Rapid naming speed components and reading development in a consistent orthography

We examined how rapid automatized naming (RAN) components-articulation time and pause time-predict word and text reading fluency in a consistent orthography (Greek). In total, 68 children were followed from Grade 2 to Grade 6 and were assessed three times on RAN (Digits and Objects), phonological awareness, orthographic processing, speed of processing, and reading fluency. Both RAN components were strongly related to reading fluency and, with few exceptions, accounted for unique variance over and above the contribution of speed of processing, phonological awareness, and orthographic processing. The amount of predictive variance shared between the components and the cognitive processing skills varied across time. The implications of these findings for the RAN-reading relationship are discussed.     

Visual rapid naming and phonological abilities: different subtypes in dyslexic children

One implication of the double-deficit hypothesis for dyslexia is that there should be subtypes of dyslexic readers that exhibit rapid naming deficits with or without concomitant phonological processing problems. In the current study, we investigated the validity of this hypothesis for Portuguese orthography, which is more consistent than English orthography, by exploring different cognitive profiles in a sample of dyslexic children. In particular, we were interested in identifying readers characterized by a pure rapid automatized naming deficit. We also examined whether rapid naming and phonological awareness independently account for individual differences in reading performance. We characterized the performance of dyslexic readers and a control group of normal readers matched for age on reading, visual rapid naming and phonological processing tasks. Our results suggest that there is a subgroup of dyslexic readers with intact phonological processing capacity (in terms of both accuracy and speed measures) but poor rapid naming skills. We also provide evidence for an independent association between rapid naming and reading competence in the dyslexic sample, when the effect of phonological skills was controlled. Altogether, the results are more consistent with the view that rapid naming problems in dyslexia represent a second core deficit rather than an exclusive phonological explanation for the rapid naming deficits. Furthermore, additional non-phonological processes, which subserve rapid naming performance, contribute independently to reading development.     

Elucidating the component processes involved in dyslexic and non-dyslexic reading fluency: An eye-tracking study

The relationship between rapid automatized naming (RAN) and reading fluency is well documented (see Wolf, M. & Bowers, P.G. (1999). The double-deficit hypothesis for the developmental dyslexias. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91(3), 415–438, for a review), but little is known about which component processes are important in RAN, and why developmental dyslexics show longer latencies on these tasks. Researchers disagree as to whether these delays are caused by impaired phonological processing or whether extra-phonological processes also play a role (e.g., Clarke, P., Hulme, C., & Snowling, M. (2005). Individual differences in RAN and reading: A response timing analysis. Journal of Research in Reading, 28(2), 73–86; Wolf, M., Bowers, P.G., & Biddle, K. (2000). Naming-speed processes, timing, and reading: A conceptual review. Journal of learning disabilities, 33(4), 387–407). We conducted an eye-tracking study that manipulated phonological and visual information (as representative of extra-phonological processes) in RAN. Results from linear mixed (LME) effects analyses showed that both phonological and visual processes influence naming-speed for both dyslexic and non-dyslexic groups, but the influence on dyslexic readers is greater. Moreover, dyslexic readers’ difficulties in these domains primarily emerge in a measure that explicitly includes the production phase of naming. This study elucidates processes underpinning RAN performance in non-dyslexic readers and pinpoints areas of difficulty for dyslexic readers. We discuss these findings with reference to phonological and extra-phonological hypotheses of naming-speed deficits.     

Long-term cognitive dynamics of fluent reading development

Most theories of reading development assume a shift from slow sequential subword decoding to automatic processing of orthographic word forms. We hypothesized that this shift should be reflected in a concomitant shift in reading-related cognitive functions. The current study investigated the cognitive dynamics underlying reading development in a large school sample ranging from beginning to experienced readers. The results showed that phonological awareness (PA) and rapid automatized naming (RAN) contributed substantially to reading fluency over all six primary school grades. However, the relationship between PA and word (but not pseudoword) reading fluency decreased as a function of reading experience, whereas the relationship between RAN and word reading fluency increased gradually. Moreover, this cognitive shift was most pronounced for high-frequency words. The results seem to point to the development of one (and only one) reading network for all types of words in which processing load or type of processing depends on word familiarity and amount of reading experience.     

