Correlations of auditory discrimination, phonemic awareness, and literacy: Evidence from Grade 4 learners in a rural Gauteng primary school

In South Africa, many Grade 4 learners transition from first-language instruction to English as the language of learning and teaching (LoLT). This often occurs without sufficient support for the development and transfer of foundational phonological and literacy skills. Additionally, there is limited research on the role of auditory discrimination in this process. In this study we examine the relationships among auditory discrimination, segmenting and blending skills, and literacy outcomes, including reading speed and spelling accuracy, among 83 Grade 4 learners in a rural primary school in Gauteng who transitioned from Setswana to English as the LoLT. We used a quantitative, retrospective, descriptive, and correlational design. The results indicated significant positive correlations between auditory discrimination skills and literacy skills. A moderate to strong positive correlation was found between auditory discrimination and spelling skills (rs = 0.500, p < 0.001), as well as between auditory discrimination and reading speed (rs = 0.448, p < 0.001). Unlike findings reported in some previous studies, participants demonstrated age-appropriate blending and segmentation skills in English. However, these phonological awareness skills did not correspond consistently with strong literacy outcomes. These outcomes are attributed to differences in phonology and orthographies, limited exposure to English, and the challenges of transitioning to a new LoLT without explicit support.