How do phonological processing abilities contribute to early Chinese reading and mathematics?

Abstract

The present study examined phonological processing skills (phonological memory, phonological awareness, and rapid automatised naming, RAN) in relation to early Chinese reading and early Chinese mathematics for young children. Early Chinese reading was assessed with single character reading and multi-character word reading, and early mathematics was assessed with procedural arithmetic and arithmetic story problems. Among 86 Chinese kindergarteners, phonological processing skills explained 20% of the variance in character reading and 28% of the variance in word reading; they accounted for 8% of the variance in arithmetic and 11% of the variance in story problem performance. Specifically, findings further highlight the general importance of phonological awareness in early Chinese single character reading, word reading, simple arithmetic and story problems, and the specific role of RAN in single character reading and simple arithmetic.

• Highlights

• Phonological awareness and rapid automatised naming explained unique variance in Chinese single character reading and procedural arithmetic.

• Only phonological awareness significantly accounted for unique variance in Chinese word reading and arithmetic story problems.

• The associations of phonological awareness with procedural arithmetic and arithmetic story problem were maintained even beyond other variables.

     

Predictors of word‐reading ability in 7‐year‐olds: analysis of data from a U.K. cohort study

Previous U.K. population‐based studies have found associations amongst early speech and language difficulties, socioeconomic disadvantage and children's word‐reading ability later on. We examine the strength of these associations in a recent U.K. population‐based birth cohort. Analyses were based on 13,680 participants. Linear regression models were fitted to identify factors that were associated with word‐reading score at the age of 7 years. Path analysis models were fitted to examine phonological skills as a mediator of the relationships. We found that male gender, preterm birth, naming vocabulary at age five, concerns about speech and language, maternal education, type of housing tenure, lone parenting, parent attachment and frequency of reading to the child were all independently associated with word reading. For each of these predictors, there was evidence suggesting that a substantial proportion of the effect may be mediated by phonological skills (ranging from 52 to 89%). Despite policy intervention, many of the same risk factors identified in previous studies still predict children's word‐reading ability in the United Kingdom. Results support the phonological model, with phonological skills on the pathway to word reading.

What is already known about this topic?

• A range of studies has implicated poor socioeconomic background and disadvantaged family circumstances as risks for children's poor word reading.
• Good early development of language skills is firmly established as a pathway to promoting reading ability.
• Not all poor readers show deficits in phonological skills, although such deficits correlate highly with reading difficulties.

What this paper adds

• This is an original analysis of factors in a recent cohort of U.K. children, using stratified sampling to be representative of the U.K. population as a whole.
• A range of child‐specific, family socioeconomic and family relationship factors were independently associated with word‐reading ability when children were age seven.
• For each of the predictors, there was evidence suggesting that a substantial proportion of the effect, if causal, may be mediated by phonological skills (ranging from 52 to 89%).

Implications for theory, policy or practice

• Despite policy intervention, many of the same risk factors identified in older studies still predict children's word‐reading ability in the United Kingdom.
• Results lend weight to the phonological model, where deficits in phonological skills are on the pathway to word reading.

     

Explaining phonology and reading in adult learners: Introducing prosodic awareness and executive functions to reading ability

Background

This study was designed to extend our understanding of phonology and reading to include suprasegmental awareness using measures of prosodic awareness, which are complex tasks that tap into the rhythmic aspects of phonology. By requiring participants to access, reflect on and manipulate word stress, the prosodic awareness measures used here necessarily impose demands on the executive system. Prosodic awareness was evaluated as a phonological predictor of reading in older readers while controlling for executive functions (EF) in order to ascertain whether observed predictive relationships could be confidently attributed to suprasegmental awareness.

Methods

103 adults between 18 and 55 years of age completed tasks on prosodic awareness, EF, vocabulary, nonverbal abilities, naming speed and short‐term memory.

Results

Independent contributions of prosodic awareness added to models of word reading, whereas EF processes did not uniquely contribute to adult reading outcomes.

Conclusions

Suprasegmental phonology explains individual differences in word reading among experienced readers. Theoretical implications of findings are discussed.

Implications for Practice

What is already known about this topic

• Phonological awareness (PA) becomes less predictive of reading in older readers. PA is typically assessed at the level of the segment (e.g., phonemes, syllables and onset‐rimes), with less focus on suprasegmental processes (e.g., rhythm, stress and intonation).
• Suprasegmental phonological processing includes measures of prosodic ability (e.g., awareness and manipulation of suprasegmental features of oral language). Studies on prosodic awareness and reading have independent contributions beyond segmental PA in early readers. Less work has been investigated among adult readers.
• Executive functions (EF) including inhibitory control, working memory, switching and updating and monitoring of goal directed behaviour, predict overall academic achievement. Limited studies have controlled for EF demands in phonological tasks.