The relationship between auditory temporal processing,phonemic awareness,and reading disability

Recent research suggests an auditory temporal deficit as a possible contributing factor to poor phonemic awareness skills. This study investigated the relationship between auditory temporal processing of nonspeech sounds and phonological awareness ability in children with a reading disability, aged 8-12 years, using Tallal's tone-order judgement task. Normal performance on the tone-order task was established for 36 normal readers. Forty-two children with developmental reading disability were then subdivided by their performance on the tone-order task. Average and poor tone-order subgroups were then compared on their ability to process speech sounds and visual symbols, and on phonological awareness and reading. The presence of a tone-order deficit did not relate to performance on the order processing of speech sounds, to poorer phonological awareness or to more severe reading difficulties. In particular, there was no evidence of a group by interstimulus interval interaction, as previously described in the literature, and thus little support for a general auditory temporal processing difficulty as an underlying problem in poor readers. In this study, deficient order judgement on a nonverbal auditory temporal order task (tone task) did not underlie phonological awareness or reading difficulties.     

Cognitive Mechanism Underlying the Relationship Between Rapid Automatized Naming and Reading: A Longitudinal Study on Bilingual Children

Rapid automatized naming has been demonstrated as an important correlate of various reading outcomes. However, the cognitive mechanism underlying the RAN–reading relationship is not well understood. The primary goal of this study is to evaluate three major theoretical accounts for the RAN–reading relationship: phonological processing account, orthographic processing account, and speed of processing explanation. Each theoretical account would lead to different predictions on cross-language transfer of RAN to reading. One-hundred twenty nine Chinese–English bilinguals were followed from Age 4 to Age 5. They were assessed at two time points for their word reading and RAN in Chinese and English. Both concurrent and longitudinal cross-language transfers of RAN to reading were examined. The cross-language transfers from English RAN to Chinese reading were found both concurrently and longitudinally but no transfer from Chinese RAN to English reading. Our results supported the orthographic processing account. Theoretical implications are discussed.     

The interaction between phonological processing, syntactic awareness, and naming speed in the reading and spelling performance of first-grade children

The performance of 267 first-grade children was examined on tasks assessing phonological processing, syntactic awareness, and naming speed. The children were also given several measures of word and pseudoword reading, reading comprehension, and pseudoword and dictation spelling. A series of hierarchical analyses indicated that three variables (phonological awareness, syntactic awareness, and naming speed) were still predictors of reading and spelling performance after variance in the others had been controlled for. The results, which confirm that syntactic awareness can account for variance in written language after phonological ability had been controlled for, support the hypothesis concerning the relationships between naming-speed processes and written language, and challenge the unitary phonological theory of reading difficulty.     

Longitudinal relationships between speech perception,phonological skills and reading in children at high‐risk of dyslexia

Speech perception deficits are commonly reported in dyslexia but longitudinal evidence that poor speech perception compromises learning to read is scant. We assessed the hypothesis that phonological skills, specifically phoneme awareness and RAN, mediate the relationship between speech perception and reading. We assessed longitudinal predictive relationships between categorical speech perception, phoneme awareness, RAN, language, attention and reading at ages 5½ and 6½ years in 237 children many of whom were at high risk of reading difficulties. Speech perception at 5½ years correlated with language, attention, phoneme awareness and RAN concurrently and was a predictor of reading at 6½ years. There was no significant indirect effect of speech perception on reading via phoneme awareness, suggesting that its effects are separable from those of phoneme awareness. Children classified with dyslexia at 8 years had poorer speech perception than age‐controls at 5½ years and children with language disorders (with or without dyslexia) had more severe difficulties with both speech perception and attention control. Categorical speech perception tasks tap factors extraneous to perception, including decision‐making skills. Further longitudinal studies are needed to unravel the complex relationships between categorical speech perception tasks and measures of reading and language and attention.     

The relationship between phonological skills and word decoding

Word decoding ability is a critical factor in reading performance. In the present study, we examined the relationship between word decoding ability and three different phonological skills; phonemic awareness, verbal short-term memory (V-STM), and rapid automatic naming (RAN) in 1007 Scandinavian third- and fifth-graders. In the first part of the study, we sought to investigate the influence of the three phonological skills on word decoding ability. Using multiple regression analysis, our result clearly demonstrated that phonemic awareness was the most powerful phonological skill explaining variance in word decoding ability among average decoders. Among children with poor decoding skills, however, RAN was the most important factor in Grade 3, whereas V-STM was the main contributor to decoding ability among children in Grade 5. In the second part of the research, we examined the relationship between poor phonological skills and word decoding ability. Interestingly, our result revealed that approximately one half of the children with phonological difficulties, still performed within the average range with regard to word decoding ability. However, our analyses confirmed earlier research concerning the severe word decoding difficulties children with both poor phonemic awareness and restricted V-STM, experience.     

