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Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are increasingly called upon to help assess students with word-recognition difficulties, including dyslexia. Although SLPs tend to have comparatively strong knowledge regarding the phonological awareness skills that support word reading, findings from survey research indicate that many SLPs report limited knowledge and training on word recognition and phonics. The purpose of this article is to provide a systematic framework for assessing and interpreting students' word reading skills. Five potential components of word reading assessment will be examined: word recognition, phonological decoding, automaticity, performance with specific phonics patterns, and reading multimorphemic and multisyllabic words. Emphasis will be given to how specific test formats and procedures can be used to help identify patterns of word reading difficulty.

Although there are documented benefits and legislative mandates for children from birth through age 22, assistive technology (AT) is highly underused, especially among young children (Dunst & Trivette, 2011). One of the main reasons for this underuse is that while teachers are legally required to provide AT for children with disabilities, many teachers do not have the knowledge, confidence, or skills needed to provide AT to support early literacy instruction (Dean, 2020; Hilaire & Gallagher, 2020; Temple, 2019). This article identifies the benefits of AT during early literacy instruction and describes how teachers can integrate practical AT tools and strategies into early literacy instruction using a widely utilized framework call the SETT (Student Environment Task Tool; Zabala, 1995) Framework. The authors aim to provide free professional development resources to improve teachers integration of AT in their classrooms to enhance opportunities for young children with disabilities to meaningfully participate in everyday literacy activities.

This study investigates the phonological awareness of a Turkish monolingual and a Turkish-English bilingual child in Turkish. As a case study, the main focus of this study is to explore whether a bilingual advantage exists in phonological processing. Theories of bilingualism and empirical data led to the prediction that the bilingual participant would perform better than the monolingual participant in tasks involving the segmentation of phonemes. With regard to current literature, four phonemic awareness tasks, namely, final phoneme deletion, initial phoneme deletion, phoneme detection, and phoneme substitution tasks were used to find out the levels of phonological awareness of the participants. The tasks were administered individually to each child and correct answers were calculated by percentages. The analysis of the data showed that bilingual child performed better in final phoneme deletion, initial phoneme deletion, phoneme detection tasks, while both children scored the same in the phoneme substitution task. To conclude, this study provided evidence for the positive effect of bilingualism for phonological language processing.

Teaching reading to children whose language differs from the oral language of the classroom and from the linguistic structure of academic text adds an additional layer of complexity to reading instruction. There is a large and growing body of evidence indicating that language variation impacts reading, spelling, and writing in predictable ways. In particular, it has been demonstrated that mismatches between the language variety spoken by many African American children in their homes and communities and the written language variety encountered in books and other text can slow the development of reading and writing. The focus of this article is the impact of one language variety, African American English (AAE), on literacy development and on teaching, assessing, and learning. The goal is to describe aspects of instruction, curricula, and assessment that may create obstacles to literacy for African American children (compounding the effects of other factors, such as growing up in systemically under-resourced neighborhoods) and to share ways to modify instructional practices to benefit AAE speakers in significant ways.

The term "phonemic awareness" refers to the ability to not only recognize that language is composed of distinct sounds but also the ability to manipulate those verbalized components of words. It is an essential element of reading, which also affects writing, since the two skills are complementary. English Language Learners (ELLs) and students with dyslexia struggle with phonemic awareness as do hard-of-hearing students. The combination of these characteristics tends to intensify the problems these students have and the support they require, which in turn necessitates awareness on the part of teachers and other education professionals. In this study, "synthetic phonics" and "stretched segmenting" are used to develop the phonemic awareness of a hard-of-hearing ELL student diagnosed with dyslexia. This single case study found both strategies to be effective in supporting the subject student.

Determining later academic achievement, early literacy skills are all of the prerequisite knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for successful reading and writing during formal education. Early literacy skills consist of several sub-skills including phonology knowledge that determine primary-level reading. The present article is prepared for English language instructors teaching English at early grade levels, specifically at pre-primary and early years in primary education (Grades 2, 3, and 4 for public; Grades 1, 2, 3, and 4 for private institutions) as a reference to utilize when practicing phonological and phonemic awareness with young learners of English. The study which taps into phonological and phonemic awareness and recommends putting phonics instruction into practice in the early years of literacy education in English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) contexts is an instructional resource for teacher trainees and in-service instructors with limited experience and knowledge in young learners' literacy education. The paper has two major parts, first, phonological awareness types are explicated, operational definitions are provided and classroom activities are presented. In the second part, storybook and song integration for a linguistically-rich early literacy acquisition in primary EFL classrooms with young language learners are further discussed.