What this paper adds

• Tasks of prosodic awareness necessarily impose demands on the executive system when manipulating components of oral language. After controlling for EF and controls, prosodic awareness explained individual differences in adult word reading.
• Tasks of suprasegmental phonological processes explain the association between phonology and reading in older and more experienced readers. Researchers who explore phonology and reading development should begin to include tasks of prosodic awareness to examine the dual role of segmental and suprasegmental PA as it is implicated across development.

Implications for theory, policy or practice

• Theoretical models of phonology and reading can be extended to include suprasegmental processes.
• For educational practitioners involved in reading assessment of older readers, tasks of prosodic awareness are a more age‐appropriate measure of phonology.
• Tasks of phonology and reading with increasing complexity impose greater demands on the executive system. The relationship between cognitive flexibility and reading needs to be considered in theoretical models of reading.

     

An evaluation of the effectiveness of a computer‐assisted reading intervention

Background

A cost‐effective method to address reading delays is to use computer‐assisted learning, but these techniques are not always effective.

Methods

We evaluated a commercially available computer system that uses visual mnemonics, in a randomised controlled trial with 78 English‐speaking children (mean age 7 years) who their schools identified as needing reading support. School‐based individual tutorials usually took place 2–3 times/week. Only the experimental group received the intervention in the first 10 months; thereafter, both the experimental and control groups received the intervention for 6 months.

Results

After 10 months, the experimental group had significantly higher standardised scores than the waiting list control group of decoding, phonological awareness, naming speed, phonological short‐term memory and executive loaded working memory.

Conclusions

The computer‐assisted intervention was effective, and this suggests that this medium can be used for reading interventions with English‐speaking children. What is already known about this topic

• There are comparatively few randomised controlled trial evaluations of computer‐based reading interventions.
• Meta‐analyses report small positive effect sizes for such interventions with English‐speaking children.
• The use of visual mnemonics to improve reading has rarely been investigated.

What this paper adds

• The findings suggest that computer‐based interventions for English‐speaking, struggling readers can be effective.
• The effects extended beyond the targeted abilities, and a longer intervention was more effective than a shorter one.
• Apart from spelling, the mean reading and reading related standardised scores for children at the end of the intervention were above or just below 100.

Implications for theory, policy or practice

• Computer‐based interventions can be used to support English‐speaking, struggling readers, and their effects can go beyond targeted abilities.
• The use of visual mnemonics and the development of the intervention programme over a number of years could have contributed to this success.
• The role of visual mnemonics as a help for struggling readers deserves further investigation.

     

Development of and Relationship Between Phonological and Motivational Processes and Naming Speed in Predicting Word Recognition in Grade 1

In this 2-year longitudinal study the developmental relationships among letter knowledge, phonological awareness, rapid naming, and task orientation were examined, and linguistic-motivational pathways of word reading acquisition were traced from kindergarten to Grade 1 by means of structural equation modeling. The participants were 100 Finnish-speaking nonreaders. Results showed that kindergarten (5–6 years) letter knowledge predicted subsequent preschool (6–7 years) phonological awareness and task orientation. RAN was a unique longitudinal and concurrent predictor of word recognition, suggesting that rapid naming provides a reliable prediction of prospective word reading ability at least in a transparent language. Controlling for phonological awareness and rapid naming, task orientation contributed uniquely to the prediction of word reading competence, suggesting that motivational and linguistic factors are both at work as children face the gradually growing demands of learning to read and write in Grade 1.     

Spelling predictors; investigating the role of phonological ability and rapid naming in a large cross-sectional British study

This study aimed to identify predictors of single word spelling performance in children using a novel test containing regular words, irregular words and pseudowords. We assessed reading ability, letter-sound knowledge, phonological awareness (PA) and rapid automatised naming (RAN) in children aged 4–12 years (N = 641). Mixed model analyses with hierarchical nested data were conducted with Year_group (Yr R to Yr 6) included as a factor, PA and RAN as predictors, and reading and letter-sound knowledge as covariates. For irregular word spelling, PA and RAN were significant predictors, but the associations were dependent upon the year the children attended. Interestingly, for regular words and pseudowords PA was not significantly related. For pseudowords, only RAN was a significant predictor and only in Yr 2. We argue that a better understanding of spelling development can be achieved using tools that distinguish between regular and irregular words and pseudowords, as different processes seem to be associated with the different types of letter string across the variable levels of spelling experience.     

