(2024) 14:7
Zhou et al. Language Testing in Asia
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40468-024-00276-2

Language Testing in Asia

Open Access

RESEARCH

The development of reading comprehension
ability of Chinese Heritage Language (CHL)
learners in Indonesia
Qinling Zhou1, Fengjiao Du1, Yueli Lu1*, Hanwei Wang1, Herman2 and Shunzhi Yang3*Correspondence:
2296527992@qq.com
1

College of Chinese Language
and Culture, Jinan University,
Guangzhou 510610, Guangdong,
China
2
Faculty of Education, Language,
and Culture, Universitas
Universal, Riau Islands,
Batam 29444, Indonesia
3
Institute of Applied
Artificial Intelligenceof the Guangdong‑HongKong‑Macao Greater Bay Area,
Shenzhen Polytechnic University,
Shenzhen 518055, Guangdong,
China

Abstract
This study investigates the evolution of reading comprehension abilities in Indonesian learners of the Chinese Heritage Language (CHL), by comparing their scoreson the Chinese Proficiency Test, a test specifically designed for CHL learners. A totalof 275 candidates, divided into early adolescent (Mage = 13.56), late adolescent(Mage = 15.78), and adult (Mage = 22.83) groups, were evaluated on four dimensionsof reading comprehension: orthographic knowledge, vocabulary knowledge, syntactic
awareness, and discourse comprehension. A detailed cross-sectional and longitudinal
analysis of these four dimensions was conducted across the three groups. The results
indicate that horizontally, the order of the four dimensions is orthographic knowledge > vocabulary knowledge > syntactic awareness > discourse comprehension,
with significant differences observed in all dimensions. During adolescence, orthographic knowledge is significantly higher than vocabulary knowledge, while in adulthood, vocabulary knowledge is significantly higher than syntactic awareness, and syntactic awareness is significantly higher than discourse comprehension. Longitudinally,reading comprehension abilities appear to stall across adolescence in three dimensions (vocabulary knowledge, syntactic awareness, and discourse comprehension),with a decline in one dimension (orthographic knowledge) occurring in late adolescence. However, the adult group shows improvement in all four dimensions comparedto the late adolescence group. Considering both longitudinal and cross-sectional
results, the developmental order of reading skills in Indonesian CHL learners is orthographic knowledge, vocabulary knowledge, syntactic awareness, and discourse comprehension. The main developmental peak for orthographic knowledge to vocabularyknowledge occurs in adolescence, while the major developmental peak for vocabularyknowledge to syntactic awareness and for syntactic awareness to discourse comprehension occurs in adulthood. The results suggest that reading comprehension
improves significantly upon reaching adulthood in Indonesian. By understanding
the trajectory of reading comprehension abilities in Indonesian CHL learners, this study
can provide effective suggestions for Indonesian CHL learners and educators, and may
also serve as a reference for other heritage languages.
Keywords: Reading comprehension, Indonesian, Chinese Heritage Language, Chinese
Proficiency Test

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Introduction
Heritage Language (HL) has gained significant traction in the fields of Language Policy
and Language Education since the 1990s (Cummins, 2005). The phenomenon of HL has
been a constant throughout human history, as immigrant families have always navigatedacross language boundaries (Polinsky, 2018). Polinsky (2018) defines HL as the family
language of a bilingual individual who primarily speaks the mainstream language ofsociety. This definition sets HL learners apart from general foreign language learners.
HL learners exhibit the following characteristics: (1) They have already been exposed toand used the language within their families before formal learning, and they can speakor understand the family language. (2) They are bilingual and possess bilingual abilities
to varying degrees in both the mainstream and HL within society.
HL learners occupy a unique position between first language (L1) and second language(L2) learners (Montrul, 2010). Researchers have increasingly recognized the distinction
between HL learners and native language or general foreign language learners (Carreira & Kagan, 2018; Montrul, 2010). Despite this recognition, HL learners have often
been overlooked and grouped with either L2 or L1 learners in instructional practices.
There are significant gaps in our understanding of HL learners, particularly in the context of reading comprehension ability. Previous research has predominantly focusedon L1 (Hjetland et al., 2019) or L2 (Kuperman et al., 2023; Namaziandost et al., 2022)
learners, with limited information on HL learners (Cain et al., 2004). Extensive research
exists on the reading comprehension ability of L1 or L2 learners at various ages, including childhood (Kendeou et al., 2009; Oakhill & Cain, 2012; Oakhill et al., 2005), adolescence (Oakhill & Cain, 2012; Perfetti, 2007), and adulthood (Elbro & Buch-Iversen, 2013;
Kendeou et al., 2009). However, there has been less emphasis on studying the developmental characteristics of reading comprehension in HL learners across different age
groups.
While some studies have explored the impact of vocabulary knowledge, morphologicalawareness (Zhang & Koda, 2018a, 2018b), and early oral language (Zhang & Koda, 2021)
on the reading comprehension ability of Chinese Heritage Language (CHL) learners,
they have not approached this from a developmental perspective. Additionally, assessments for CHL learners often rely on Chinese as a second language (CL2) exam materials (Zhang & Koda, 2018a). Recent reviews emphasize the significant influence of age
on CHL learners’ language abilities (Carreira & Kagan, 2018; Montrul, 2010, 2018, 2023;
Ortega, 2020). Paris (2005) suggests a focus on the developmental trajectories of various
reading skills, considering the onset and duration of different reading skills. To comprehensively understand the development of reading comprehension among CHL learners,
this study delves into Indonesian CHL learners and thoroughly examines the development of different reading skills.
The choice of Indonesian CHL learners is due to its complex language and cultural
background, which provides a unique research scenario that helps gain a deeper understanding of the development of reading comprehension abilities of CHL learners. There
are several specific reasons: (1) Chinese are the 15th largest ethnic group in Indonesia,
where there are more than 600 ethnic groups which are smaller than the Chinese (Arifin
et al., 2017). At present, Chinese education in Indonesia is booming and developing (Luli& Budiman, 2017). (2) Education in the Chinese language in Indonesia has transformed

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from a long period of closure (1966–1998) to initial recovery (1998–1998) (Kuntjara &Hoon, 2020). These specific educational or language policies either support or impact
the learning of CHL learners in Indonesia. (3) Given the increasing trade and cultural
exchange between China and Indonesia, the demand for the Chinese language is likely tocontinue to grow. Studying Indonesian CHL learners can provide relevant language education strategies and methods to meet societal needs. Therefore, it is crucial to conduct
research and analysis on current Indonesian CHL learners. The present study is exploring a new area where previous research is lacking and understanding is limited.
In our research, we utilized the Chinese Proficiency Test (HC) specifically designed
for CHL learners, created by the Chinese Language Examination Institute at the College
of Chinese Language and Culture, Jinan University (Wang, 2016, 2018). It is an officiallydeveloped standardized examination and is recognized for its high reliability and validity (Wang et al., 2023). This test’s database, which includes real examination scores on
the reading test for CHL learners, served as the primary source of our data. These data,
exclusively obtained from real exam scenarios involving Indonesian test takers underrigorous supervision, were used with permission from Jinan University’s College of Chinese Language and Culture. Throughout our study, we maintained the utmost confidentiality of this data.
Our analysis leverages these authentic examination records and the structure of thetest papers to explore the progression of various reading comprehension skills. This
study ranges from basic abilities like orthographic knowledge to more complex skills
such as discourse comprehension. We have conducted both horizontal and vertical analyses by sorting Indonesian candidates into different age categories. The cross-sectional
component of our analysis primarily focused on the developmental sequence of diverse
reading comprehension abilities. In contrast, the longitudinal aspect concentrated on
tracking the change of these abilities across different age groups. The objective of thisresearch is to deepen our understanding of the growth patterns in reading comprehension abilities among Indonesian CHL learners, thereby providing crucial insights foreducators and decision-makers in this educational sector.

