# Language-Literacy Growth in Vietnamese Children with and without Language Impairment

> **NIH NIH K23** · SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $137,355

## Abstract

Project Summary
This application focuses on primary language impairment (PLI), defined as low language performance despite
otherwise normal development. PLI occurs in 7% of the US population with similar rates presumed globally.
Children with PLI are four times more likely to have a reading problem, often have trouble with social
relationships, and have poorer long-term vocational outcomes. The proposed project will be the first to
investigate PLI in Vietnamese children. Without a firm understanding of how PLI manifests in monolingual
Vietnamese speakers, it is nearly impossible to identify and treat PLI in bilingual children in the US whose first
language is Vietnamese. The lack of information on monolingual Vietnamese disorders drives my pursuit of the
K23 award. I have excellent pre- and post-doctoral research training in child bilingualism, a clinical background
in speech-language pathology, and I am fluent in Vietnamese. I need further training/mentorship in four areas:
cross-linguistic PLI, literacy development and disorders, advanced statistical procedures, and international
collaboration. My mentoring team: Dr. Catherine Snow of Harvard University (Primary mentor) is internationally
recognized in literacy development and language-literacy relations; Dr. Margaret Friend (Co-mentor) of San
Diego State University (SDSU) is conducting a multi-site R01 on language development and cross-linguistic
comparisons; Dr. Sonja Pruitt-Lord (Consultant) of SDSU has expertise in preschool language impairment; Dr.
Jillian Wiggins (Consultant) of SDSU has expertise in statistics and child development; Dr. Binh Ngo
(Consultant) of Harvard University is a linguist and director of the Vietnamese Language Program; and Dr. Yen
Nguyen (Consultant) of the Vietnam National Institute of Education Management is the co-founder of the
Training and Development Center for Special Education (TDCSE). The proposed study will be conducted in
Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, in collaboration with TDCSE, the consortium site. The central hypothesis is that
children with PLI will show subtle cognitive weaknesses underlying language impairment despite normal non-
verbal intelligence, and language and cognitive skills in kindergarten will predict literacy outcomes in second
grade. Aim 1 compares children with and without language impairment on a set of language and cognitive
tasks to profile Vietnamese PLI. Aim 2 statistically models growth trajectories in reading (decoding and
comprehension) for participants in kindergarten through second grade, and Aim 3 identifies language-cognitive
skills in kindergarten that predict reading outcomes in second grade. Study findings will contribute to theories
on cross-linguistic PLI and directly inform my work with bilingual children in the US. Collectively, the proposed
training, mentorship and research activities address Aim 4, which is to develop into an independent, innovative
researcher of PLI and literacy. Training includes (a) reduced te...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9966719
- **Project number:** 5K23DC014750-05
- **Recipient organization:** SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Giang Thuy Pham
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $137,355
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-07-20 → 2021-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9966719

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9966719, Language-Literacy Growth in Vietnamese Children with and without Language Impairment (5K23DC014750-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9966719. Licensed CC0.

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