Letter names, letter sounds and phonological awareness: an examination of kindergarten children across letters and of letters across children

In this study 149 kindergarten children were assessed for knowledge of letter names and letter sounds, phonological awareness, and cognitive abilities. Through this it examined child and letter characteristics influencing the acquisition of alphabetic knowledge in a naturalistic context, the relationship between letter-sound knowledge and letter-name knowledge, and the prediction of Grade 1 phonological awareness and word identification from these variables. Knowledge of letter sounds was better for vowels and for letters with consonant–vowel names than for those with vowel–consonant names or names bearing little relationship to their sounds. However, there were anomalies within each category reflecting characteristics of the individual letters. Structural equation modelling showed that cognitive ability, comprising receptive vocabulary, non-verbal reasoning, rapid automatized naming of colours, and phonological memory significantly contributed to alphabetic knowledge and phonological awareness. In turn, letter-name knowledge but not phonological awareness predicted letter-sound knowledge and subsequent reading skill.This research was supported by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada to the first author. Thank you is extended to the participating schools and children and to Ian Newby-Clark for his orientation to AMOS. Michelle Bell, Shelly Moretti and Jodi Page have since graduated from the University of Guelph     

Contributions of Emergent Literacy Skills to Name Writing, Letter Writing, and Spelling in Preschool Children

The purpose of this study was to examine which emergent literacy skills contribute to preschool children's emergent writing (name-writing, letter-writing, and spelling) skills. Emergent reading and writing tasks were administered to 296 preschool children aged 4-5 years. Print knowledge and letter-writing skills made positive contributions to name writing; whereas alphabet knowledge, print knowledge, and name writing made positive contributions to letter writing. Both name-writing and letter-writing skills made significant contributions to the prediction of spelling after controlling for age, parental education, print knowledge, phonological awareness, and letter-name and letter-sound knowledge; however, only letter-writing abilities made a significant unique contribution to the prediction of spelling when both letter-writing and name-writing skills were considered together. Name writing reflects knowledge of some letters rather than a broader knowledge of letters that may be needed to support early spelling. Children's letter-writing skills may be a better indicator of children's emergent literacy and developing spelling skills than are their name-writing skills at the end of the preschool year. Spelling is a developmentally complex skill beginning in preschool and includes letter writing and blending skills, print knowledge, and letter-name and letter-sound knowledge.     

An investigation of factors associated with letter-sound knowledge at kindergarten entry

Letter-sound knowledge is necessary for children to begin reading and writing, and kindergarteners who know only a few letter sounds are at risk for later reading difficulties. This study examines the letter-sound knowledge of 1197 first-time kindergarteners who were economically disadvantaged, in light of six hypotheses about letter-sound knowledge acquisition: (1) the letter-name structure effect hypothesis, (2) the letter-sound ambiguity hypothesis, (3) the letter-name knowledge hypothesis, (4) the own-name advantage hypothesis, and 5) the phonological awareness facilitation hypothesis, as well as the (6) interactions between phonological awareness and letter-name structure. Results using three-level multilevel modeling indicate that letter sounds have varying levels of difficulty and several letter- and child-related factors are associated with naming a letter sound correctly. Implications for instruction are discussed.     

The contributions of vocabulary and letter writing automaticity to word reading and spelling for kindergartners

In the present study we examined the relation between alphabet knowledge fluency (letter names and sounds) and letter writing automaticity, and unique relations of letter writing automaticity and semantic knowledge (i.e., vocabulary) to word reading and spelling over and above code-related skills such as phonological awareness and alphabet knowledge. These questions were addressed using data from 242 English-speaking kindergartners and employing structural equation modeling. Results showed letter writing automaticity was moderately related to and a separate construct from alphabet knowledge fluency, and marginally (p = .06) related to spelling after accounting for phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge fluency, and vocabulary. Furthermore, vocabulary was positively and uniquely related to word reading and spelling after accounting for phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge fluency, and letter writing automaticity.     

Letter-name letter-sound and phonological awareness: evidence from Greek-speaking kindergarten children

The purpose of this study was to examine longitudinally the development of letter-sound and letter-name knowledge and their relation to each other and to various aspects of phonological awareness in a sample of Greek kindergarten children who did not know how to read. One hundred twenty children aged 58–69 months were assessed on letter-sound and letter-name knowledge, as well as on phonological awareness skills at the beginning, the middle and the end of kindergarten. The findings indicated that: (a) kindergarten children knew more letter-sounds than letter-names in almost every case across the assessment points; (b) letter-sound knowledge predicted letter-name knowledge slightly better than vice versa; (c) phonological awareness was associated directly with later letter-sound and letter-name knowledge, and (d) the bidirectional hypothesis between phonological awareness and letters knowledge was not confirmed.     

