Relate auditory discrimination to reading achievement

Abstract

In an attempt to answer the evaluation problem intrinsic with assessing auditory discrimination of speech sounds, several types of tests have been produced. One type of evaluative measure is the articulation test for which the student may learn to articulate not on the basis of discrimination of the sounds in words, but on the basis of imitative movements of the lips and speech organs. Even if the child cannot see these movements for imitation, research has not shown the ability to pronounce words spoken by adults to be causally related to reading achievement. Pronunciation of words may be used as a part of a technique for teaching auditory discrimination. However, a child's ability to mimic words spoken by a teacher is no indication of his ability to hear separate sounds in words. The ability to distinguish rhyming sounds of words has also been developed as a measure of auditory discrimination. But when rhyming activities are overemphasized, differences in the sounds of words are neglected. Some tests require the child to select two of three pictures which correspond with the pairs of words pronounced by the examiner. Teachers should