Specific contributions of phonological abilities to early reading acquisition: Results from a Dutch latent variable longitudinal study.

TLDR

The study examined how phonological abilities contribute to early reading acquisition in 166 Dutch children from kindergarten to second grade. Phonological abilities, nonverbal intelligence, vocabulary, and letter knowledge were assessed in kindergarten and Grade 1, while reading and arithmetic were measured in Grades 1 and 2. Individual differences in phonological ability influenced reading acquisition over time, with effects growing until Grade 1 and then fading; phonological awareness and rapid naming independently predicted reading, verbal working memory predicted both reading and arithmetic, supporting an interactive developmental relationship.

Abstract

Contributions of phonological abilities to early reading acquisition were examined in a longitudinal study of 166 Dutch children from kindergarten through 2nd grade. Various phonological abilities, nonverbal intelligence, vocabulary, and letter knowledge were assessed in kindergarten and Grade 1. Reading and arithmetic were examined in 1st and 2nd grades. The importance of individual differences in phonological ability for Subsequent reading acquisition changed over time. At first, the effects of phonological abilities increased, but after Grade 1, these effects disappeared. Phonological awareness and rapid naming had independent and specific influences on reading achievement. Verbal working memory was associated with both reading and arithmetic acquisition. The results tend to support an interactive view of the relation between development of phonological abilities and learning to read.