Twenty-eight toddlers with slow expressive language development were compared to normally speaking age-mates and found to show delayed rather than deviant development in the average level of complexity of their syllable structures, the number of different consonant phonemes produced, and the percentage of consonants correctly produced in…

Examines the degree to which teaching beginning readers to use various types of analogies helps them pronounce new words and nonwords. Finds that, although beginning readers can use analogies, they rely to a large extent on correspondences between individual phonemes and graphemes to decode new words. (RS)

Examines the literature linking phoneme awareness and reading acquisition, and looks at the nature of this relationship in terms of learner and task. Summarizes findings from correlational and phoneme awareness training studies and discusses the relationship of phoneme awareness to reading. Presents explanations for low phoneme awareness skills in…

This study evaluated English phrases and sentences in a minimal-pairs syllable-test format, to assess use of acoustic cues in audiovisual perception of speech by persons with severe or profound hearing loss. Of 48 items, 39 were visually confusable; 16 items identified as visually confusable were reliably identifiable when sound was added.…

Two blending strategies for decoding words (pausing and not pausing between successive sounds) were compared with nine preschool children. Once mastered, segmenting by not pausing engendered high and sustained levels of word identification. Other findings indicated that sound identification abilities were necessary but not sufficient for decoding.…

Experiment examined the contribution of phonemic processes to beginning word reading and spelling. Kindergartners received instruction in blending spoken phonemes into words, segmenting spoken words into phonemes, or blending and segmenting. Segmenting ability played a more critical role than blending in very early stages of reading and possibly…

The latest movement to reform German spelling is discussed, focusing on the need for greater consistency in spelling of words from other languages and the major changes proposed. Issues addressed include capitalization, specific idiosyncracies in German spelling, concerns related to computerization, public opinion, and the scope of the reform.…

Focuses on the effect of word-recognition instruction on later reading success for all students, particularly students experiencing difficulties with early reading. Instructional principles are offered for teaching essential elements of word recognition: letter-sound correspondence, regular word reading, story reading, irregular word reading, and…

Examines the success of phonemic tone-marking for Dschang, a Grassfields Bantu language that uses tone to distinguish lexical items and some grammatical constructions. Participants from a variety of different age groups and educational backgrounds, and having different levels of exposure to the orthography, were tested on location in the Western…

Hypothesizes that developing an understanding of the connections between oral and written language rather than phonemic awareness per se, is essential to learning to read. At the macrolevel this involves an understanding that written words represent words in oral language, and at the microlevel that letters in written words stand for phonemes in…

Two-cohorts of Grade 1 English as a Second Language (ESL) (n=200) and English as a First Language (EL1) (n=70) children were followed for two years. By considering differences in phonological awareness and rapid naming, it was possible to predict variance on word recognition performance six months and one year later. (Contains references.)…

Groups of seven- to nine-year olds learning to read in English and German were given three types of reading tasks. Whereas reading time and error rates in numeral and number word reading were very similar across the two orthographies, the German children showed a big advantage in reading the nonsense words, suggesting adoption of different…

Distinguished experimentally between the learner's use of independent grapheme-phoneme correspondences and determined whether in the initial year of reading instruction sublexical relations can be formed. Results could not be given alternative explanations by the developmental bypass hypothesis nor by accounts which predict exclusive use of onset…

Reports on a study of Grade 5 children who had been trained in phoneme identity six years earlier. Results reveal that these children were superior to untrained controls on irregular word reading and on a composite list of nonwords, regular words, and irregular words. Preschool instruction in phonemic structure had modest but detectable effects on…

Discusses findings in the first part of a research project on Hong Kong English (HKE) phonology, including the underlying phonemic system of HKE speakers. Subjects were 15 undergraduates at Hong Kong Baptist University. Using spectrographic analysis, it was found that the typical HKE speaker operates with a considerably smaller set of vowel and…