My research focuses on (1) understanding the mechanisms underlying language processing and acquisition using both behavioral and neuroscience approaches (i.e., the ERPs) in children with and without reading difficulties (2) identifying cognitive and linguistic factors that influence reading development and reading difficulties in typically developing children and children with reading difficulties.

Scholarly Books, Monographs and Chapters

  Chapter in an edited book (author)

• Tong, X., & McBride, C. (2020). Neuroscience in Reading and Reading Difficulties. De Smet, Bert, Routledge (1-2). Oxford: Rouledge.
• McBride, C., Tong, X., & Mo, J. (2015). Developmental Dyslexia in Chinese. William S.-Y. Wang & Chaofen Sun, Oxford Handbook of Chinese Linguistics (1-2). Incorporated: Oxford Handbook of Chinese Linguistics.
• Zhou, Y., Tong, X., Mo, J., & McBride-Chang, C. (2014). Cross-language transfer in bilingual students. A. B. Clinton, School Psychology Book Series (1-2). Washington, DC: School Psychology Book Series.

Journal Publications

  Publication in refereed journal

• Yu, L., & Tong, X. (2021). Family socialization and loneliness correlate with third graders’ reading comprehension. Reading and Writing, 1-22. Reading and Writing An Interdisciplinary Journal, 20, 110-117.
• Tong, X., Kwan, J. L. Y., Tong, S. X., & Deacon, S. H. (2021). How Chinese–English bilingual fourth graders draw on syntactic awareness in reading comprehension: Within‐ and cross‐language effects. Reading Research Quarterly, --, --.
• Tong, X., Xu, M., Zhao, J., & Yu, L. (2021). The graded priming effect of semantic radical on Chinese character recognition. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 119.
• Tong, X., Wang, Y., & Tong, X. (2020). The Neurocognitive Correlates of Statistical Learning of Orthography-Semantic Connections in Chinese Adult Learners. Neuroscience Bulletin, 0, 0-0.
• Tong, X., Shen, W., Li, Z., Xu, M., Pan, L., & Tong, S.X. (2020). Phonological, Not Semantic, Activation Dominates Chinese Character Recognition: Evidence from a Visual World Eye-Tracking Study. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 73(4), 617-628.
• Tong, X., Wang, Y., & Tong, S. X. (2020). The neural signature of statistical learning of orthography. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 14, 26.
• Tong, X., Leung, W.W.S., & Tong, X. (2019). Visual statistical learning and orthographic awareness in Chinese children with and without developmental dyslexia. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 92, 103443.
• Siu, T.-S. C., McBride, C., Tse, C.-S., Tong, X., & Maurer, U. (2018). Evaluating the effects of metalinguistic and working memory training on reading fluency in Chinese and English: A randomized controlled trial. Frontiers in Psychology, section Language Sciences, 9, 2510.
• Lo, C.M.J., Ye, Y.-y, Tong, X., McBride, C., Ho, S.H.C., & Waye, M.Y.M. (2018). Delayed Copying is Uniquely Related to Dictation in Bilingual Cantonese–English-speaking Children in Hong Kong. Writing Systems Research, 10 (1), 26-42.
• Shen, W., Li, Z., & Tong, X. (2018). Time Course of the Second Morpheme Processing During Spoken Disyllabic Compound Word Recognition in Chinese. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 61(11), 2796-2803.
• Shen, W.,Qu, Q.Q, Tong, X.H. (2018). Visual Attention Shift to Printed Words during Spoken Word Recognition in Chinese: The Role of Phonological Information. Memory & Cognition, 46,4, 642-654.
• Tan, Y., Tong, X., Chen, W., Weng, X., He, S., & Zhao, J. (2018). Vernier but not grating acuity contributes to an early stage of visual word processing. Neuroscience Bulletin, 34(3), 517-526.
• Tong, X., McBride, C., Shu, H., & Ho, C. S.-H. (2018). Reading comprehension difficulties in Chinese–English bilingual children. Dyslexia, 24(1), 59-83.
• Tong, X., Tong, X., & Yiu, F. K. (2018). Beyond auditory sensory processing deficits: Lexical tone perception deficits in Chinese children with developmental dyslexia. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 51(3), 293-301.
• Zhang, J., Meng, Y., Tong, X., Yuan, Z., Wu, C., & Leong, S. L. (2018). Exploring the neural correlates of lexical stress perception in English among Chinese-English bilingual children with autism spectrum disorder: An ERP study. Neuroscience Letters, 666, 158-164.
• Choi, W., Tong, X., Tong, X., & Gu, F. (2017). On the early neural perceptual integrality of tones and vowels. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 41, 11-23.
• Dulay, K. M., Tong, X., & McBride, C. (2017). The role of foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong Chinese children's English and Chinese skills: A longitudinal study. Language Learning, 67(2), 321-347.
• Li, T., Wang, Y., Tong, X., & McBride, C. (2017). A developmental study of Chinese children’s word and character reading. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 46(1), 141-155.