This study investigated the contribution of inflectional morphological awareness to word reading and reading comprehension in the Turkish language. Participants with learning disability (25 sixth-grades, 25 fourth grades) and typical development (25 sixth-grades, 25 fourth grades) were given two tasks of inflectional morphological awareness. Furthermore, word reading and reading comprehension were evaluated. The obtained data were analyzed using two factor Anova, simple correlations, regression analyses. It was revealed that possessive inflectional morphology contributed significantly to reading comprehension for students with learning disability, while two inflectional morphology task had a significant contribution to reading comprehension for all students. In conclusion, inflectional morphological awareness may be an important predictor of reading comprehension in Turkish language.

Phonological processing skills have not only been shown to be important for reading skills, but also for arithmetic skills. Specifically, previous research in typically developing children has suggested that phonological processing skills may be more closely related to arithmetic problems that are solved through fact retrieval (e.g., remembering the solution from memory) than procedural computation (e.g., counting). However, the relationship between phonological processing and arithmetic in children with learning disabilities (LDs) has not been investigated. Yet, understanding these relationships in children with LDs is especially important because it can help elucidate the cognitive underpinnings of math difficulties, explain why reading and math disabilities frequently co-occur, and provide information on which cognitive skills to target for interventions. In 63 children with LDs, we examined the relationship between different phonological processing skills (phonemic awareness, phonological memory, and rapid serial naming) and arithmetic. We distinguished between arithmetic problems that tend to be solved with fact retrieval versus procedural computation to determine whether phonological processing skills are differentially related to these two arithmetic processes. We found that phonemic awareness, but not phonological memory or rapid serial naming, was related to arithmetic fact retrieval. We also found no association between any phonological processing skills and procedural computation. These results converge with prior research in typically developing children and suggest that phonemic awareness is also related to arithmetic fact retrieval in children with LD. These results raise the possibility that phonemic awareness training might improve both reading and arithmetic fact retrieval skills.

The Better Start Literacy Approach (BSLA) is a strengths-based approach to supporting children's literacy learning in their first year of school. Previous research has shown the approach is effective at accelerating foundational literacy knowledge in children with lower levels of oral language. This study examined the impact of the BSLA for children with varied language profiles and across schools from diverse socioeconomic communities. Additionally, a controlled analysis of the impact of Tier 2 teaching within a response to teaching framework was undertaken. Participants included 402 five-year-old children from 14 schools in New Zealand. A randomised delayed treatment design was utilised to establish the effect of Tier 1 teaching. Analyses showed a significant Tier 1 intervention effect for phoneme awareness, letter-sound knowledge, non-word reading and non-word spelling. There was no difference in intervention effects across socioeconomic groupings. Children were identified for Tier 2 teaching after 10 weeks of Tier 1 implementation. The progress of 98 children in response to Tier 2 teaching was compared to 26 children who met Tier 2 criteria but received only Tier 1 teaching within this study. Children in the Tier 2 group scored significantly higher on phonological awareness, non-word reading, and spelling than the control group at the post-Tier 2 assessment point, after controlling for pre-Tier 2 scores. The results suggest that a proactive strengths-based approach to supporting foundational literacy learning in children's first year of school benefits all learners. The findings have important implications for early provision of literacy learning support in order to reduce current inequities in literacy outcomes.

Despite training in phonics and phonemic awareness during literacy methods courses, preservice teachers indicate having a limited understanding of how to apply these two critical components of reading in their own classrooms. As preservice teachers enter the classroom, they will need support from principals, literacy professionals, and colleagues to provide effective instruction in phonics and phonemic awareness. Stacey Bose proposes a three-tiered support system to provide a continuum of professional learning as preservice teachers transition from the university to the classroom.