Reading strategies in English by adults whose first language is Spanish

The performance of nine Spanish speakers on tests of single-word reading and phonological awareness in English was examined and compared to that of monolingual adults and to that of monolingual children of similar reading ability. Even though the Spanish participants had several years experience of reading and writing in English and performed well at reading nonwords, they showed little evidence of phonological processing strategies when reading familiar words. For example, they performed relatively poorly at written rhyme judgements despite good performance on tests of phonological awareness. When compared to monolingual English children, the Spanish speakers made fewer phonological errors on tests of visual lexical decision and written homophone definition. Unlike the children, they showed no evidence of a regularity effect in reading. Only on unfamiliar words did they show evidence of phonological processing in reading. Possible explanations of this pattern of performance are discussed.     

Predictors of reading fluency in Italian orthography: Evidence from a cross-sectional study of primary school students

This study investigates the role of linguistic and visuospatial attentional processes in predicting reading fluency in typical Italian readers attending primary school. Tasks were administered to 651 children with reading fluency z scores > ?1.5 standard deviation to evaluate their phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming (RAN), verbal short-term memory, vocabulary, visual search skills, verbal-visual recall, and visual-spatial attention. Hybrid models combining confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis were used to evaluate the data obtained from younger (first and second grade) and older (third–fifth grade) children, respectively. The results showed that phonological awareness and RAN played a significant role among younger children, while also vocabulary, verbal short-term memory, and visuospatial attention were significant factors among older children.     

汉语阅读障碍的语音加工及正字法加工缺陷的实验研究

本研究对汉语阅读障碍的加工缺陷进行探讨,期望有助于揭示语言加工的普遍性与特殊性,以及阅读障碍的成因,并可为后期的干预提供帮助。研究采用改编的言语认知测验对阅读水平匹配组与阅读障碍组和生理年龄匹配组进行比较后发现,阅读障碍组在语音意识和正字法加工任务上的成绩均明显差于生理年龄控制组和阅读水平匹配组;阅读障碍组在快速命名和语音记忆任务上的成绩不如生理年龄匹配组,仅达到阅读水平匹配组水平。因此,汉语发展性阅读障碍儿童存在语音意识和正字法加工缺陷,这两种缺陷可能是阅读障碍儿童面临的最主要的两大缺陷;阅读障碍儿童在快速命名和语音记忆上的不足可能是发展迟滞所致。同时,大多数的汉语阅读障碍儿童存在不止一种的认知缺陷。阅读障碍儿童在语音意识和正字法加工上存在缺陷的比例最高。     

Literacy acquisition influences children's rapid automatized naming

Previous research has established that learning to read improves children's performance on reading‐related phonological tasks, including phoneme awareness (PA) and nonword repetition. Few studies have investigated whether literacy acquisition also promotes children's rapid automatized naming (RAN). We tested the hypothesis that literacy acquisition should influence RAN in an international, longitudinal population sample of twins. Cross‐lagged path models evaluated the relationships among literacy, PA, and RAN across four time points from pre‐kindergarten through grade 4. Consistent with previous research, literacy showed bidirectional relationships with reading‐related oral language skills. We found novel evidence for an effect of earlier literacy on later RAN, which was most evident in children at early phases of literacy development. In contrast, the influence of earlier RAN on later literacy was predominant among older children. These findings imply that the association between these two related skills is moderated by development. Implications for models of reading development and for dyslexia research are discussed.     

语音意识、命名速度和语素意识在汉语阅读发展中的作用

以123名小学四、五年级汉语儿童为研究对象,采用回归分析、结构方程模型探讨语音意识、命名速度和语素意识在阅读能力不同方面（准确性、流畅性和理解）的作用。结果显示,语音意识、命名速度和语素意识都是影响阅读能力的重要认知因素,但对不同方面阅读能力的作用存在差异：（1）语音意识、命名速度和语素意识均直接影响阅读准确性,且语素意识的贡献相对较大;（2）命名速度除直接影响阅读流畅性外,还通过阅读准确性的部分中介作用影响阅读流畅性,而语音意识和语素意识则通过阅读准确性的完全中介作用影响阅读流畅性;（3）语音意识、命名速度和语素意识对阅读理解均无直接影响,分别通过阅读准确性和阅读流畅性间接影响阅读理解。     

Measures of information processing in rapid automatized naming (RAN) and their relation to reading

The letters, numbers, and objects subtests of the Rapid Automatized Naming Tests (RAN) were given to 50 first- and second-grade students. Student performance on the three RAN subtests were audiotaped and subjected to postacquisition processing to distinguish articulation and interarticulation pause times. This study investigated (1) the relations between the articulation and pause durations associated with the 50 stimuli of each RAN subtest and (2) the relations between the pause and articulation latencies of the three RAN subtests and reading. For both first- and second-grade students, pause and articulation times for RAN letters and objects were not found to be reliably related, in contrast to RAN numbers articulation and pause durations. RAN subtest pause durations were differentially related to reading; however, articulation was rarely related to reading. The RAN letters pause time was the most robust predictor of decoding and reading comprehension, consistently predicting all first- and second-grade measures. Analysis supported the view that reading is predicted by speed of processing associated with letters, not general processing speed.     