Literature review
Reading comprehension ability of CHL learners

For learners of foreign language or L2, reading is often considered the most fundamental
skill, or as Grabe (1991) puts it, “the mother of all skills.” Reading skills are not only crucial for navigating contemporary life, but they also play a significant role in learning anddemonstrating proficiency in other disciplines (Nortvedt et al., 2016; OECD, 2019; Yanget al., 2018). For instance, individuals with superior reading abilities often perform betterin tasks such as writing (Mart, 2012; Mermelstein, 2015). Meanwhile, for HL learners,
reading and writing skills are often areas of weakness (Montrul, 2010). This highlights
the importance of studying the reading comprehension abilities of HL learners. By doing
so, we can develop effective strategies and interventions to help these learners improvetheir reading comprehension skills in the HL, thereby contributing to the preservationand continuation of the language.
The academic community holds diverse views regarding the definition of reading comprehension, with several interpretations put forth over the years. For instance, Davis

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(1968) posits that reading comprehension refers to the ability to critically understandwritten texts, emphasizing aspects such as text meaning, concluding, identifying writing
skills, identifying emotions, and answering questions. Grabe (1991), on the other hand,suggests that reading encompasses recognition skills, vocabulary and textual knowledge,
content comprehension, and evaluation abilities. Keenan et al. (2008) view reading comprehension as an overall process involving the interaction between paragraph meanings,
emphasizing the understanding of the entire text rather than individual words and sentences. Newton et al. (2018) describe reading comprehension as a combination of cognitive and visual tasks that extract meaning from written discourse by understanding
written text, processing data, and associating it with background knowledge. Similarly,
Hoover and Tunmer (2018) define reading comprehension ability as the ability to extract
and construct literal meanings and infer word meanings from the language discourse
represented by the printed version. From these definitions, it is evident that reading
comprehension is a complex process, involving multiple sub-skills, including orthographic knowledge, vocabulary knowledge, syntactic awareness, discourse comprehension, and so on. This complexity underscores the importance of a multifaceted approachin teaching and assessing reading comprehension, particularly among CHL learners.
To comprehend this complex process, the academic community has proposed several theoretical analysis frameworks. One such framework is the simple view of reading (SVR), which posits that the two main components of reading comprehension skills
are decoding and language comprehension (Gough & Tunmer, 1986). Decoding refers
to the ability to translate written symbols into spoken language, encompassing the skills
required for accurate recognition and pronunciation of words. Language comprehension
is the ability to understand spoken language and the meaning of words and sentences,involving vocabulary knowledge, grammar, and the ability to construct meaning fromsentences and texts. The applicability of the SVR has been confirmed in studies on learners of different languages (de Jong & van derLeij, 2002; Protopapas et al., 2007; LARRC,
2015; Joshi et al., 2012; Tobia & Bonifacci, 2015; Kim, 2020a, 2020b), including Chinese(Joshi et al., 2012; Yan et al., 2021; Yeung et al., 2016).
However, the SVR mentions the core skills of reading comprehension, decoding, andlanguage comprehension, which may not be enough to understand the complex reading
process. Kim (2017, 2020b) proposed the direct and indirect effects model of reading(DIER), integrating the SVR with various other reading theories. This model includes
not only the core components of the SVR, such as decoding and language comprehension skills, but also discourse reading fluency, background knowledge, reading emotions
or social emotions (such as motivation, attitude, self-concept, self-efficacy, and anxiety),higher-order cognition and rules (such as reasoning, viewpoint adoption, inference, andmonitoring), basic oral skills (vocabulary and grammar knowledge), phonetics, morphemes, orthography, and domain-general cognition (such as working memory andattention control) (Kim, 2020a, 2020b). These component skills have both direct andindirect effects on reading. This comprehensive model underscores the complexity ofreading comprehension and the multitude of factors that influence it.
Prior research on the development of reading comprehension has predominantly
focused on L1 or L2 learners (Verhoeven & Van Leeuwen, 2008; Florit & Cain, 2011;
Lonigan et al., 2018; Tobia & Bonifacci, 2015; Joshi et al., 2012). For instance, Verhoeven

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and Van Leeuwe (2008) conducted a longitudinal study examining the specific effects
of word decoding, vocabulary, and listening comprehension skills on the developmentof reading comprehension in Dutch children throughout primary school. Their findings indicated that the impact of word decoding on reading comprehension diminishedprogressively with each increasing grade level. Similarly, Joshi et al. (2012) discoveredthat Chinese character recognition accounted for 22% and 32% of the variation in reading comprehension among second- and fourth-grade Chinese children, respectively.
Furthermore, their study suggested that for an opaque orthography like Chinese, word
decoding plays a more significant role in early reading comprehension, compared to atransparent orthography like Italian (Lonigan et al., 2018). But they did not pay attention
to the development and changes of reading ability of HL learners.
HL learners are a unique group compared with L2 and L1 ones (Carreira & Kagan,
2018; Montrul, 2008, 2018, 2023; Ortega, 2020). Previous studies have drawn comparisons between the reading comprehension abilities of HL learners and those of L1 andL2 learners. The disparities in reading and writing abilities between HL learners and L2
learners are linked to the context of acquisition (Montrul, 2010). Early language experience differentiates the development of reading and writing abilities in CHL learners
from L2 learners, as L2 learners typically develop initial language knowledge in the classroom. Through extensive exposure to formal printed language in university language
classrooms, CHL students enhance their initial morphological awareness and develop
sensitivity to mapping functional elements (morphological cues) to graphic symbols(printed text and phrases) (Zhang & Koda, 2018a). Compared to L1 students, CHL
college students with early language input exhibit stronger morphological awareness,
which appears to be an additional resource that can be leveraged to enhance CHL reading comprehension (Zhang et al., 2016). In the acquisition of CHL reading comprehension, existing vocabulary knowledge lays a semantic foundation for further utilizationof morphological awareness, thereby contributing to reading comprehension (Zhang &Koda, 2018a). For instance, CHL adult students may develop early vocabulary knowledge through exposure to varying degrees of spoken and printed language, and early oral
input helps to form initial morphological awareness, including fragment and structuralawareness (Zhang & Koda, 2018a, 2018b). Moreover, CHL learners outperform nonCHL learners in terms of oral vocabulary knowledge, morphological awareness, andvocabulary reasoning ability, but not in terms of printed vocabulary knowledge (Zhang& Koda, 2018b). Therefore, to fill the gap in existing research, our research focuses on
unraveling the mysteries of reading comprehension development in HL learners.
Research on CHL has also found that vocabulary knowledge and morphologicalawareness significantly impact reading comprehension. For instance, Zhang and Koda
(2018a) investigated the effects of vocabulary knowledge and morphological awarenesson the reading comprehension ability of CHL learners. Their study revealed that vocabulary knowledge contributes both directly and indirectly to CHL reading comprehension
ability, with morphological awareness serving as a mediating factor. In addition, several studies have mainly explored the role of morphological awareness in the reading
comprehension of CHL learners, highlighting it as a crucial factor in predicting reading
comprehension among CHL students (Wang et al., 2006), and a key link between language ability and reading skills in young CHL learners (Zhang & Koda, 2018a). Due toPage 5 of 26