Although children develop categorical speech perception at a very young age, the maturation process remains unclear. A cross-sectional study in Mandarin-speaking 4-, 6-, and 10-year-old children, 14-year-old adolescents, and adults (n = 104, 56 males, all Asians from mainland China) was conducted to investigate the development of categorical perception of four Mandarin phonemic contrasts: lexical tone contrast Tone 1-2, vowel contrast /u/-/i/, consonant aspiration contrast /p/-/p[superscript h]/, and consonant formant transition contrast /p/-/t/. The results indicated that different types of phonemic contrasts, and even the identification and discrimination of the same phonemic contrast, matured asynchronously. The observation that tone and vowel perception are achieved earlier than consonant perception supports the phonological saliency hypothesis.

There is tremendous variation in the use of American English by major geographic regions, as well as within these regions or cities, and by cultural background. The variety of English spoken by many African American people in the United States is called African American English (AAE). AAE affects early literacy skills in ways that may require differentiated classroom instruction that focuses on integrating this important language variety into both teaching and learning. The purpose of this paper is to: (1) present the characteristics of AAE and its relationship to the development of reading; (2) outline the impact of AAE on foundational language and reading skills, especially phonemic and phonological awareness; and, (3) provide some guidance for addressing variation in the classroom when teaching phonemic and phonological awareness, while simultaneously affirming African American children's identitities by acknowledging and celebrating the language strengths they bring to the classroom.

Phonemic awareness is thought to be a causal factor predicting early reading acquisition while its influence diminishes as other reading skills develop. This is a descriptive study of 74, primarily African American, fifth- through eighth-grade students attending a small, inner-city school. The study sought to determine the relationship between phonemic awareness, developmental spelling, pseudoword reading, and sight word reading in adolescent students who struggle with reading. Correlation results showed statistically significant relations among all four variables with the largest between phonemic awareness and developmental spelling. Regression results revealed phonemic awareness predicted significant variance in developmental spelling (R2 = 0.51), but not pseudo- or sight word reading. A discontinuity test determined that the influence of phonemic awareness on developmental spelling was consistent across all levels of attainment. Results are discussed from a developmental perspective.

This article addresses the characteristics of learners in the emergent stage of literacy development and describes two instructional practices that facilitate the development of the alphabetic principle and concept of word in text.

Reading is one of the most well-studied aspects of human learning. Since the 1950s, with more interest, research tools, and funding available, the body of reading research has exploded: Every year, hundreds of new scientific papers are published. However, there has been a detrimental lag in ensuring this science is understood by the people who need it most: teachers. This gap between research and practice exists for many reasons: Classroom teachers have limited access to the studies (most articles are only accessible to college students and professors); they have limited time to sort through the hundreds of new findings each year; and the "Reading Wars" of the past century stifled professional learning and dialogue (Kilpatrick, 2015). In the first article in a two-part series, the authors who are educators at the Montessori School of Denver, examines their journey into the Science of Reading started with a supportive administration that recognized the need for well-resourced professional development in response to student needs. In their next article, they will cover specific examples and ideas for bringing the Science of Reading into the Early Childhood classroom.

Objective: Verbal fluency evaluation in bilingual speakers should include dual-language assessment to obtain a comprehensive profile of word retrieval abilities. This study is the first to compare classic semantic, action, emotional, and phonemic fluency in terms of the magnitude of their performance gaps between the dominant and nondominant language in unbalanced bilingual speakers. We also examined the quantitative relationship between language dominance and verbal fluency performance. Method: Twenty-six bilingual adults completed a comprehensive set of classic semantic ("animals," "vegetables"), action ("do"), emotional ("happy," "sad," "afraid"), and phonemic ("F," "A," "S") fluency tasks in their dominant language (English) and nondominant language (Spanish) in two sessions on separate days. Participants also completed subjective and objective measures of language proficiency. Results: All tasks yielded fewer correct responses in the nondominant language. The between-languages performance gap was the largest for "animals" and the smallest for emotional fluency. "Happy" yielded the most balanced performance among all semantic tasks and a positivity bias that was unaffected by language dominance. Finally, language dominance scores computed by a newly developed formula indicated relationships between self-rated proficiency and fluency performance. Conclusions: This study provides preliminary, normative data of classic semantic, action, emotional, and phonemic fluency that could be used to gauge unbalanced bilingual speakers' performance. Significant impacts of language dominance on "animals" demand caution in using this widely used classic semantic category in evaluating bilingual speakers' performance. The data also underscore the robustness of positivity biases in emotional fluency and the validity of using subjective measures to supplement neuropsychological assessment of fluency performance.

