Developmental reading and dichotic listening

Abstract

It has been observed that the relative size of the right ear advantage [REA] to CVs does not change from 5 years upward. In addition, children showing right or left hemispheric representations for speech can be distinguished by the way they read. Right ear dominants read relatively fast but inaccurately, while left ear dominants read slow but accurately. Left ear dominants exhibit right [visual‐spatial] hemispheric strategies in initial learning to read. The better readers are characterized by shifting from left to right ear dominance by grade 5. One hundred poor readers in grades 1–5 were studied with dichotic CVs. The relative REA remained constant until grade 5 when it lowered with an increase in left ear scores. Double corrects [DC] increased while double errors decreased across all grades. Analysis of DC scores revealed a 22% order report effect with left ear CVs reported first for grade 1, afterwards the right ear CV was reported first. Poor readers at grade 5 had normal REAs, DCs, but had phonetic errors in DC like younger children. In fact the reading and phonic skills were also like children in first grade. Related listening and reading hemispheric strategies will be discussed.