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exposure to both English (the majority language) and Chinese (the minority language) indifferent contexts, CHL children have developed initial morphological awareness of bothlanguages. Despite strict limitations on print resources, CHL learners have managed todevelop initial vocabulary knowledge and morphological sensitivity to some extent during childhood (Pasquarella et al., 2011). Morphological awareness is also strongly associated with the reading comprehension of CHL learners (Pasquarella et al., 2011; Wanget al., 2006). Given that lexical compounding is a primary method of word formationin Chinese, the language-specific aspects of morphological awareness (cross-linguistic
composite awareness) can be shared among different languages to enhance Chinese
reading comprehension (Pasquarella et al., 2011).
In the previous studies on the reading comprehension of CHL learners, they focusedon the influencing factors of reading comprehension, such as vocabulary knowledge andmorphological awareness, but neglected the development of reading comprehension
itself. The dynamic attention to the development of reading comprehension of CHL will
help to understand the development trajectory of reading comprehension of HL learners, thereby further providing beneficial guidance for the teaching of HL. Therefore, thisstudy adopts a test specifically targeting learners of CHL to study the dynamic development trajectory of their reading comprehension abilities.
Testing the reading comprehension ability of CHL learners

The testing of Chinese as L1 and L2 has been the subject of extensive study and practice.
From a testing perspective, there are oral and written language tests, as well as comprehensive tests that combine both oral and written language. Currently, there are two
influential Chinese language tests: HC and the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK). HSK is astandardized international Chinese language proficiency test for L2 learners that plays
a significant role in the field of international Chinese language education. As a crucialcomponent of the HSK, reading tests primarily assess the comprehensive reading abilityof learners of CL2.
However, in existing studies, the test materials for assessing the reading comprehension ability of CHL learners predominantly come from the HSK developed for CL2
learners (Zhang & Koda, 2018a, 2018b, 2021). For instance, Zhang and Koda (2018a)
selected reading comprehension questions from HSK levels 3–5 based on the CHL levelof participants (intermediate students) when investigating the vocabulary knowledge
and morphological awareness of CHL reading comprehension ability. Similarly, Zhang
and Koda (2021) randomly selected 5 lexical items from each level in HSK when examining Chinese reading vocabulary, resulting in a total of 30 lexical items selected as targetwords.
There is a mismatch in testing CL2 learners with tests that test CHL learners, which
may affect the accuracy of the study results because the two groups are significantly different. Recognizing this, we used a test specifically designed for CHL learners, namely
HC. Wang (2018) proposed HC, specifically designed to measure linguistic competenceof CHL learners. Wang (2018) specifically explained the concept of CHL reading comprehension tests, encompassing aspects such as morpheme sampling, basic principles,
paper structure, question types, and sample design. HC fully takes into account thecharacteristics of the Chinese language and examines the reading comprehension ability

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of CHL learners from four dimensions: Chinese characters, words, sentences, and discourse. Wang et al. (2023) conducted a quality analysis on the HC test paper measuring
reading comprehension, and the results showed that the test paper was of better quality.
It can be seen that HC also draws on the DIER theoretical analysis framework, which
proposed that reading comprehension consists of multiple component skills (Kim, 2017,2020b). From the characteristics of Chinese, to master reading comprehension, we needto master some basic ingredient skills, like Chinese characters, vocabulary, sentences,and discourse (Gough & Tunmer, 1986; Kim, 2017, 2020b). Firstly, Chinese characters are the foundation of reading comprehension. There are various types of Chinesecharacters, such as close-form characters and homophones, which are easy to confuse.
Therefore, we need to start with the pronunciation, form, and meaning of each character, and gradually grasp the meaning and usage of each character (Share, 2008; Tonget al., 2009; Yeung et al., 2011, 2016). Secondly, vocabulary is the basic unit that makes
up sentences. Mastering the pronunciation, meaning, and usage of commonly usedvocabulary is crucial for improving reading comprehension ability (Nation & Snowling,1998). In Chinese, the subject-verb-object structure, definite complement, and othercomponents of a sentence have their specific positions and functions. By analyzing thestructure of a sentence, we can better understand its meaning and function (Cain et al.,
2003; Nation et al., 1999). Finally, discourse is the foundation of a complete article. Basedon mastering Chinese characters, vocabulary, and sentences, we need to understand theoverall structure, theme, and author’s intention of the article from a macro perspective.
By analyzing the logical relationships and transitional ways between paragraphs, we canbetter understand the overall framework and meaning of the article. Mastering reading
comprehension ability requires mastering the four dimensions of Chinese characters,
vocabulary, sentences, and discourse in sequence, and the difficulty of these four dimensions gradually increases (Cain & Oakhill, 2007; Perfetti et al., 2005).
In summary, the HC reading comprehension test is tailored to the characteristics of
the Chinese language and the framework of DIER, exploring four types of questions,with all test paper types based on textual comprehension. The HC primarily sets fourtypes of questions from the perspectives of orthographic knowledge, vocabulary knowledge, syntactic awareness, and discourse comprehension, aiming to assess the reading
comprehension ability of CHL learners. It is worth noting that the HC measures orthography knowledge and vocabulary knowledge by giving a sentence and also examines theunderstanding of this sentence. These four question types are both relatively independent and integrated. This approach underscores the complexity of reading comprehension
and the multitude of factors that influence it, providing a comprehensive assessment
tool for educators and policymakers in the field.
Orthography knowledge

Orthographic knowledge is defined as an understanding of the principles and rules
governing how written symbols represent spoken words in a given language (McBride,2016). Orthography knowledge in Chinese refers to the rules and customs of spelling in
Chinese characters. Chinese is a form of ideographic writing, with each Chinese character having an independent pronunciation, form, and meaning. The Chinese orthography
is mainly determined based on the form of Chinese characters, including the following

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aspects: phonological rules (the phonological rules of Chinese characters mainly include
initial consonants, vowels, tones, etc.), glyphic rules (the glyphic rules of Chinese characters mainly include strokes, radicals, etc.), and semantic rules (the semantic rulesof Chinese characters mainly include the relationship between glyphs and meanings,
the evolution of meanings, etc.). The orthography knowledge in Chinese is a language
knowledge that people must rely on when recognizing Chinese characters. It provides
the internal redundancy of Chinese character recognition and has a top-down impact
on Chinese character recognition. The orthography knowledge in Chinese is particularly
crucial for CHL learners, as it directly impacts their reading comprehension abilities.
Numerous studies have explored the role of orthographic knowledge in reading comprehension. For instance, within the SVR framework, representing the meaning of
retrieved words through orthography is crucial for reading comprehension (Perfetti &Stafura, 2014). Orthographic knowledge impacts reading acquisition and reading difficulties (such as developmental dyslexia) across different languages, with the depth andtransparency of orthography playing a significant role in reading development (Ziegler& Goswami, 2005; Seymour & Erskine, 2003). However, it has been observed that manyreading studies and practices overly focus on the specificity of English as a spelling system, while neglecting the differences and impacts of orthography in other languages. For
languages that use non-English orthography, different reading strategies and processing
methods need to be considered (Share, 2008). Orthographic knowledge has been shownto have a positive connection with Chinese reading comprehension (Tong et al., 2009;
Yeung et al., 2011, 2016). For example, orthographic knowledge can explain how Chinese
primary school students interpret reading comprehension through Chinese character
reading (Yeung et al., 2016). These findings underscore the importance of orthographic
knowledge in reading comprehension and highlight the need for a more nuanced understanding of orthography’s role in different languages.
Vocabulary knowledge