The purpose of this paper is to explain how teachers can build on children's oral language resources to support writing. Thus, we offer recommendations and specific examples for classroom applications that connect oral language with written expression. Specifically, we provide examples on the transition from phonemic awareness to phonics to word writing to sentence writing, and to oral and written responses that address genre expectations. Specifically, we address sentence rehearsals, sentence expansion, and sentence combining that teachers can model and collaboratively conduct so learners use oral language as a vehicle for written production and communication with readers.

The present study sought to investigate the effects of narrow reading and a combination of narrow reading and morphological awareness training on intermediate Chinese college English learners' vocabulary acquisition and retention. To these ends, 54 Chinese college English as foreign language learners (EFL) were randomly divided into three groups--a narrow reading group (NR group); a narrow reading plus morphological intervention group (NRMI group), and a control group (CR group). The two experimental groups read the same five thematically-related expository passages over 5 weeks with the NRMI group receiving extra morphological training; while the CR group read five texts on different topics over the same period of time. Linear mixed model analysis results indicated that while two treatment groups performed significantly better than the CR group on both receptive and productive vocabulary tests, the NRMI group improved the most in vocabulary learning.

Although phonemic awareness is an essential skill in learning to decode written words, practitioners may question which phonemic awareness tasks best operationalize their relationship with orthographic mapping, the process that converts a decoded word into one instantly recognized on sight. Tests from the "Woodcock-Johnson IV" were used to evaluate the effects of phonemic awareness tasks and vocabulary on measures of pseudoword decoding, word reading, and spelling in three age groups (ages 6 to 8, 9 to 13, and 14 to 19 years) within the WJ IV normative sample (N = 4082). Results from path analysis indicated the effects of phonemic awareness tasks and vocabulary varied depending on age and reading task type with mixed results based on theoretical expectations. Results from the 9 to 13 age group appeared closest to conforming to hypotheses. We discuss implications of measuring phonemic awareness, reading, and spelling in the context of comprehensive psychoeducational assessment.

This transnational comparative study between Costa Rica and the United States provides an in-depth understanding of the similarities and differences of the early literacy practices of educators in the Pre-Kindergarten to Kindergarten classroom settings. Drawing upon Costa Rica's curricular approach to Early Childhood Education, based upon the Ministerio de Educación Pública, this study positions the learner as the center of the schooling process and considers the teacher as a facilitator, mediator who knows the learners and their families. The main conceptual framework which has guided this research project is the National Reading Panel six pillars of literacy instruction. Specific findings include similarities in early literacy practices for both Costa Rica and the United States include role-playing, hands-on activities, and visual aids. General findings revealed that Costa Rica's approach to early literacy practices was more holistic and integrated, in comparison to the United States with a more focused and analytical approach.

Background: Phonetic transcription of disordered speech samples is especially crucial for the assessment and treatment of functional or organic speech-sound disorders. Previous studies show that students who struggle with the identification and segmentation of speech sounds are more likely to encounter difficulties with clinical phonetic transcription. Aims: To clarify the connection between phonemic awareness and phonetic transcription in Mandarin-speaking undergraduate students, as well as the improvement of these skills after phonetic transcription training. Methods & Procedures: A pretest--post-test design was adopted for this study. The experimental group (n = 38) consisted of students majoring in audiology and speech-language pathology who were given 12 weeks of transcription training. The control group (n = 33) consisted of audiology and speech--language pathology majors who completed the same module a year earlier without undergoing the transcription training. Two instruments were used to assess their skills: (1) the Phonemic Awareness Skill Test (PA test) and (2) the Phonetic Transcription Skill Test (PT test) designed for the purposes of the present study. Outcomes & Results: Performance on most subtests of the PT and PA tests improved significantly at post-test for the experiment group, although only PT training was provided. After phonetic transcription training, the relationship between phonemic addition abilities and phonetic transcription strengthened. Phonemic identification was found to be a predictor of undergraduate students' PT skills of disordered speech samples. Conclusions & Implications: Results from this study provide insights into the role of phonetic transcription training in improving phonemic awareness and phonetic transcription skills.