Individual differences in RAN and reading: a response timing analysis

Thirty 8–11‐year‐old children were administered tests of rapid naming (RAN letters and digits) and reading‐related skills. Consistent with the hypothesis that RAN predicts reading because it assesses the ability to establish arbitrary mappings between visual symbols and verbal labels, RAN accounted for independent variance in exception word reading when phonological skills were controlled. Response timing analysis of different components of RAN digits and letters revealed that neither average item duration nor average pause duration were unique predictors of reading skill. However, the number of pauses on digit naming predicted unique variance in exception word reading. Moreover, better readers paused more strategically than poorer readers (e.g. more often at the ends of lines). We suggest that rapid automatised naming may in part reflect differences in strategic control that are a result of differences in reading practice and experience.     

Cognitive Attributes,Attention, and Self‐Efficacy of Adequate and Inadequate Responders in a Fourth Grade Reading Intervention

We examined cognitive attributes, attention, and self‐efficacy of fourth grade struggling readers who were identified as adequate responders (n = 27), inadequate responders with comprehension only deficits (n = 46), and inadequate responders with comprehension and word reading deficits (n = 52) after receiving a multicomponent reading intervention. We also included typical readers (n = 40). These four groups were compared on measures of nonverbal reasoning, working memory, verbal knowledge, listening comprehension, phonological awareness, and rapid naming as well as on teacher ratings of attention problems and self‐reported self‐efficacy. The two inadequate responder groups demonstrated difficulties primarily with verbal knowledge and listening comprehension compared to typical readers and adequate responders. Phonological awareness and rapid naming differentiated the two inadequate responder groups. In addition, both inadequate responder groups showed more attention problems and low self‐efficacy compared to typical readers.     

The Nature of and Factors Related to Reading Difficulties Among Adolescents in a Transparent Orthography

We examined the nature of and factors related to adolescents’ reading difficulties in a highly transparent orthography. We compared word, pseudoword, and text reading speed and accuracy, rapid naming (RAN) and phonological processing between poor readers (n?=?80) and normally developing readers (n?=?189). Reading problems were manifested in reading speed and in timed pseudoword reading accuracy. RAN predicted speed, and phonological processing predicted accuracy of reading in both groups. Among poor readers, RAN also explained reading accuracy. For the normally developing sample, phonological processing also predicted reading speed.     

Preschool prediction: Orthographic and phonological skills,and reading

Because of the research demonstrating the roles of phonological awareness, serial naming speed, and orthographic processing in reading, a test of each of these skills was added to a preschool screening battery. The main aim of the study was to determine whether these measures would contribute to the prediction of reading. The 118 subjects were first tested six months before kindergarten entry and were followed up 19 and 24 months later. Each additional screening test made a significant, independent contribution to the prediction of early first grade word reading/spelling, after the contributions of a parent rating of preschool reading ability (PRA), verbal IQ, socio-economic status (SES), and chronological age were accounted for. With letter naming and PRA, the additional tests were responsible for 62 percent of the variance. The orthographic test made the largest single contribution (32%) to the variance in word reading/spelling. Variables contributing significantly to the prediction of later first grade reading comprehension were (in order of proportion of the variance accounted for) letter naming, sentence memory, object naming speed, the orthographic test, and SES. The revised preschool screening battery correctly identified 91 percent of individual first grade good and poor readers. It was concluded that preschool measures of phonological awareness, serial naming speed, and orthographic processing make a strong contribution to prediction of first grade reading.     

The relations of early phonological awareness,rapid‐naming and speed of processing with the development of spelling and reading: a longitudinal examination

Phonological awareness has been found to be strongly related to spelling. Findings on the relations between rapid‐naming and spelling are less consistent and have been suggested to be shared with speed of processing. This study set out to examine these relations in spelling and reading of Hebrew. Children attending the regular educational system were followed longitudinally (N = 70): phonological awareness, rapid‐naming and speed of processing were tested in kindergarten and in grade 1, and spelling and reading were tested in grade 2. Kindergarten and grade 1 rapid‐naming predicted spelling and word reading, and grade 1 phonological awareness predicted spelling, word reading and decoding. Speed of processing was an insignificant predictor. The findings extend the role of phonological awareness in spelling to an orthography with partial phonological representations and concurrently suggest weak relations. The results further suggest a link between rapid‐naming and orthographic knowledge, which may not be explained by shared variance with speed of processing.     