Vocabulary knowledge is an important component of reading comprehension skills(Rupley, 2005). It encompasses the richness of vocabulary, understanding of word meanings, and vocabulary association. These elements are integral to identifying words,
understanding sentences, and inferring textual meanings. Therefore, cultivating anddeveloping vocabulary knowledge is one of the key strategies for enhancing reading
comprehension ability.
Vocabulary knowledge has consistently been identified as a powerful predictor ofreading comprehension (Pasquarella et al., 2012). As early as the mid-twentieth century,
studies have recognized it as one of the main factors in reading comprehension (Davis,
1944). This underscores the enduring importance of vocabulary knowledge in the realmof reading comprehension, highlighting the need for continued emphasis on vocabularydevelopment in reading instruction and assessment.
The important role of vocabulary knowledge in reading comprehension has been
proven by various studies (Protopapas et al., 2007). And, word decoding is identified
as important components of reading comprehension (Gough & Tunmer, 1986; Perfetti& Hart, 2001). Young children’s reading comprehension relies more heavily on decoding, while older children and early adolescents’ reading comprehension depends more

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on vocabulary knowledge (Braze et al., 2007; Protopapas & Skaloumbakas, 2007). Individuals with rich vocabulary knowledge can quickly recognize words and understandthe meaning of sentences, leading to more accurate reading (Perfetti & Hart, 2001). This
gives them an advantage in their ability to read and understand different texts (Nagy& Anderson, 1984). Vocabulary knowledge is closely related to reading comprehension ability, especially for children with reading comprehension difficulties (Nation &Snowling, 1998). Moreover, long-term follow-up studies have found that early vocabulary knowledge is a key factor in predicting subsequent reading ability (Cunningham &Stanovich, 1997).
Syntactic awareness

Syntactic awareness refers to an individual’s ability to recognize and understand therelationship between sentence structure, grammar rules, and sentence components in alanguage (Brimo et al., 2017). This involves sensitivity and ability to the organization ofsentences, the application of syntactic rules, and the correlation between sentence components. Individuals with strong syntactic awareness are more likely to handle complex
sentences, accurately understand the meaning of sentences, and thus enhance their reading comprehension skills. Numerous studies have emphasized the significant role of syntactic awareness in reading comprehension performance (Cain, 2007; Kieffer & Lesaux,2008; Low & Siegel, 2005). One of the key factors that distinguish L1 acquisition from L2
acquisition is the different syntactic structures of the two languages (Penny et al., 2002).
Syntactic processing may not be transferred from a child’s L1 to their L2, leading to difficulties in acquiring foreign language syntactic structures and, consequently, challenges
in learning foreign language reading (Verhoeven, 1994).
Syntactic awareness is vital for reading comprehension ability (Nation & Snowling,2000). A lack of syntactic awareness may be one of the reasons for reading comprehension difficulties and is closely related to language barriers (Nation et al., 1999). Individuals with strong syntactic awareness are more likely to process and understand complex
sentence structures during the reading process (Miller & Keenan, 2009). They use sentence structure and grammatical cues to infer the meaning of words, thereby improving
their reading comprehension ability (Cain et al., 2003).
Discourse comprehension

Discourse comprehension refers to the organization and correlation between sentences, paragraphs, and other language units within a text or discourse. Discourse comprehension involves comprehending the logical relationships between sentences, theorganization of paragraphs, and the overall framework of the discourse. Discourse comprehension is crucial for comprehending and organizing information, inferring meaning,and constructing a coherent reading experience. In essence, discourse structure serves as
the organizational framework of a text. It aids readers in understanding and constructing the meaning of the text through the logical relationships between sentences, theorganization of paragraphs, and the overall organizational structure, thereby facilitatinga coherent reading experience. Therefore, discourse comprehension plays a pivotal role
in reading ability and comprehension (Cain & Oakhill, 2007; Kintsch, 1998; McNamara,
2001; Perfetti et al., 2005).

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Numerous studies have underscored the impact of discourse comprehension onreading ability. For instance, Kintsch (1998) proposed a paradigm of discourse comprehension, emphasizing the importance of discourse comprehension in reading
comprehension. Research has found that understanding the structure, logical relationships, and coherence of a discourse is crucial for effective reading. Individuals
with good comprehension skills in discourse structure are more capable of extracting
key information, constructing meaning, and reasoning from texts (McNamara, 2007).
Sensitivity and understanding of discourse structure, paragraph organization, andlogical relationships are keys to effective reading and comprehension (Cain & Oakhill,
2007; Perfetti et al., 2005).

The present study

Indonesia has the largest number of CHL learners in the world, and we used HC to
study the development and changes of reading comprehension ability of Indonesian
CHL learners. It is valuable to understand the strengths and weaknesses of Indonesian CHL learners in reading comprehension. Given the gaps in existing research inthis regard, this study takes Indonesian CHL learners as an example to examine thedevelopment path of reading comprehension ability and the differences in reading
comprehension development among different age groups of them. This study selectedfour question types of HC level 5 containing four dimensions of reading comprehension (orthographic knowledge, vocabulary knowledge, syntactic awareness, anddiscourse comprehension) as research material. This study has important guiding significance for gaining a deeper understanding of the reading comprehension process ofIndonesian CHL learners and further improving their reading comprehension abilities. The following research questions guided our study:• Research question 1: From a cross-sectional perspective, what are the differencesin the four dimensions of Indonesian CHL learners’ reading comprehension abilities?
• Research question 2: From a longitudinal perspective, is there any difference of thefour dimensions reading comprehension ability among Indonesian CHL learnersof different age groups?

MethodDesignTo address the gap in literature concerning the developmental process of reading comprehension skills, our study primarily focuses on Indonesian CHL learners to investigate the developmental trajectories of different reading comprehension skills. To achieve
this objective, our research employs a cross-sectional longitudinal design. Initially, participants are categorized into different age groups. We then compare the various reading
comprehension skills within the same age group to discern the sequence of developmentof these skills. Finally, we contrast the same reading comprehension skill across different
age groups to observe their developmental changes and trends.

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Data collection

Our study primarily utilizes secondary data analysis for data collection. This method
involves collecting key data from large databases, enabling researchers to obtain larger
samples (Johnston, 2014), which allows them to pose more research questions thanwould be possible in smaller-scale studies (Vartanian, 2010). Secondary data analysis
is widely used in fields such as education (Ho & Gan, 2023; Mercier et al., 2021) andhealthcare (Tosepu et al., 2020), and is a commonly employed research method.
Our research data is mainly sourced from the Chinese Language Examination Instituteof Jinan University’s College of Chinese Language and Culture’s confidential database,which includes examination data of over 18,000 HL learners. To protect the privacy ofthe examinees, this database is private and not publicly accessible. We have been granted
permission to use this data by the Chinese Examination Institute of Jinan University andhave ensured strict confidentiality, using it solely for this research purpose.
Demographics and grouping

Our research data is sourced from the authentic test databases of the HC. We selected
data from one exam paper containing Indonesian CHL learners. After excluding the candidates who are not Indonesian learners, a total of 275 learners remain, with 180 females
and 95 males, all of whom are Indonesian students mainly from local Chinese schools.
The candidates took part in the test between March 2021 and April 2023, all undergoing the examination under a uniformly strict and carefully monitored process. To meetthe research needs, we excluded some subjects following three procedures: (1) The dataof non-heritage learners was excluded. (2) We eliminated the students who took theonline test and only retained the students who took the offline test to avoid other possible interfering factors. (3) We deleted candidates over the age of 30. Through the above
processes, we were left with 275 CHL learners, having excluded 6 subjects. The age spanof them is 12–30 years old, with an average age of 17.79.
To examine the differences in reading ability across different age groups, we divided
the participants who took the same set of tests into three groups: early adolescence group(Mage = 13.56, range = 12–14), late adolescence group (Mage = 15.78, range = 15–18), andadult group (Mage = 22.83, range = 20–30). The early adolescence group consisted of 62
individuals (32 females, 30 males), the late adolescence group had 115 individuals (67females, 48 males), and the adult group included 98 individuals (81 females, 17 males).
Research material

