Promoting phonological awareness skills of Egyptian kindergarteners through dialogic reading

The present study examines the effect of dialogic reading (DR) on the promotion of Arabic phonological awareness skills (including syllable awareness, rhyme awareness, and phoneme awareness) of Egyptian kindergarteners. The participants were 67 children enrolled in the second level of kindergarten (ages 5–6), assigned to an experimental group (n = 35) or a control group (n = 32). Kindergarten Inventory of Phonological Awareness was developed by the author in the light of relevant previous studies. Pre-tests and post-tests were administered to the participants in the two groups. In between the two tests, the experimental group engaged in DR activities designed to improve their phonological awareness skills, using an alphabet storybook, designed and developed by the author, presented to the whole class via PowerPoint, while the control group participated in regular classroom activities. The findings suggest that children in the experimental group had higher phonological awareness levels in the post-tests than those in the control group. The specific design of the DR activities may be responsible for these changes.