Structural invariance in the associations of naming speed,phonological awareness,and verbal reasoning in good and poor readers: A test of the double deficit hypothesis

The associations of multiple measures of speeded naming, phonological awareness, and verbal intelligence with word reading were examined in 51 poor readers and 74 good readers in third and fourth grade. Structural equation modeling was used to determine the extent to which these two groups exhibited structurally invariant patterns of associations among the constructs. Results revealed that for poor readers, both speeded naming and phonological awarencess were significantly associated with word reading, but verbal intelligence had no association with it. In contrast, for good readers, phonological awareness and verbal intelligence were significantly associated with word reading, but naming speed was not. Findings are discussed in light of the double deficit hypothesis.     

Predictors of Chinese reading and literacy skills among Chinese school children: a 3-year longitudinal study

Abstract

This study aims to identify the predictors of Chinese reading and literacy skills among Chinese school children in Taiwan. Participants recruited in the study were 182 Grade 1 elementary school students. First, data were collected on these students’ literacy skills, which comprised morphological awareness, orthography processing, visual perception skills, phonological awareness, and rapid automatised naming. In Grade 2, data were collected from these students on their word decoding skills, which comprised character recognition and reading fluency. Finally, in Grade 3, data were collected on the Chinese comprehension skills of the same students. A structural equation model examined the direct and indirect effects of students’ literacy skills at Grade 1 on their reading comprehension at Grade 3, with students’ word decoding at Grade 2 acting as a mediator. Results showed that reading comprehension of students at Grade 3 was predicted by their literacy skills at Grade 1.     

Comparing the contribution of two tests of working memory to reading in relation to phonological awareness and rapid naming speed

The purpose of this study was to compare the contribution of two different versions of working memory to word reading and reading comprehension in relation to phonological awareness and rapid naming speed. Fifty children were administered two measures of working memory, namely an adaptation of the Daneman and Carpenter sentence span task and Sentence Question, tests of phonological awareness, rapid naming speed, word reading and reading comprehension. The results indicated that Sentence Question accounted for unique variance over and beyond the effects of Daneman and Carpenter's sentence span task, whereas the latter did not when the effects of Sentence Question were partialled out. In addition, both phonological awareness and rapid naming were accounting for unique variance beyond the effects of working memory in predicting reading. The role of working memory on reading is discussed, and future directions for research are suggested.     

The precursors of double dissociation between reading and spelling in a transparent orthography

Research and clinical practitioners have mixed views whether reading and spelling difficulties should be combined or seen as separate. This study examined the following: (a) if double dissociation between reading and spelling can be identified in a transparent orthography (Finnish) and (b) the cognitive and noncognitive precursors of this phenomenon. Finnish-speaking children (n?=?1963) were assessed on reading fluency and spelling in grades 1, 2, 3, and 4. Dissociation groups in reading and spelling were formed based on stable difficulties in grades 1–4. The groups were compared in kindergarten phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, letter knowledge, home literacy environment, and task-avoidant behavior. The results indicated that the double dissociation groups could be identified even in the context of a highly transparent orthography: 41 children were unexpected poor spellers (SD), 36 were unexpected poor readers (RD), and 59 were poor in both reading and spelling (RSD). The RSD group performed poorest on all cognitive skills and showed the most task-avoidant behavior, the RD group performed poorly particularly on rapid automatized naming and letter knowledge, and the SD group had difficulties on phonological awareness and letter knowledge. Fathers’ shared book reading was less frequent in the RD and RSD groups than in the other groups. The findings suggest that there are discernible double dissociation groups with distinct cognitive profiles. This further suggests that the identification of difficulties in Finnish and the planning of teaching and remediation practices should include both reading and spelling assessments.     

Syntactic and discourse skills in Chinese adolescent readers with dyslexia: a profiling study

This study aims to investigate the relation of syntactic and discourse skills to morphological skills, rapid naming, and working memory in Chinese adolescent readers with dyslexia and to examine their cognitive–linguistic profiles. Fifty-two dyslexic readers (mean age, 13;42) from grade 7 to 9 in Hong Kong high schools were compared with 52 typically developing readers of the same chronological age (mean age, 13;30) in the measures of word reading, 1-min word reading, reading comprehension, morpheme discrimination, morpheme production, morphosyntactic knowledge, sentence order knowledge, digit rapid naming, letter rapid naming, backward digit span, and non-word repetition. Results showed that dyslexic readers performed significantly worse than their peers on all the cognitive-linguistic tasks. Analyses of individual performance also revealed that over half of the dyslexic readers exhibited deficits in syntactic and discourse skills. Moreover, syntactic skills, morphological skills, and rapid naming best distinguished dyslexic from non-dyslexic readers. Findings underscore the significance of syntactic and discourse skills for understanding reading impairment in Chinese adolescent readers.     