We chose a set of papers as the research sample from level 5 of the HC reading test,
which has 4 task types about reading comprehension ability, covering tests on orthographic knowledge, vocabulary knowledge, syntactic awareness, and discourse comprehension. The number of each task is 6, so the number of all question types is 24, allof which are scored by 0/1.
Measurement of orthographic knowledge

The measurement of orthographic knowledge is presented through “identifying theincorrectly use of Chinese character.” The stimulus material for this type of question

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is text, and the task of “identifying the incorrect Chinese character” is accomplishedthrough reading. The comparison between “incorrectly use of Chinese characters”
and “correctly use of Chinese characters” requires a certain level of Chinese characteraccumulation, as errors within a group of Chinese characters due to the existence of
homophonic forms are based on sentence meaning and syntax (i.e., context), as wellas the identification and correction of these errors based on sentence meaning andsyntax (i.e., context). The specific presentation of this question type is as follows.
Read the sentence and identify a Chinese character that is used incorrectly based on
its meaning.
真

没 想

到

,

我

们

的

A

B

D

E

F

G

H

C

名

字

竞 会

有

这

么

大

的

学

问 。

I

J

L

M

N

O

P

Q

S

K

I didn’t expect our name competition to have such a lot of knowledge.
In the example sentence, “竞(competition)” and “竟(unexpected)” are homophones,
but according to the sentence meaning and syntax (i.e., context), only “竟(unexpected)”
can be paired with “really unexpected” to express unexpected meanings. Therefore, thecorrect way to write “竞(competition)” is “竟(unexpected),” so blackout K on the answer
sheet.

Measurement of vocabulary knowledge

The measurement of vocabulary knowledge is presented through “Fill in the missing
Chinese character.” Unlike other reading question types, this question type presents anabnormal text with missing information. The participants are tested based on their mastery of vocabulary knowledge, their ability to understand context, and their ability toinfer based on understanding. This also means that the missing information in this question type cannot be random, but should be “special information” that must be related tothe context to infer. There are two procedures for answering this question: (1) Accurately
identify the missing information. (2) Fill in the missing Chinese character according to
the sentence’s meaning. The specific presentation of this question type is as follows.
Read the text, each question has a missing character. Please identify the Chinese character before the missing character and the missing character.
a. 愁 (worry)b. 挂 (hanging)c. 在 (being)d. 多 (many)e. 功 (success)f. 气 (angry)

对

你

来

说

,

成

和

幸

福

是

什

么

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

?

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Page 13 of 26

What is success and happiness for you?
In the example question, if the candidate understands the meaning of the following
text, they can naturally find the “wrong” place before “和(and).” One can infer, basedon their acquired vocabulary knowledge, that “成果(success)” is parallel to “幸福(happiness).” If one cannot fully understand the meaning of a sentence, there is no way tostart. Therefore, this sentence should be “What are success and happiness for you?” Thevacancy is after “成(success),” and the missing word is “功(success),” so blackout F and eon the answer sheet.
Measurement of syntactic awareness

The measurement of syntactic awareness is presented through “sentence pause.” “Sentence pause” has a long history and is a “natural” question type based on the characteristics of Chinese characters and the reading training and measurement methods ofChinese text. “Sentence pause” is based on Chinese characters and vocabulary, mainly
examining syntax. If learners understand, they will naturally be able to “pause.” The specific question types and requirements are as follows.
Read the text below, pause four times in the middle of each question, identify the pause
item, and black out the word that paused.
我

想 出

去

玩

可

是

我

生

病

了

不

能

出 门

只

好

在

家

里

太 无

聊

了

A

B

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

P

Q

R

S

T

U

W

X

C

O

V

。

I want to go out to play, but I’m sick and can’t go out. I have to stay at home and it’s
too boring.
The example sentence provided requires a pause of four times, which should be “I
want to go out to play/but I’m sick/can’t go out/has to stay at home/it’s too boring.” Thispause indicates that the test reader has understood the text, therefore blackout E, K, O,
and T on the answer sheet.
Measurement of discourse comprehension

The measurement of discourse comprehension is presented through “delete one sentence.” The advanced reading question type in this study reflects a transition to writing, representing a “cross-border” question type. This advanced reading question typerequires not only understanding, but also a particularly clear grasp of Chinese characters, vocabulary, sentences, discourse, and even the meaning, details, and all aspects,
to effectively achieve “slimming.” Expressing understanding through “deletion” is considered “modification” or “reconstruction,” that is, writing in a broad sense. This represents the combination of reading and writing abilities in slimming down. The specificpresentation of HC reading comprehension questions for discourse comprehension is asfollows.
Please delete one sentence. After deletion, the sentence should be smooth the meaning
should be consistent with the original text to the greatest extent possible, and the answer
sheet should be blacked out. Specific examples are as follows:Zhou et al. Language Testing in Asia

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人可以无知 ,

但不可以
无趣

A

People can beignorant

A,

Page 14 of 26这是从旁观者的眼 ,
光看的

与无趣之人
对坐

B

C

D

but theycannot be
uninterestingThis is seenfrom theperspective, of
bystanders

B

C

,

,

sitting against
uninteresting
people
D

,

如坐牢 。
狱
E

,

which is likesitting inprisonE

In the example sentence, after deleting “这是从旁观者的眼光看的(This is seen fromthe perspective of bystanders),” the sentence remains as close to the original meaning as
possible and is smooth, therefore blackout C on the answer sheet.
We tested the quality of the test paper assessing reading comprehension ability. First,
we used SPSS 22.0 to analyze the reliability of the reading ability part. Cronbach’s α is0.92, indicating excellent consistency. Secondly, we used Mplus 8.1 to conduct a confirmatory factor analysis to test its validity. We tested the second-order four-factor
model. The four dimensions are the four question types mentioned before (orthographic
knowledge, vocabulary knowledge, syntactic awareness, and discourse comprehension). The goodness-of-fit test shows that the main indicators are χ2/df = 1.66 < 3,
RMSEA = 0.03 < 0.08, CFI = 0.98 > 0.9, TLI = 0.98 > 0.9, and SRMR = 0.06 < 0.08. The fitting index is good, which proves that the structural validity of our model is good. This
demonstrates the effectiveness of our test in assessing reading comprehension ability.
Method of data analysis

For the cross-sectional contrastive analysis, we primarily employed descriptive statistical analysis and paired sample t tests. In the case of longitudinal contrastive analysis, weused one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). We initially conducted a homogeneity ofvariance test to determine the method for post hoc multiple comparative analysis. The
post hoc tests were primarily conducted using the Scheffe method and Dunnett’s T3(3).
All the above analyses were performed using SPSS software.

Results
Cross‑sectional contrastive analysis

We conducted a descriptive statistical analysis of the four dimensions of reading comprehension to observe their developmental progression. We first compared the overall reading comprehension ability across the four dimensions, and then compared thereading comprehension ability of the four dimensions within each of the three groups,
respectively. The results are shown in Table 1. From the table, we can see that the ranking of scores in the four dimensions of reading comprehension is generally consistent,with the order being orthographic knowledge > vocabulary knowledge > syntactic awareness > discourse comprehension. However, there are some exceptions. Orthographic
knowledge is less than vocabulary knowledge in the adult group, and vocabulary knowledge and syntactic awareness are equal in the late adolescent group.
To determine whether there are significant differences among the four dimensionsof reading comprehension, we conducted paired sample t tests on them in groups.