Changes in letter sound knowledge are associated with development of phonological awareness in pre‐school children

Letter sound knowledge, which, together with phonological awareness, is highly predictive of pre‐school children's reading acquisition, derives from children's knowledge of their associated letter names and the phonological patterns of those names. In this study of 66 monolingual pre‐school children we examined whether phonological patterns between letter names and their associated sounds might be differentially associated with aspects of phonological awareness. Results suggest that rudimentary levels of phonological awareness may facilitate the learning of letter sound associations. However, more explicit phonological awareness appears to be linked bi‐directionally with letter sound knowledge with diverse name‐sound associations, with letter sound associations that do not follow regular patterns (e.g. ‘juh’ for ‘j’ and ‘huh’ for ‘h’) most closely associated with performance in more complex phoneme awareness tasks.     

The Effect of Urdu Vocabulary Size on the Acquisition of Single Word Reading in English

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Urdu, a phonologically transparent orthography with regular letter-sound correspondences on the development of reading in English. The results showed that children who had high levels of vocabulary knowledge and phonological awareness in Urdu, were more likely to perform well on English reading and reading related tasks, but poorly on visual memory tasks. In contrast, children who had some Urdu word recognition skills, but low levels of Urdu vocabulary knowledge and Urdu phonological awareness tended to perform poorly on English reading and reading related tasks, but better on visual memory tasks. The findings provide further support to the direct impact of Urdu on single word reading in English.     

Name writing and letter knowledge in preschoolers: Incongruities in skills and the usefulness of name writing as a developmental indicator

In this study, 114 preschoolers (M age = 53 months) completed a battery of literacy assessments to explore the interplay between name writing and letter knowledge in early literacy learners. Name writing was significantly related to children's letter knowledge, and the relationships were moderate to high. However, many children exhibited an incongruity in name writing and name-specific letter-recognition skills (i.e., they could write their names but not recognize the letters in their names, or recognize the letters in their names but not write them). When these two groups were contrasted statistically, the children with superior name-specific letter recognition (but poorer name writing scores) had significantly higher letter knowledge scores than the children with superior name writing scores (but poor name-specific letter-recognition scores). Writing one's name, in itself, did not appear to correspond to a literacy advantage. Thus, with regard to the recommendation that name writing be used as a literacy assessment tool in preschool, the results from this study suggest that name writing should be used as a measure of mechanical skill only and should not be used as a means to assess children's conceptual knowledge (of letter names, letter sounds, or the alphabetic principle).     

Letter names, phonological awareness and the phonetization of writing

Following several studies on the relationship between phonological awareness, children’s knowledge of letter names and their understanding of the alphabetic code, we pose the hypothesis that children’s knowledge of letter names may contribute to their analysis of the oral segments of words, thereby enabling them to produce writing in which some of the sounds are represented by appropriate letters. The participants were 80-syllabic 5-year-old kindergarten children, who were assigned to 2 experimental and 2 control groups and submitted to phonological and letter knowledge tests. We asked the children in the experimental groups to write a set of words in which either the initial sound (Exp. G. 1) or the middle sound (Exp. G. 2) coincided with the name of a letter known by the child; the children in the control groups were asked to write a set of control words. The results show that the introduction of facilitating words prompts syllabic children to produce writing in which some of the sounds are represented by appropriate letters; Exp. G. 1 gave better results than Exp. G. 2. Finally, there is a positive relationship between the results achieved by children in phonological and letter name tests and the number of sounds they write phonetically.     

Cross-Language Transfer of Phonological Awareness and Letter Knowledge: Causal Evidence and Nature of Transfer

Using a randomized control trial, this study examined the causal evidence of cross-language transfer of phonological awareness and letter knowledge (names and sounds) using data from multilingual 1st-grade children (N = 322) in Kenya. Children in the treatment condition received an 8-week instruction on phonological awareness and letter knowledge in Kiswahili. The comparison group received business-as-usual classroom instruction. Children in the treatment condition showed greater improvement in phonological awareness and letter-sound knowledge in Kiswahili and English (positive transfer; effect sizes from .37 to .95), whereas a negative effect was found in letter-name knowledge (interference; effect size, g = .27). No effects were found in reading, nor did the results vary by moderators (e.g., Kiswahili vocabulary). Path analyses revealed divergent patterns of results for different outcomes. Results provide causal evidence for cross-language transfer of phonological awareness and letter knowledge and offer important theoretical and practical implications.     

Why is letter-name knowledge such a good predictor of learning to read?

The knowledge of letter names measured just before children enter school has been known for a long time as one of the best longitudinal predictors of learning to read in an alphabetic writing system. After a period during which the comprehensive investigation of this relationship was largely disregarded, there is now a growing interest in attempts to understand the role(s) letter names play in literacy acquisition. This paper reviews these recent studies and emphasizes their main findings regarding the influence of letter-name knowledge in early and formal literacy for three main components of literacy acquisition: first, the emergence of the phonological processing of print; then, the learning of letter-sound correspondences; finally, the development of phonemic sensitivity skills. The final section discusses the status of letter-name knowledge (LNK) in literacy acquisition and suggests possible directions for further research.     