Children with dyslexia experience a range of problems that are associated with literacy and sometimes numeracy. Such difficulties permeate their learning, and some students leave school with minimal qualifications. Contrary to the praxis in education where labeling is intentionally avoided, the label of dyslexia has been used to support affected learners, secure resources, provide specialist teaching, and award access arrangements. Cognitive strategy can improve the reader's comprehension if the information conveyed in the text matches the general knowledge of the reader. Phonemes are the smallest units, including spoken language. Phonemes combine to form syllables and words. Acquiring phonemic awareness is significant because it is the foundation for spelling and word recognition skills. Phonemic awareness is one of the best predictors of how healthy children will acquire to read during the first two years of school instruction. The present study aimed at investigating the dyslexic children of primary school. The sample consisted of 65 dyslexic children from 4th standard primary schools located in the Coimbatore district. The results revealed a significant difference between pre-test and post-test of phonemic awareness of Reading comprehension of children with dyslexia.

This paper addresses a gap in research regarding the efficacy of software programs to help children with reading difficulties. Forty-two children aged 5-13 years identified as poor readers participated in a study over twelve weeks using ReadingDoctor, a software program targeting phonemic awareness, orthographic-phonemic mappings, decoding ability and sight word recognition. Measures were taken using the Sutherland Phonological Awareness Test - Revised (SPAT-R), the Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE), and the graphemes and decoding subtests of the Phonological Awareness Test 2 (PAT-2). A quasi-experimental one group study with three multiple baseline measures was used. The dependent variables/measures were assessed seven times over a period of 32 weeks, allowing the research to be completed in the school-allocated timeframe. Significant improvements were found on all three measures of phonological/phonemic awareness and word-reading efficiency. These improvements were maintained when assessed three months later, during which time the software program was not used.

Students who display reading difficulties/disabilities at the end of third grade are less likely to succeed in content areas and graduate from high school than their reading-proficient peers. Literature suggests that students in rural school districts lag behind their suburban peers in terms of their reading levels and accessibility to resources. Furthermore, students from low socioeconomic status (SES) households and those who have disabilities exhibit greater learning loss during the summer break. This exploratory study examined the effects of two parent-implemented computer-based reading programs on the reading skills of 20 students at-risk for reading failure during a summer break. Parental and students' perceptions regarding the effectiveness and desirability of the programs were elicited. Results suggested that both programs facilitated gains in phonemic awareness and phonics. Furthermore, students in the "Funnix" group exhibited large gains in vocabulary and oral reading fluency, and the students in the "PLATO" group exhibited large gains in comprehension. Most of the students indicated they liked the programs and the programs helped them read. Similarly, most of the parents agreed that the programs were useful, and they were comfortable using the programs. A description of the computer programs, results, implications, and limitations of the study are discussed.

This study examined the effects of language teaching strategies in Amhara region, Ethiopia on children's phonemic awareness reading performance. To this end, one hundred and two grade one children of two intact sections (n=50) and (n=52) were selected and participated as experimental and control groups, respectively. The research employed quasi-experimental pre- and post-test research design that aimed at examining the effects of reading strategies in children's phonemic awareness performance. Besides, the researchers collected data through non-participant observation and teacher self-reflection reports. To analyze children's phonemic awareness, paired samples t-test was computed using pre- and post-test scores of the children. To analyze the qualitative data, researchers employed narratives based on categories formed considering the basic themes of the research questions of this paper. Findings indicated that phonemic awareness reading strategies used in Amhara region could improve children's phonemic awareness performance. Furthermore, observation and teachers' reflections showed that there were positive results on the application of the strategies in improving children's phonemic awareness. Eventually, recommendations and implications for further research were suggested.