• Tong, X., & McBride, C. (2017). A reciprocal relationship between syntactic awareness and reading comprehension. Learning and Individual Differences, 57, 33-44.
• Tong, X., & McBride, C. (2017). English word reading difficulties and orthographic processing weaknesses in Chinese-English bilingual adolescents with dyslexia. Topics in Language Disorders, 37(2), 170-181.
• Tong, X., McBride, C., Lo, J. C. M., & Shu, H. (2017). A three-year longitudinal study of reading and spelling difficulty in Chinese developmental dyslexia: The matter of morphological awareness. Dyslexia, 23(4), 372-386.
• Tong, X., Tong, X., & McBride, C. (2017). Radical sensitivity is the key to understanding Chinese character acquisition in children. Reading and Writing, 30(6), 1251-1265.
• Tong, X., Tong, X., & McBride, C. (2017). Unpacking the relation between morphological awareness and Chinese word reading: Levels of morphological awareness and vocabulary. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 48, 167-178.
• Tong, X., & McBride, C. (2016). Reading comprehension mediates the relationship between syntactic awareness and writing composition in children: A longitudinal study. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 45(6), 1265-1285.
• Tong, X., Lo, J. C. M., McBride, C., Ho, C. S. H., Waye, M. M. Y., Chung, K. K. H., & Chow, B. W. Y. (2016). Coarse and Fine N1 Tuning for Print in Younger and Older Chinese Children: Orthography, Phonology, or Semantics Driven?. Neuropsychologia, 91, 109-119.
• Tong, X., Maurer, U; Chung, K., & McBride, C. (2016). Neural specialization for print in Chinese-English language learners. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 38, 42-55.
• Kalindi, S. C., McBride, C., Tong, X., Wong, N. L. Y., Chung, K. H. K., & Lee, C. Y. (2015). Beyond phonological and morphological processing: Pure copying as a marker of dyslexia in Chinese but not poor reading of English. Annals of dyslexia, 65(2), 53-68.
• Kalindi, S., McBride, C., Chan, S., Chung, K., Lee, C-Y., & Tong, X. (2015). A Short Test of Word Recognition for English Language Learners. Child Studies in Asia-Pacific Contexts, 5(2), 95-105.
• Tong, X., Tong, X., & McBride-Chang, C. (2015). Tune in to the tone: Lexical tone identification is associated with vocabulary and word recognition abilities in young Chinese children. Language and Speech, 58(4), 441-458.
• Tong, X., Chung, K., & McBride, C. (2014). Two-Character Chinese Compound Word Processing In Chinese Children with and Without Dyslexia: ERP Evidence. Developmental neuropsychology, 39(4), 285-301.
• Tong, X., McBride, C., Lee, C. Y., Zhang, J., Shuai, L., Maurer, U., & Chung, K. K. (2014). Segmental and Suprasegmental Features In Speech Perception in Cantonese‐Speaking Second Graders. Psychophysiology, 51(11), 1158-1168.
• Tong, X., McBride, C., Zhang, J., Chung, K. K., Lee, C. Y., Shuai, L., & Tong, X. (2014). Neural correlates of acoustic cues of English lexical stress in Cantonese-speaking children. Brain and language, 138, 61-70.
• Tong, X., Mo, J., Shu, H., Zhang, Y., Chan, S., & McBride-Chang, C. (2014). Understanding Chinese children's complex writing: Global ratings and lower-level mechanical errors. Writing Systems Research, 6(2), 215-229.
• Tong, X., Tong, X., Shu, H., Chan, S., & McBride‐Chang, C. (2014). Discourse-level reading comprehension in Chinese children: What is the role of syntactic awareness?. Journal of Research in Reading, 37(S1), S48-S70.
• Chung, K.K.H, Tong, X., & McBride-Chang, C. (2012). Evidence for a Deficit in Orthographic Structure Processing In Chinese Character Recognition among Developmental Dyslexics: An Event-Related Potentials (ERP) Study. Brain Research, 1472(7), 20-31.
• McBride-Chang. C., Chung, K.K.H, & Tong, X. (2011). Copying Skills In Relation To Word Reading and Writing in Chinese Children with and Without Dyslexia. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 110(3), 422-433.
• 32. Chung, K. K. H., Tong, X., Liu, P. D., McBride-Chang, C., & Meng, X. (2010). The Processing Of Morphological Structure Information In Chinese Coordinative Compounds: An Event-Related Potential Study. Brain Research, 1352, 157-166.
• Liu, P. D., Chung, K. K. H., McBride-Chang, C., & Tong, X. (2010). Holistic Versus Analytic Processing: Evidence For A Different Approach To Processing Of Chinese At The Word And Character Levels In Chinese Children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 107(4), 466-478.
• Yang, J., Wang, S., Tong, X., & Rayner, K. (2010). Semantic and Plausibility Effects on Preview Benefit During Eye Fixations in Chinese Reading. Reading and Writing, 25(5), 1031-1052.
• Wang, S., Tong, X., Yang, J., & Leng, Y. (2009). Semantic Codes Are Obtained Before Word Fixation In Chinese Sentence Reading: Evidence From Eye-Movements. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 41(3), 196-207.

