department of Education, 2008). South African learners perform poorly in international comparisons (Howie, Van Staden, Tshele, Dowse, & Zimmerman, 2012; Moloi & Chetty, 2010; Mullis, Martin, Kennedy, & Foy, 2007). There are a number of factors that contribute to a suboptimal learning environment for many South African children. Eleven official languages combined with an educational system that for many schools requires only English- medium instruction from Grade 4 regardless of a child's mother tongue, form a possible threat to scholastic achievement (Brock-Utne & Holmarsdottir, 2004). In addition, teacher training frequently fails to meet the required standards, leaving major concerns for the quality of education in South Africa (Republic of South Africa, Department of Edu- cation, 2008; Van Staden & Howie, 2009). Profiling reading skills for var- ious language groups could highlight children's challenges and opportunities for improvement in one of the key areas of academic per- formance (Alexander, 2005; Pretorius & Machet, 2004). Such improve- ment is a goal not only of the South African Department of Basic Education (Republic of South Africa, Department of Basic Education, Learning and Individual Differences 30 (2014) 34–45 ⁎ Corresponding author at: Clinical Child and Adolescent Studies, Leiden University, PO Box 9555, 2300 RB Leiden, The Netherlands. E-mail addresses: maikemalda@gmail.com (M. Malda), carisma.nel@nwu.ac.za (C. Nel), fons.vandevijver@uvt.nl (F.J.R. van de Vijver). 1 Now at the Department of Clinical Child and Adolescent Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands. 1041-6080/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2013.11.008 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Learning and Individual Differences journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/lindif