Longitudinal patterns of emerging literacy in beginning deaf and hearing readers

The emerging reading and spelling abilities of 24 deaf and 23 hearing beginning readers were followed over 2 years. The deaf children varied in their language backgrounds and preferred mode of communication. All children were given a range of literacy, cognitive and language-based tasks every 12 months. Deaf and hearing children made similar progress in literacy in the beginning stages of reading development and then their trajectories began to diverge. The longitudinal correlates of beginning reading in the deaf children were earlier vocabulary, letter-sound knowledge, and speechreading. Earlier phonological awareness was not a longitudinal correlate of reading ability once earlier reading levels were controlled. Only letter name knowledge was longitudinally related to spelling ability. Speechreading was also a strong longitudinal correlate of reading and spelling in the hearing children. The findings suggested that deaf and hearing children utilize slightly different reading strategies over the first 2 years of schooling.     

Relations between early reading and writing skills among Spanish-speaking language minority children

Although there is a growing body of literature on the development of reading skills of Spanish-speaking language minority children, little research has focused on the development of writing skills in this population. This study evaluated whether children’s Spanish early reading skills (i.e., print knowledge, phonological awareness, oral language) were related to their Spanish and English early writing skills using a sample of 554 children whose home language was Spanish. Multivariate regression analyses with simultaneous outcomes (Spanish and English invented spelling skills) were conducted to evaluate whether children’s early reading and writing skills were related across languages. Results indicated that children’s print knowledge and phonological awareness skills, but not oral language skills, were significantly related to their Spanish and English invented spelling skills. Spanish early literacy skills were not differentially related to Spanish and English reading and writing skills. The magnitude of the relations between print knowledge and oral language skills and children’s invented spelling skills varied as a function of child age; however, the magnitude of the relation between phonological awareness and invented spelling skills did not differ as a function of child age. Furthermore, results suggested that language minority children’s early reading and writing skills are related but distinct constructs and that children may be able to apply information gained from learning to read and write in their first language when learning to write in their second language.     

Mother–Child Referencing of Environmental Print and Its Relationship With Emergent Literacy Skills

Research Findings: Environmental print provides children with their earliest print experiences. This observational study investigated the frequency of mother–child environmental print referencing and its relationship with emergent literacy. A total of 35 mothers and their children (ages 3–4 years) were videotaped interacting in an environmental print–rich play setting. The frequency of environmental print referencing of letters and words was measured. Children were assessed on emergent literacy skills (letter name and sound knowledge, print concepts, phonological awareness, name and letter writing, environmental print reading). In all, 69% of mothers referenced environmental print. After child age, home literacy teaching, and maternal education were controlled for, greater maternal referencing of environmental print was positively related to print concepts and name and letter writing. Child environmental print referencing was positively related to name and letter writing as well as to maternal environmental print referencing. Mothers used a range of mediation strategies to support children's interactions with environmental print. Practice or Policy: Maternal referencing of environmental print may be a useful way to scaffold emergent literacy in young children.     

Rapid naming in relation to reading and writing in Korean (Hangul), Chinese (Hanja) and English among Korean children: a 1‐year longitudinal study

The relation of rapid automatised naming (RAN) to word recognition may depend on the phonological regularity of the orthography. This study examined differential contributions of RAN to reading and writing in Korean alphabetic Hangul, logographic Hanja (Chinese) and English as a second language among 73 fifth graders in Korea across 1 year. RAN was differentially associated between reading and writing in Hangul and English. After statistically controlling for age, gender, morphological awareness, vocabulary and phonological awareness, RAN was uniquely predictive of Hangul word writing but not Hangul word recognition, and it uniquely accounted for English word recognition but not English word writing. Meanwhile, RAN explained both reading and writing in Hanja. Findings were discussed in terms of their orthography characteristics and different levels of proficiency.     

The building blocks of writing: Learning to write letters and spell words

This study examined the development of beginning writing skills in kindergarten and the relationship between early writing skills and early reading skills. Sixty children were assessed on beginning writing skills (including letter writing, individual sound spelling, and real and nonsense word spelling) and beginning reading skills (including letter name and letter sound knowledge, global early reading ability, phonological awareness, and word reading). Children’s beginning writing abilities are described, and they exhibited a range of proficiency in their ability to write letters, spell sounds, and spell real and nonsense words. Global early reading proficiency, phonological awareness, and/or letter sound fluency predicted letter writing, sound spelling, and spelling of real and nonsense words. Appreciation is expressed to the participating students and teachers at Dwight D. Eisenhower School and to Margaret Boudreau and Joan Foley for assistance in scoring students’ responses.     

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.     

Do levels of pre-school alphabetic tuition affect the development of phonological awareness and early literacy?

It has been suggested that children need exposure to alphabetic tuition before they can develop phonological awareness, especially phonemic awareness. This paper re-examines an existing data set to see whether two groups of pre-school, pre-literate children who differ in their knowledge of letter names (used here as a measure of alphabetic tuition) will also differ in their levels of phonological awareness. Their later performance on measures of school age reading and spelling attainment is also compared. The results show that the two groups of children did not differ significantly in either their phonological awareness or their literacy attainment.