The role of visual and auditory temporal processing in reading irregular and nonsense words.

In the present study, the role of rapid visual and auditory temporal processing in reading irregular and nonsense words was investigated with a group of normal readers. One hundred and five undergraduates participated in various visual and auditory temporal-processing tasks. Readers who primarily adopted the phonological route in reading (nonsense-word readers) showed a trend for better auditory temporal resolution but readers who primarily adopted sight word skills (irregular-word readers) did not exhibit better visual temporal resolution. Both the correlation and stepwise multiple-regression analyses, however, revealed a relationship between visual temporal processing and irregular-word reading as well as a relationship between auditory temporal processing and nonsense-word reading. The results support the involvement of visual and auditory processing in reading irregular and nonsense words respectively, and were discussed with respect to recent findings that only dyslexics with phonological impairment will display temporal deficits. Further, the temporal measures were not effective discriminants for the reading groups, suggesting a lack of association between reading ability and the choice of reading strategy.     

Naming problems do not reflect a second independent core deficit in dyslexia: Double deficits explored

The double deficit hypothesis states that naming speed problems represent a second core deficit in dyslexia independent from a phonological deficit. The current study investigated the main assumptions of this hypothesis in a large sample of well-diagnosed dyslexics. The three main findings were that (a) naming speed was consistently related only to reading speed; (b) phonological processing speed and naming speed loaded on the same factor, and this factor contributed strongly to reading speed; and (c) although general processing speed was involved in speeded naming of visual items, it did not explain the relationship between naming speed and reading speed. The results do not provide support for the existence of a second independent core naming deficit in dyslexia and indicate that speeded naming tasks are mainly phonological processing speed tasks with an important addition: fast cross-modal matching of visual symbols and phonological codes.     

Metalinguistic Awareness and Reading Performance: A Cross Language Comparison

The study examined two questions: (1) do the greater phonological awareness skills of billinguals affect reading performance; (2) to what extent do the orthographic characteristics of a language influence reading performance and how does this interact with the effects of phonological awareness. We estimated phonological metalinguistic abilities and reading measures in three groups of first graders: monolingual Hebrew speakers, bilingual Russian–Hebrew speakers, and Arabic-speaking children. We found that language experience affects phonological awareness, as both Russian–Hebrew bilinguals and the Arabic speakers achieved higher scores on metalinguistic tests than Hebrew speakers. Orthography affected reading measures and their correlation with phonological abilitites. Children reading Hebrew showed better text reading ability and significant correlations between phonological awareness and reading scores. Children reading Arabic showed a slight advantage in single word and nonword reading over the two Hebrew reading groups, and very weak relationships between phonological abilities and reading performance. We conclude that native Arabic speakers have more difficulty in processing Arabic orthography than Hebrew monolinguals and bilinguals have in processing Hebrew orthography, and suggest that this is due to the additional visual complexity of Arabic orthography.     

汉语儿童的语音加工技能与其单词朗读技能的关系研究

以121名小学五年级学生为被试,采用测验法,考察了汉语儿童的语音技工技能与其英文单词朗读技能的关系。结果表明:语音加工技能的三种成分均能够对英文单词朗读技能产生影响,其中,语音意识对单词朗读技能具有重要影响,快速命名能力和语音工作记忆也能够对单词朗读技能产生影响。     

Neuropsychological profile of adult dyslexics

One hundred and fifteen adults with well-documented childhood reading status underwent a series of neuropsychological tests including tests of memory, attention, phonological processing, and visual perceptual skills in an attempt to define the neuropsychological profile of dyslexia in adulthood. Compared to a normal nonreading disabled sample, subjects with a history of reading disability performed consistently poorer on most neuropsychological tests. However, after covarying for intelligence and socioeconomic status, only tests of rapid naming, phonological awareness, and nonword reading were significant discriminating measures. The hypothesis that deficits in phonological processing comprise the core cognitive deficits in adults with a history of reading disability was supported. Independent of current adult reading ability, measures of nonword reading, phonological awareness, and rapid naming serve as indicators of a childhood history of reading disability.