  Publication in policy or professional journal

• Tong, X., Tong, X., & McBride-Chang, C. (2015). A tale of two writing systems: Double dissociation and metalinguistic transfer between Chinese and English word reading among Hong Kong children. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 48(2), 130-145.

The Intriguing Role of Syntactic Awareness in One Language and Reading Comprehension and Reading Comprehension Difficulty in Another Language in Chinese-English Bilingual Children: A Longitudinal Study

The proposed study aims to examine: 1) the within- and across-language relationships between syntactic awareness and reading comprehension in Chinese-English bilingual children, 2) whether the similarities and differences in syntactic structures bet . . . Project Start Year : 2021  Chief Investigator(s) : TONG, Xiuhong 佟秀紅

The Role of Different Syntactic Awareness Tasks in Chinese Children’s Reading Comprehension

.. Project Start Year : 2021  Chief Investigator(s) : TONG, Xiuhong 佟秀紅

Left-behind Children’s Reading Comprehension Difficulty: The Roles of Cognitive-linguistic Skills, Family Learning Environment and Learning Motivation

.. Project Start Year : 2020  Chief Investigator(s) : TONG, Xiuhong 佟秀紅

Neurocognitive Developmental Mechanisms Underlying Statistical Learning of Chinese Orthography in Hong Kong Chinese Children: A Longitudinal ERP Study

• To examine the neural signatures of statistical learning of Chinese orthographic regularities (i.e., phonetic and semantic regularities of radicals) in Hong Kong Chinese children; • To investigate the developmental changes of statistical learning o . . . Project Start Year : 2020  Chief Investigator(s) : TONG, Xiuhong 佟秀紅

Toward a Research Cluster in Clinical Linguistics

The primary goal of this project is to promote interdisciplinary collaborations in clinical linguistics, with a focus on resolving challenges arising from language specific factors of Chinese, including both Mandarin and Cantonese. It is also the goa . . . Project Start Year : 2020  Chief Investigator(s) : CHEUNG, Hin Tat 張顯達   (Dr TONG, Xiuhong 佟秀紅 as Co-Investigator)

Language and Literacy Cluster

.. Project Start Year : 2018  Chief Investigator(s) : TONG, Xiuhong 佟秀紅

The Neural Signature of Statistical Learning of Radical Positional Regularity in Chinese: A Pilot Study

The aim of this pilot study is to examine the neural signature of positional consistency statistical learning of radicals embedded in Chinese compound character by using event-related potential (ERP) measure Project Start Year : 2018  Chief Investigator(s) : TONG, Xiuhong 佟秀紅

The Role of Radical Knowledge in Novel Chinese Character Learning in Children: An Eye Movement Study

In the present study, eye movement technique with a revised print-word paradigm will be applied to examine the following three questions: (1). How do Chinese Grades 1, 3 and 5 children in Hong Kong use orthographic, phonetic, and semantic information . . . Project Start Year : 2018  Chief Investigator(s) : TONG, Xiuhong 佟秀紅

Within- and Across- Language Contribution of Syntactic Awareness to Reading Comprehension in Chinese-English Bilingual Children

(1) To examine the within- and cross-language transfer of syntactic awareness to reading in Chinese-English bilingual children; (2) To investigate the question of how the overlap in knowledge of specific syntactic structures (i.e., the same or differ . . . Project Start Year : 2018  Chief Investigator(s) : TONG, Xiuhong 佟秀紅

兒童漢字正字法的統計學習、腦電活動及讀寫能力關係的縱向研究

.. Project Start Year : 2017  Chief Investigator(s) : TONG, Xiuhong 佟秀紅

APS Rising Star

The Rising Star designation recognizes outstanding psychological scientists in the earliest stages of their post-PhD research careers. Date of receipt: 7/12/2019 Conferred by: Association for Psychological Science