Purpose: Preschoolers' phonological awareness (PA) and alphabet knowledge (AK) skills are two of the strongest predictors of future reading. Despite evidence that providing at-risk preschoolers with timely emergent literacy interventions can prevent academic difficulties, there is a scarcity of research focusing on Latinx preschoolers who are Dual Language Learners (DLLs). Despite evidence of benefits of providing Latinxs with Spanish emergent literacy instruction, few studies include preschoolers. This study examined the effects of a supplemental Spanish PA and AK intervention on the dual emergent literacy skills of at-risk Latinx preschoolers. Method: A multiple probe design across four units of instruction evaluated the effects of a Spanish supplemental emergent literacy intervention that explicitly facilitated generalizations to English. Four Latinx preschoolers with limited emergent literacy skills in Spanish and English participated in this study. Bilingual researchers delivered scripted lessons targeting PA and AK skills in individual or small groups for 12-17 weeks. Results: Children made large gains as each PA skill was introduced into intervention and generalized the PA skills they learned from Spanish to English. They also improved their English initial sound identification skills, a phonemic awareness task, when instruction was delivered in Spanish but with English words. Children made small to moderate gains in their Spanish letter naming and letter-sound correspondence skills and in generalizing this knowledge to English. Conclusion: These findings provide preliminary evidence Latinx preschoolers who are DLL benefit from emergent literacy instruction that promotes their bilingual and biliterate development.

English language learners (ELLs) are the fastest growing population of students in U.S. schools, and, unfortunately often experience lower levels of reading and spelling achievement than native English-speaking students. There is growing evidence showing that early reading interventions, which have been effective with native English-speakers, can also be effective with ELLs, although the majority of the research focuses on students who are native Spanish-speakers. Additionally, much less is known about spelling growth for ELLs, especially ELLs who speak a native language other than Spanish. Thirteen first grade students who were struggling with early literacy skills (seven non-Spanish-speaking ELLs and six native English-speakers) were selected for participation. The students were placed in three small reading groups, with four to five students each (at least two of whom were ELLs). The groups met five times a week, for approximately six weeks, for 30 minutes per session (totaling approximately 15 hours of supplemental instruction). The small group instruction was designed to reinforce phoneme awareness skills and help students understand the relationships between spoken sounds and written letters. Analysis of pretest to posttest gain scores showed significant growth in spelling ability. Non-Spanish-speaking ELLs with varying levels of English language proficiency benefitted from the intervention. All students demonstrated growth in their understanding of letter-sound correspondences. Evidence-based practices focusing on phonological awareness and the relationships between written letters and spoken sounds can be effective in terms of spelling ability growth when used in small groups comprised of both non-Spanish-speaking ELLs and native English-speakers.

Much has been written about the ways in which Black boys are often underserved in literacy classroom in the United States. Relatively little has been documented about the literacy strategies that are yielding promising outcomes in this study group. The purpose of this integrated literature review is to identify what we call promising literacy instructional practices with Black boys across the P-12 educational spectrum. Through an analysis of 62 publications, we outline a host of different instructional practices that have yielded positive outcomes with Black boys. Recommendations for teachers and future research studies are provided.

Besides numerous positive transformations and unique opportunities in language pedagogy, the post-method era brought with itself several challenges for language teachers. After intensive research and empirical studies, the use of literature was welcomed in ELT classrooms. But the question arises as to what extent and in what ways does literature support language learning? In an attempt to answer these questions and fill this lacuna, the present paper highlights ways in which literature assist language teachers. Moreover, the paper presents resourceful strategies to frame exercises using poems for ELT classroom. Shakespeare's "Sonnet 65" is used to illustrate some vital themes explored in this paper. In spite of the observed difficulty level of the sonnet and the layers of meaning it encapsulates, dynamic and engaging activities can be crafted out of this poem. Since the elements discussed in this study are ubiquitous to the genre of poetry, therefore the use of the presented methodology would also be universal.

This article addresses the importance of differentiated instruction in the college classroom. Additionally, it focuses on the results of the students' perceptions of differentiated instruction in the college classroom. Students in the college classroom were given choice boards to display their understanding on phonemic awareness, phonics, and morphology. The article discusses ideas for future direction based on the results from the action research project.

