Results of 6 experiments with 109 Australian preschool children favor training in phoneme identity over segmentation as a component of initial reading instruction because it is easier to implement and its relation to alphabetic insight is stronger. Implications for the initial reading curriculum are discussed. (SLD)

Decoding and comprehension skills were assessed for Turkish and American first and third graders. Twenty students in each group were tested on a pseudoword vocalization task and on a paragraph comprehension task. The data suggest that languages with more regular letter-sound correspondences lead to faster acquisition of decoding skills. (Author/BS)

Eighty children in first grade classes differing in the amount of letter-sound instruction daily were administered tests of phonemic segmentation, reading, and spelling three times during the year. No classroom differences in phonemic segmentation were found, but classrooms with more letter-sound instruction showed more spelling and reading…

Individual differences in measures of prereading skills and in questionnaire measures of 4-5-year-old twins' print environments in Australia, Scandinavia, and the United States were explored with a behavioral-genetic design. Modest phenotypic correlations were found between environmental measures and the twins' print knowledge, general verbal…

A program to teach young children about phonological structure was evaluated with 64 experimental group and 62 control group preschoolers in Australia. Results support the efficacy of the program and the principle that phonological awareness and letter knowledge are necessary but not sufficient for acquisition of the alphabetic principle. (SLD)

To determine whether disabled readers can benefit from letter-sound instruction if attention to individual regular words is increased, 38 male and 16 female disabled readers aged 7 to 13 years participated in whole word, letter-sound, or control training programs. Implications of improvement by both experimental groups are discussed. (SLD)

The reliance of 12, 18, and 22 children in grades 2, 4, and 6, respectively, on context- versus word-based information was studied. Factor analysis of error scores yielded a structure reflecting 3 information sources: graphophonic information; context to identify words; and comprehension monitoring. Age differences in decoding strategies were…