Haskins Publications

Number	1219
Year	1990
Drawer	23
Entry Date	08/28/2001
Authors	Fowler, A.E.
Contact
Publication	Haskins Laboratories Status Report on Speech Research, SR-103/104, 137-152.
url	http://www.haskins.yale.edu/Reprints/HL1219.pdf
Abstract	To examine factors potentially responsible for the robust association between phoneme awareness and reading ability, a novel pair of tasks was designed a) to control for nonlinguisitc task variables and metacognitive skill; b) to minimize demands on working memory and verbal production; and c) to assess the role of reading experience and spelling strategies. With these factors taken into account, phoneme awareness remained significantly and specifically associated with decoding ability in children aged 7 1/2 to 10 years. Results on the new measure also corresponded to performance on an existing, widely used, measure of phonological awareness. In contrast, scores on the task selected as a closely parallel nonverbal analogue was unrelated to reading or to phonological awareness. These results, including comparisons of good and poor readers matched on reading level, but differing in age, suggest that the ability to isolate and identify phonemes continues to be an important determinant of reading aptitude during the school years.
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