Chapter 2 - Understanding Normal and Impaired Reading Development: A Working Memory Perspective

Abstract

The importance of learning to read is well recognized in modern literate societies. In the early school grades, major parts of the curriculum are devoted to reading or reading-related activities. Special efforts are made to identify children at risk for reading problems. Remediation and special education are provided for those that lag behind. The negative effects of illiteracy and impaired reading ability for the individual and for society at large seem to be widely acknowledged. Learning to read involves the acquisition of word-decoding ability—that is, the ability to identify single words and the ability to comprehend written text. The acquisition of letter–sound knowledge and the ability to detect and manipulate phonemes in spoken words are the twin foundations of early reading development. In the normal course of development, the learning of letter names and sounds precedes learning to read words. Given the importance of letter knowledge for later reading, there is surprisingly little research about the factors that affect its acquisition. The importance of verbal short-term memory (STM) for early reading development seems obvious when the requirements of phonological recoding are considered. Verbal STM and phoneme sensitivity are highly related. Whether verbal STM has a specific effect on the development of phoneme sensitivity is not yet clear. For the time being, both abilities can best be conceived as manifestations of the quality of the phonological representations of spoken words. Phoneme sensitivity seems the better indicator of this common underlying ability.