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Page 15 of 26

Table 1 Descriptive statistical analysis
M

SD

Range

95% CI

Total
OK

2.90

2.02

0–6

2.66, 3.14

VK

2.58

2.35

0–6

2.30, 2.86

SA

2.08

3.42

0–6

1.86, 2.30

DC

1.74

1.54

0–5

1.56, 1.93

Early adolescence
OK

3.08

2.13

0–6

2.54, 3.62

VK

2.24

2.16

0–6

1.69, 2.79

SA

1.95

2.89

0–6

1.52, 2.38

DC

1.69

1.52

0–5

1.31, 2.08

Late adolescence
OK

2.21

1.70

0–6

1.89, 2.52

VK

1.64

1.96

0–6

1.28, 2.01

SA

1.64

1.75

0–6

1.32, 1.97

DC

1.39

1.41

0–4

1.13, 1.65

Adult group
OK

3.59

2.06

0–6

3.18, 4.00

VK

3.89

2.29

0–6

3.43, 4.35

SA

2.66

1.90

0–6

2.28, 3.05

DC

2.18

1.62

0–5

1.86, 2.51

OK Orthographic knowledge, VK Vocabulary knowledge, SA Syntactic awareness, DC Discourse comprehension

Table 2 Paired sample t test results
t

SD

p

95% CI

Total
OK-VK

0.32

2.00

0.008

0.08, 0.55

VK-SA

0.50

1.91

0.000

0.27, 0.72

SA-DC

0.33

1.88

0.003

0.11, 0.55

Early adolescence
OK-VK

0.83

1.58

0.000

0.43, 1.24

VK-SA

0.29

1.44

0.118

SA-DC

0.25

1.75

0.251

− 0.65, 0.07

Late adolescence− 0.18, 0.70

OK-VK

0.56

1.81

0.001

0.23, 0.90

VK-SA

0

1.73

1

SA-DC

0.25

1.88

0.153

− 0.32, 0.32

Adult group
OK-VK− 0.09, 0.60

− 0.29

2.28

0.204

VK-SA

1.22

2.15

0.000

1.65, 0.79

− 0.75, 0.16

SA-DC

0.48

1.96

0.018

0.08, 0.87

OK Orthographic knowledge, VK Vocabulary knowledge, SA Syntactic awareness, DC Discourse comprehension

Based on the basic knowledge of Chinese linguistics and the results of descriptive statistical analysis, the order of development may be orthographic knowledge, vocabulary knowledge, syntactic awareness, and discourse comprehension. Therefore, we
compared orthographic knowledge and vocabulary knowledge, vocabulary knowledge

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and syntactic awareness, and syntactic awareness and discourse comprehension toascertain their developmental order, as detailed in Table 2.
In the total data of reading comprehension, we found that orthographic knowledge is significantly higher than vocabulary knowledge (t = 0.32, p < 0.01), vocabularyknowledge is significantly higher than syntactic awareness (t = 0.50, p < 0.001), andsyntactic awareness is significantly higher than discourse comprehension (t = 0.33,
p < 0.01).
In the early adolescence group, orthographic knowledge is significantly higher than
vocabulary knowledge (t = 0.83, p < 0.001), but there is no significant difference between
vocabulary knowledge and syntactic awareness (t = 0.29, p > 0.05), nor between syntactic
awareness and discourse comprehension (t = 0.25, p > 0.05).
In the late adolescence group, orthographic knowledge is significantly higher than
vocabulary knowledge (t = 0.56, p < 0.01), but vocabulary knowledge and syntactic
awareness are equal. Syntactic awareness is not significantly higher than discourse comprehension (t = 0.25, p > 0.05).
In the adult group, there is no significant difference between vocabulary knowledge
and orthographic knowledge (t =  − 0.29, p > 0.05), but vocabulary knowledge is significantly higher than syntactic awareness (t = 1.22, p < 0.001), and syntactic awareness is
significantly higher than discourse comprehension (t = 0.48, p < 0.05).
In summary, our research investigates the reading comprehension ability of CHL
learners from the perspectives of orthographic knowledge, vocabulary knowledge, syntactic awareness, and discourse comprehension, and then analyzes their differences
across three stages. In the two stages of adolescence, orthographic knowledge is significantly higher than vocabulary knowledge, and there are no significant differencesin other aspects. In the adult stage, vocabulary knowledge is significantly higher thansyntactic awareness, and syntactic awareness is significantly higher than discourse comprehension. However, there is no significant difference between orthographic and vocabulary knowledge.

Longitudinal contrastive analysis

We conducted an ANOVA on reading comprehension ability and its four dimensions
across different age periods. Initially, we conducted a homogeneity of variance test on
the data. The results showed that the F values of three dimensions of reading ability (syntactic awareness, orthographic knowledge, discourse comprehension) were not significant (p > 0.05), indicating homogeneity of variance among them, except for vocabularyknowledge. This suggests that the Scheffe method should be used for post hoc multiple
comparative analysis of the three dimensions, and Dunnett’s T3(3) is more suitable forvocabulary knowledge after one-way ANOVA.
As shown in Table 3, the results of the ANOVA show that there are significant differences in reading ability among participants of different age groups (F (2, 272) = 23.03,
p < 0.001). In the dimension of orthographic knowledge, there were also significant differences among participants of different ages (F (2, 272) = 13.81, p < 0.001). Post-analysis
results showed that the late adolescence group had significantly lower performance than

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Page 17 of 26

Table 3 Differences in reading comprehension ability among different age groups
Dimension

Early adolescence(Mage = 13.56,
n = 62)

Late adolescence(Mage = 15.78,
n = 115)

Adult(Mage = 22.83,
n = 98)

M

SD

M

SD

M

SD

Reading comprehension ability

8.97

6.17

6.89

5.31

12.33

6.23

23.03***

Orthographic knowledge

3.08

2.13

2.21

1.70

3.59

2.06

13.81***

Vocabulary knowledge

2.24

2.16

1.64

1.97

3.89

2.30

30.28***

Syntactic awareness

1.95

1.70

1.64

1.76

2.66

1.90

8.69***

Discourse comprehension

1.69

1.52

1.39

1.42

2.18

1.62

7.29****

F

p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001

the early adolescence group and the adult group, while there was no significant difference between the early adolescence group and the adult group.
In terms of vocabulary knowledge, there are also significant differences among participants in different age groups (F (2, 272) = 30.28, p < 0.001). Post-analysis results
showed that the achievement of the adult group was significantly higher than that of
the early adolescence group and the late adolescence, while there was no significant
difference between the early adolescence group and late adolescence.
In the dimension of syntactic awareness, there was also a significant difference
among participants in different age groups (F (2, 272) = 8.69, p < 0.001). Post-analysis
results showed that the achievement of the adult group was significantly higher thanthat of the late adolescence group, while there was no significant difference between
the early adolescence group and the late adolescence group, or the adult group.
In the dimension of discourse comprehension, there were also significant differences among participants at different ages (F (2, 272) = 7.29, p < 0.01). Post-analysis
results showed that the achievement of the adult group was significantly higher thanthat of the late adolescence group, while there was no significant difference between
the early adolescence group and late adolescence.
In the cross-sectional contrastive analysis, we examined the reading comprehension
ability of CHL learners from the perspectives of orthographic knowledge, vocabularyknowledge, syntactic awareness, and discourse comprehension, and then analyzed
their differences across three stages: early adolescence, late adolescence, and adulthood. This allowed us to roughly predict the development process of reading comprehension of Indonesian CHL learners. Firstly, the adolescent stage is characterized
by the development of orthographic and vocabulary knowledge, as these two parts
show significant differences during this stage, while there are no significant differences between vocabulary knowledge, syntactic awareness, and discourse comprehension. Secondly, in the adult stage, vocabulary knowledge, syntactic awareness, anddiscourse comprehension are developing. There is no significant difference between
orthographic and vocabulary knowledge, suggesting that these may have been developed and matured, while there are significant differences between vocabulary knowledge, syntactic awareness, and discourse comprehension, indicating that these may
still be developing.

