A discussion is presented that shows that, in teaching reading in a foreign language, the aims, procedures, and techniques can be virtually the same as those once used for the acquisition of reading skills in the mother tongue. (Author/HP)

Examination of existing empirical and theoretical literature suggests there is no conclusive support for the existence of a critical period for human speech learning. Assumption of a critical period may inhibit the search for testable hypotheses concerning observed adult-child differences in second language production. (Author/LMO)

The situation with regards to reading performance in Washington State is similar to that in many other states. Although student performance in reading has improved somewhat over the past four years, too many students continue to fall below state standards. In response to poor test scores and to the outpouring of research on early reading…

There are compelling reasons for integrating phonics into the adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) curriculum. The adult ESL student has the analytical capability to understand phoneme-grapheme relationships and can be taught to use any transferable native-language literacy skills in English spelling. In this essay, the potential of phonics…

Research indicates a strong relationship between early phoneme awareness and later reading success and the benefits of explicitly teaching phoneme awareness skills. This article presents a set of developmental phoneme awareness training activities that the special educator can integrate collaboratively into existing kindergarten and first-grade…

Investigated word reading abilities in Argentine Spanish-speaking children learning to read in Spanish. The study compared the performance of skilled and less skilled readers in phonological recoding, knowledge of grapheme-phoneme correspondences, and phonemic awareness. Findings indicate that the children rely on phonological recoding strategies.…

Forty children (ages five to nine) with or without reading disabilities, matched for mental age or reading age, completed a phoneme-grapheme learning task. Reading-disabled children took more trials than controls to learn correspondence pairs. Performance on the phonological processing task of short-term memory was the best predictor of overall…

The relationship between parent-child interactions and early literacy skills in children (ages 1-3) for 27 families living in low-income households was examined. Results found child language, parent language, emotional tone, joint attention, parental guidance, and parental responsivity behaviors were strongly related to later receptive vocabulary,…

A study investigated the effectiveness of supplemental reading instruction that included intensive, explicit, and systematic reading instruction in fluency, phonemic awareness, instructional-level reading with an emphasis on comprehension, word analysis, and spelling. The intervention was effective in improving the reading skills of 70…

This article profiles the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP), an assessment designed to detect phonological processing deficits in students ages 5 through 24. The theoretical framework of the CTOPP, age-based versions of the CTOPP, subtests, testing procedures, test scores and interpretation, and reliability and validity are…

This article describes a four-session summer program that provided parents of children with speech and language delays with information on the importance of phonological awareness, research-validated teacher training materials on early literacy, and training on how to use the materials. The Summer Sound Camp was conducted in a home setting.…

Compared two forms of word identification training to promote transfer of learning by dyslexic children. One program taught phonological analysis and blending skills and provided direct instruction of letter-sound correspondences; the other taught the acquisition, use, and monitoring of four metacognitive decoding strategies. Both approaches were…

Investigates the Spanish literacy development of 20 low-socioeconomic-status Spanish dominant students learning in whole-language classrooms. Notes that the children used a variety of reading and writing strategies. Finds that students learned about meaning construction through the use of whole language and that meaning construction was associated…

Students at the U.S. Air Force Academy participated in a study of Chinese language skill acquisition. Findings included more rapid and accurate character recognition was associated with higher proficiency; printed frequency had the greatest effect upon accuracy of naming; character density correlated with recognition accuracy; and denser…

Explored the notion that children's difficulty in reading is a sign of a general inability to selectively attend to parts of perceptual wholes. Children and adults classified triads of spoken syllables and visual objects. Classification of speech was related to reading and spelling ability, but not to classification of visual stimuli. (BC)