Poor readers' ability to detect speech rhythm and perceive rapid speech

Abstract

Recent research indicates that the rhythmic properties of speech may indicate to the infant listener where word boundaries are most likely to occur. However, rhythmic awareness is not included in present discussions of phonological awareness. It is suggested that skills which develop in early infancy to facilitate speech perception (i.e. awareness of rhythm) may have an impact upon later phonological development and literacy. This paper outlines a cross‐sectional study, designed to examine whether poor readers do show a specific insensitivity to rhythm in speech, and whether they also exhibit signs of inefficient speech perception. Thirty primary school children identified as poor readers were matched for age and gender, and for reading age and gender with two groups of children reading at a level comparable with their chronological age (“normal” readers) (N = 90). All children completed a battery of tasks, including an assessment of rapid speech perception, rhythmic awareness, rhyme detection and phoneme deletion. The results suggest that poor readers do experience a developmental delay on rhythmic awareness, although there is no significant difference in the children's ability to perceive speech once vocabulary is taken into account. Suggestions are made regarding the need to consider non‐segmental skills in definitions of phonological awareness, and how this may contribute to our understanding of phonological development.