This study investigated the relationship between fourth-grade students’ Japanese as a first language (L1) reading and writing skills and their improvement in English sound-letter acquisition following three years of Jolly Phonics (JP) instruction. Participants were pupils enrolled in elementary schools in A City (N＝103). The students were divided into three groups based on Japanese reading and writing test scores, and their progress on English tasks was compared across groups. Improvement at the individual level was also examined. Results indicated a general trend in which students with higher Japanese literacy scores in Grade 4 showed greater gains in English sound-letter acquisition. However, case-level analysis revealed notable exceptions across all groups. These findings suggest that early identification of reading and writing difficulties in Japanese may provide helpful information for later support. Furthermore, careful attention to potential challenges in English as a foreign language is essential, even in the absence of evident L1 difficulties.

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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