Phonological Sensitivity in Novice Readers and Nonreaders.

Study examined whether phonemic sensitivity is limited to alphabetically literate individuals. Children not exposed to reading instruction were given pairs of phonological sensitivity tasks. Novice readers scored higher in phonological sensitivity than nonreaders of equivalent letter knowledge, when controlled for verbal ability; among nonreaders, differences in phonological sensitivity associated with letter knowledge were insignificant when controlled for verbal ability. (TM)