Fluency with skills that operate below the word level (i.e., sublexical), such as phonemic awareness and alphabetic knowledge, may ease the acquisition of decoding skills (Ritchey & Speece, 2006). Measures of sublexical fluency such as phoneme segmentation fluency (PSF), letter naming fluency (LNF), and letter sound fluency (LSF) are widely available for monitoring kindergarten reading progress, but less is known about the relative importance of growth in each skill across the early months of formal reading instruction and their relation to subsequent decoding acquisition. With a sample of kindergarten students at risk for reading difficulties, this study investigated the extent to which initial status and growth in PSF, LNF, and LSF, administered on a progress-monitoring basis during the fall of kindergarten, were differentially predictive of word reading fluency skills at mid-year and growth across the second half the school year. We used two different fluency-based progress monitoring measures of word reading across the spring, one consisting entirely of phonetically regular consonant-vowel-consonant words, and the other that included phonetically regular and irregular words that varied in length. Results indicated that although initial status and fall growth in all sublexical fluency measures were positively associated with subsequent word reading, LSF across the fall of kindergarten was the strongest overall predictor of mid-year level and growth on both word reading measures, and unique in its prediction over the effects of LNF and PSF. Results underscore the importance of letter-sound knowledge for word reading development, and provide additional evidence for LSF as a key index of progress for at-risk learners across the early months of formal reading instruction.

The purpose of this study was to investigate practices of teaching early reading, and challenges teachers face in its implementation at the Ethiopian primary schools. The study was carried out in 224 grade two government primary schools found in the Amhara National regional State, west Gojjam zone, Ethiopia, in 2019/2020 academic year. To attain this objective, a descriptive research design was employed. The participants of the study were 112 English language teachers enrolled in the primary schools at Dembecha woreda, Jiga woreda, Jabitehinan woreda, and Bure woreda in west Gojjam zone. Interview, questionnaire, and observation were used to gather data. The findings revealed that teachers failed to practice the teaching of early reading in line with the purposes and principles of teaching early reading. Teachers used traditional way of teaching approach in teaching reading. The study also showed that teachers are deficiently trained regarding phonological awareness, alphabetic principle, reading comprehension, oral fluency, vocabulary, and phonemic awareness. Besides, lack of teachers training, lack of materials, and unrelated educational qualification were major impediments of teachers while implementing teaching early reading. Finally, it was recommended that teachers be given trainings about methods of English language teaching in general, and teaching early reading in particular.

This article describes the development and psychometric properties of a new Dyslexia Marker Test for Children (Dysmate-C). The test was designed to identify Norwegian students who need special instructional attention. The computerized test includes measures of letter knowledge, phoneme awareness, rapid automatized naming, working memory, decoding, and spelling skills. Data were collected from a sample of more than 1,100 students. Item response theory (IRT) was used for the psychometric evaluation, and principal component analysis for checking uni-dimensionality. IRT was further used to select and remove items, which significantly shortened the test battery without sacrificing reliability or discriminating ability. Cronbach's alphas ranged between 0.84 and 0.95. Validity was established by examining how well the Dysmate-C identified students already diagnosed with dyslexia. Logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses indicated good to excellent accuracy in separating children with dyslexia from typical children (area under curve [AUC] = 0.92). The Dysmate-C meets the standards for reliability and validity. The use of regression-based norms, voice-over instructions, easy scoring procedures, accurate timing, and automatic computation of scores make the test a useful tool. It may be used as part of a screening procedure, and as part of a diagnostic assessment. Limitations and practical implications are discussed.

Purpose: Phoneme categorization (PC) for voice onset time and second formant transition was studied in adult cochlear implant (CI) users with early-onset deafness and hearing controls. Method: Identification and discrimination tasks were administered to 30 participants implanted before 4 years of age, 21 participants implanted after 7 years of age, and 21 hearing individuals. Results: Distinctive identification and discrimination functions confirmed PC within all groups. Compared to hearing participants, the CI groups generally displayed longer/higher category boundaries, shallower identification function slopes, reduced identification consistency, and reduced discrimination performance. A principal component analysis revealed that identification consistency, discrimination accuracy, and identification function slope, but not boundary location, loaded on a single factor, reflecting general PC performance. Earlier implantation was associated with better PC performance within the early CI group, but not the late CI group. Within the early CI group, earlier implantation age but not PC performance was associated with better speech recognition. Conversely, within the late CI group, better PC performance but not earlier implantation age was associated with better speech recognition. Conclusions: Results suggest that implantation timing within the sensitive period before 4 years of age partly determines the level of PC performance. They also suggest that early implantation may promote development of higher level processes that can compensate for relatively poor PC performance, as can occur in challenging listening conditions.