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In the longitudinal contrastive analysis, the results of the ANOVA show that reading ability differs at different age stages. Specifically, there are no differences between
the late adolescence and early adolescence groups in three dimensions, other thanin orthographic knowledge where the late adolescence group’s performance is lower
than that of the early adolescence group. The performance of the adult group is significantly higher than that of the late adolescence group in all four dimensions, while
the adult group’s performance is higher than that of the early adolescence group only
in vocabulary knowledge, with no significant differences in the other dimensions.
This suggests that after entering adulthood, Indonesian HL learners can significantly
improve their reading comprehension skills through learning. However, the development of reading ability in adolescence appears to be relatively stagnant, with nosignificant improvements observed in most dimensions. This underscores the importance of targeted instruction and support during this critical developmental period tofacilitate the growth of reading comprehension skills.

Discussion
Cross‑sectional comparison of reading comprehension ability for Indonesian CHL learners

From the above research results, we can see that there are certain differences in thescores of Indonesian CHL learners in reading comprehension ability. Orthographic
knowledge scored the highest, followed by vocabulary knowledge, with relatively low
syntactic awareness and discourse comprehension. Reading comprehension is a complex
process that manifests itself in the conversion from lower-level abilities (word recognition, etc.) to higher-level abilities (syntax, semantics, etc.) (Mckee, 2012).
Firstly, orthographic knowledge scores the highest in reading comprehension ability,
indicating that CHL learners have a good grasp of the form, structure, and spelling rulesof Chinese characters. Chinese characters are the written form of Chinese, and correct
writing and recognition of Chinese characters are essential for reading comprehension(Pan et al., 2021). Therefore, CHL learners’ advantages in orthographic knowledge lay
the foundation for their reading comprehension abilities (Tong et al., 2009; Yeung et al.,2011, 2016).
Secondly, vocabulary knowledge ranks second in the overall score, indicating that
CHL learners have achieved a good level of understanding of the meaning and usage ofvocabulary. Vocabulary is the foundation of language and has a decisive impact on thedepth and breadth of reading comprehension (Pasquarella et al., 2012). Learners needto master a certain amount of vocabulary and understand its meaning and usage in different contexts. Compared to orthographic knowledge, vocabulary knowledge may be
more difficult to master, so CHL learners score slightly lower in vocabulary knowledge
than orthographic knowledge. Chinese is a language based on characters, with eachcharacter typically representing a word or part of a word. Therefore, vocabulary knowledge is particularly crucial for reading Chinese, as correctly understanding the meaningof each word is crucial for overall understanding.
Thirdly, syntactic awareness is relatively low in the overall score, which means that CHL
learners’ ability to understand sentence structure and grammar rules is relatively weak.
Chinese is a highly contextual language, and the meaning of a sentence often depends on
its context. Therefore, CHL learners need to improve their understanding and application

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abilities of sentence structure and grammar rules to better understand the meaning andlogical relationships of the text (Cain et al., 2003; Miller & Keenan, 2009).
Finally, discourse comprehension ranks lowest in overall scores, which belongs to themost difficult part of these four dimensions. Discourse comprehension requires comprehensive consideration of various elements of the text, including themes, structures,and logical relationships, and requires learners to possess comprehensive analysis andreasoning abilities (Kintsch, 1998). Therefore, compared to other reading comprehensive
ability, the mastery of discourse comprehension is more difficult.
The ranking of scores in this study indicates that the mastery of reading comprehension skills by Indonesian CHL learners is consistent with the general rules of reading
comprehension (Mckee, 2012). They first have an orthographic knowledge and vocabulary knowledge, followed by an awareness of syntactic and discourse comprehension,etc. This is also in line with the natural order of language learning, which is to first master the spelling of Chinese characters, the use of words, and then a fine grasp of grammar and discourse structure.
In addition, our research examines the reading comprehension ability of CHL learners from the perspectives of orthographic knowledge, vocabulary knowledge, syntactic
awareness, and discourse comprehension, and then analyzes their differences in threestages. For early adolescence, late adolescence, and adulthood, we can roughly predict the development process of reading comprehension of Indonesian CHL learners.
First of all, in the adolescent stage is the development of orthographic and vocabularyknowledge, because in the adolescent stage, these two parts are significantly different,
and there is no significant differences between vocabulary knowledge, syntactic awareness, and discourse comprehension. Secondly, in the adult stage, vocabulary knowledge,
syntactic awareness, and discourse comprehension are developing, because in the adultstage, there is no significant difference between orthographic and vocabulary knowledge, which may have been developed and mature, while there are significant differences
between vocabulary knowledge, syntactic awareness, and discourse comprehension,
which may still be developing.
Combining the characteristics of Chinese and our research results, we can see that thereading comprehension learning sequence of Indonesian CHL learners is in line withthe general Chinese learning rules. And, we can also see the peak development period ofreading comprehension skills of Indonesian CHL learners; that is, they mainly develop
low-level skills (such as characters and words) in adolescence and begin to develop highlevel skills (such as chapter comprehension) in adulthood. This can reveal the generaldevelopment pattern of reading comprehension among CHL learners and can also provide targeted guidance and suggestions for teaching Chinese to Chinese Indonesians.
Longitudinal comparison of reading comprehension ability for Indonesian CHL learners

According to the research results, there is an age difference in the scores of Indonesian CHL learners in reading comprehension ability. The early adolescent group(Mage = 13.56) scored higher in orthographic knowledge than the late adolescent group(Mage = 15.78). This research result is related to the characteristics of Indonesian CHL
learners themselves.

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HL is a language and cultural heritage beyond the language of the social subject,mainly used in the family environment (Polinsky, 2018). HL learners have a large amountof input from birth (Polinsky & Kagan, 2007), which are similar to L1 learners who havebeen exposed to this language since childhood in their families and input a large amountof it in natural environments (Montrul, 2010). Therefore, the language input channels
for HL learners mainly come from family environment.
There is a difference in the time spent at home between the early adolescent group(Mage = 13.56) and the late adolescent group (Mage = 15.78), as they are in different stagesof life. The early adolescent group is more subject to family supervision and care, while
the late adolescent group is more independent, with more autonomy and social activities. This difference in life stages affects their time allocation within the family. In addition, as learners age, they often face more academic requirements and challenges. The
late adolescence learners need more time to complete school assignments, prepare forexams, and participate in additional academic activities. These academic pressures maylead to a decrease in their time spent at home. Therefore, the early adolescent group is
more exposed to HL in the family than the late adolescent group and is in an advantageous position in language input. Among the four component skills of reading comprehension, research shows that the early adolescent group (Mage = 15.78) performs
better in orthographic knowledge than the late adolescent group (Mage = 13.56), indicating the language attrition in the late adolescence group (Mage = 13.56). Language attrition refers to the process in which bilingual or multilingual users reduce or stop using acertain language due to physiological, psychological, cognitive, and social reasons, andtheir ability to use that language gradually decreases over time (Köpke & Schmid, 2004).
As mentioned earlier, HL belongs to the family language. The late adolescence groupreduced language input from families, and their contact time with CHL also decreased.
Therefore, the speed of CHL attrition is faster, and the orthographic knowledge acquiredby the late adolescent group has a certain degree of attrition. Therefore, human intervention can be used to prevent language erosion. For example, in Japan, to prevent the
English proficiency of returning children from being eroded, organizers give them a few
hours a month to participate in English communication activities. The organizers believethat theoretically, this method should help prevent the attrition of these children’s English abilities (Yoshitomi, 1999).
Generally speaking, learners in the early adolescent group are still in the stage of accumulating basic language knowledge. The curriculum design and teaching methods ofschools and educational institutions place more emphasis on learning characters andspelling rules, which helps improve the orthographic knowledge acquired by CHL learners in childhood. Therefore, the early adolescent group gained a deeper understanding of
the writing and phonetic rules of Chinese characters and scored relatively high in orthographic knowledge.
According to the research results, the early adolescent group (Mage = 13.56) scoredlower in vocabulary knowledge than the adult group (Mage = 22.83). It can be seen thatas people age, CHL learners gradually form a richer vocabulary network. In early adolescence, learners are not exposed to sufficiently broad and complex vocabulary, andthe application of vocabulary is relatively limited. The understanding and applicationof vocabulary is still in the development stage, requiring more time and experience toPage 20 of 26

