Effects of suprasegmental awareness on learning to read in the first school years

Abstract

One of the most relevant contributions of research in recent years on learning to read has been the knowledge of the importance of phonological awareness in the literacy process. Recently it has been observed that other skills such as suprasegmental phonology may also be a relevant factor in reading learning. However, most of the studies carried out in this sense have been done in languages with rhythmic structures different from Spanish, which does not allow us to know the impact that prosodic skills have on our language. The present study is carried out with the purpose of studying the effects that suprasegmental awareness has on the acquisition of reading at the beginning of compulsory schooling in alphabetic systems. A quasi-experimental design of comparison between groups with pre-test and post-test measures is used. In the study, 438 students between 7 and 8 years of age participate. The results point out that suprasegmental phonology constitutes a relevant factor in the learning of reading, which is why its integration in classroom practices is suggested.