Reading fluency: The whole is more than the parts

This study examined the relative contributions of phonological awareness, orthographic pattern recognition, and rapid letter naming to fluent word and connected-text reading within a dyslexic sample of 123 children in second and third grades. Participants were assessed on a variety of fluency measures and reading subskills. Correlations and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were carried out to explore these relationships. The results demonstrate that phonological awareness, rapid letter naming, and orthographic pattern recognition contribute to word-reading skills. Furthermore, rapid naming, orthographic pattern recognition, and word reading fluency moderately predict different dimensions of connected-text reading (i.e., rate, accuracy, and comprehension) whereas phonological awareness contributes only to the comprehension dimension of connected-text reading. The findings support the multidimensional nature of fluency in which the whole is more than its parts.     

Examining an Extended Home Literacy Model: The Mediating Roles of Emergent Literacy Skills and Reading Fluency

We examined the developmental relationships between home literacy environment (parent teaching, shared book reading) and emergent literacy skills (phonological awareness, letter knowledge, vocabulary, rapid naming speed) in kindergarten, reading accuracy and fluency in Grade 1, and reading comprehension in Grades 2 and 3 in a sample of Canadian children learning to read English (N = 214). Results from a latent variable model showed that parent teaching predicted letter knowledge and phonological awareness, and shared book reading predicted vocabulary and rapid naming speed after controlling for family socioeconomic status. Moreover, both parent teaching and shared book reading contributed indirectly to reading accuracy and fluency in Grade 1, which then mediated the effects of home literacy environment on reading comprehension in Grades 2 and 3. The results suggest that the effects of home literacy environment on later reading development are distributed via more pathways than previously thought.     

The home literacy environment of school‐aged children with autism spectrum disorders

For typically developing (TD) children, the home literacy environment (HLE) impacts reading competence, yet few studies have explored the HLE of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We collected information about the HLE of children aged 7–13 with ASD and their TD peers via a parental questionnaire and examined whether there were any differences in home literacy practices. Subtle group differences emerged. Children with ASD and concomitant language disorder (autism language disorder [ALD]) were engaged in shared reading and reading discussion more frequently than were TD children and children with ASD and age‐appropriate language skills (autism language normal [ALN]). However, both ALN and ALD children engaged in shared reading for a shorter duration than their TD peers. Across groups, frequency and duration of independent reading were positively associated with reading ability and attitude. Thus, home literacy practices appear to reflect child characteristics, and parents are well placed to facilitate their children's literacy development through encouragement and scaffolding.

Highlights

What is already known about this topic

• The home literacy environment (HLE) impacts the reading development of typically developing children.
• Many children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have reading difficulties, but little is known about the HLE of children with ASD.

What this paper adds

• We examined the relationship between the HLE and reading for children with ASD.
• Poorer readers with ASD were engaged in shared reading practices more frequently than proficient readers.
• Children with ASD engaged in shared reading practices for a shorter duration than their typically developing peers.

Implications for practice

• Home literacy practices appear to reflect child characteristics.
• Parents are well placed to facilitate their children's literacy development through encouragement and scaffolding.

     

Considering linguistic and orthographic features in early literacy acquisition: Evidence from Korean

This study investigated (1) the role of syllable awareness in word reading and spelling after accounting for the effects of print-related skills (letter-name and letter-sound knowledge, and rapid serial naming), and (2) unique contributions of orthographic, semantic (vocabulary and morphological awareness), phonological, and print-related predictors to word reading and spelling for 4- and 5-year old Korean-speaking children (N = 168). Syllable awareness was found to be positively related to word reading and spelling after accounting for print-related skills and phoneme awareness. Letter-name knowledge and orthographic awareness were uniquely related to word reading and spelling after accounting for other language and literacy-related skills. In addition, phoneme awareness was uniquely related to spelling whereas rapid serial naming was uniquely related to word reading, after accounting for other language and literacy-related skills. Semantic knowledge such as vocabulary and morphological awareness were not related to either word reading or spelling after accounting for other language and literacy-related skills. Word reading and spelling remained uniquely and positively related to each other. These findings are discussed in light of crosslinguistic variation in early literacy acquisition.