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establish rich vocabulary knowledge. In adulthood, learners may have more opportunities to come into contact with more complex and professional vocabulary and, throughpractical application of this vocabulary, improve their vocabulary knowledge level. The
relative advantage of the adult group in this regard may be related to more language
learning experience, wider reading, and practical applications. Meanwhile, multiple
surveys have shown that students’ learning motivation can affect differences in reading performance among learners (Becirovic, 2017; Saaty, 2022), and like L2 learners, HL
learners require strong motivation to maintain and learn HL (Montrul, 2010). Indonesian adult learners may have more learning motivation, which helps them better understand and use vocabulary.
The research results also indicate that the adult group (Mage = 22.83) scored higher
in orthographic knowledge, vocabulary knowledge, syntactic awareness, and discourse
comprehension than the late adolescent group (Mage = 15.78). In addition to the learning
motivation mentioned earlier, it is also related to the learning environment of the adultgroup; as with the lifting of Indonesia’s China exclusion policy and the exchange andcooperation between Indonesia and China in the fields of business, culture, and education, many universities in Indonesia teach Chinese and send students to China to learn
Chinese. According to data from the Indonesian Ministry of Education, a minimum of 30
universities in Indonesia offer Chinese language courses, for example Universitas Indonesia, Universitas Darma Persada, Universitas Kristen Maranatha, Universitas Muhammadiyah in Yogyakarta, and Universitas Subei in Medan (preparatory). According tostatistics (Li, 2020), there were over 15,000 Indonesian students studying in universities
in China, such as Beijing Language and Culture University, Jinan University, and Xiamen
University. In recent years, Indonesia’s attitude towards the Chinese has shifted towards
a more positive direction. Many CHL learners in Indonesia have received formal Chinese education as adults and have undergone systematic training in literacy, reading,writing, and other aspects. Adult group CHL acquisition typically occurs in a classroom
environment, with a focus on reading and writing, as well as grammar interpretation,practice, feedback, and evaluation of CHL skill development.
HL learners missed the opportunity to learn formal registers and the typically complex
structures of written language in early language acquisition (Polinsky & Kagan, 2007;
Rothman, 2007). As age increases and learners’ language abilities improve, the adultgroup’s ability and depth in learning orthographic knowledge, vocabulary knowledge,
syntactic awareness, and discourse comprehension will also correspondingly increase.
They have already acquired a solid foundation of language knowledge and skills, andhave a deeper understanding and mastery of the handwriting and phonetic transcription rules of Chinese characters, the meaning and usage of vocabulary, the structure andgrammar rules of sentences, as well as the overall structure and logical relationships oftexts. Secondly, the adult group may also have more diverse reading experiences andstrategies. They may have more cultural background knowledge and life experience andcan better understand and analyze the meaning and logical relationships in the text.

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Conclusion
This study compared the acquisition of reading comprehension skills among Indonesian CHL learners from both cross-sectional and longitudinal perspectives, revealing
the reading comprehension process of Indonesian CHL learners and the development
trends and differences in reading comprehension among learners of different age groups.
Cross-sectional comparison shows that in the overall reading skills, orthographic
knowledge dominates the CHL learners’ reading comprehension process, followed by
vocabulary knowledge and syntactic awareness, while discourse comprehension is relatively low. This represents the development pattern of Indonesian CHL learners’ reading
comprehension ability and is in line with the patterns of linguistics. At the same time,different teaching strategies need to be adopted for HL learners of different ages. For
adolescence, Indonesian CHL learners are still in the development process from orthography to vocabulary knowledge, so they need to pay more attention to understanding
and mastering the meaning of the characters during the reading process. In adulthood,they can focus on the training of more complex reading comprehension skills, such assyntactic awareness and discourse comprehension, helping them better understand andmaster the deep structure meaning and expression of Chinese.
The longitudinal comparison emphasizes the significant impact of age on reading
comprehension ability. During adolescence, the development of reading comprehension
ability of Indonesian CHL learners is stagnant and even regresses in orthography knowledge. Fortunately, after adulthood, their reading comprehension ability further recover,
and all four dimensions are significantly higher than those in late adolescence, and evenexceeded those in early adolescence in terms of vocabulary knowledge. This inspires us
to pay attention to the maintenance of HL among Indonesian CHL adolescent learners,
and at the same time, it also enlightens us that although HL remains stagnant or lost ina certain period of time, it can be further passed down through some efforts in the later
period.
This study guides designing personalized and phased CHL teaching. We suggest paying attention to the cultivation of orthographic knowledge in the early stages, while gradually strengthening the learning of vocabulary. As learners age, more attention should be
paid to improving their syntactic awareness and discourse comprehension abilities, toachieve their comprehensive development in reading comprehension.
In future research, focusing on micro-critical reading is essential. Aloqaili (2012) highlighted the importance of critical thinking for reading comprehension. Our research primarily evaluated students’ proficiency in character and word decoding, as well as theircomprehension of sentences. Nonetheless, the assessment of students’ critical thinking
abilities was not sufficiently addressed. Future research should give more emphasis tothis aspect. This method involves guiding students through detailed and critical analysisof texts, enabling them to precisely comprehend the author’s intentions and the deeper
meanings in the text. Micro-critical reading is more than a skill; it nurtures learners’abilities to think independently, analyze, and evaluate texts. In the context of learning
CHL, this ability is especially crucial, given the complexity and nuances of Chinese thatdemand critical thinking. Secondly, future research could further focus on the key factors affecting the improvement of reading comprehension skills among adult CHL learners in Indonesia. By doing so, it can provide effective references for the language regain

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of CHL learners in adulthood, which is crucial for the maintenance of the HL (Montrul,2023). Thirdly, future studies could further compare the differences in reading comprehension development trajectories between CHL and CL2 learners. Such comparisons
would assist educators in adopting differentiated teaching methods tailored to the distinct characteristics of different groups.
Abbreviations
CHL	Chinese Heritage Language
CL2	Chinese second language
DIER	Direct and indirect effects model of reading
HL	Heritage language
HC	Chinese Proficiency Test
HSK	Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi
L1	First language
L2	Second language
SVR	Simple view of reading
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful for use of the data from the Chinese Proficiency Test.
Authors’ contributions
The first three authors write and approved the manuscript. The fourth and fifth author provided the data for this article.
The sixth author was responsible for the formatting of the paper.
Funding
This work was supported in part by the International Chinese Language Education Research Program under Grant
23YH72D, in part by the Shenzhen Science and Technology Program under Grant 20231126112732001, and in part by
the Shenzhen Polytechnic University Research Fund under Grant 6024310005 K.
Availability of data and materials
The data and materials will not be available to protect the privacy of the candidates.

Declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Received: 8 December 2023 Accepted: 11 February 2024

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