Phonological Awareness Abilities Research Articles

Do Linguistic Factors Impact Phonological Awareness in L2? A Study of Phonological Awareness of English by Adult Saudi Learners

The study explores the impact of certain linguistic factors on phonological awareness ability in the second language. This study examines the effect of three linguistic factors on Saudi university students’ L2 phonological awareness: the linguistic environment (single vs. clustered), the linguistic affiliation of the phoneme (novel vs. non-novel), and the phonological representation of the lexical item that contains the target phoneme (real-word vs. non-word). The linguistic factors that are examined and controlled in this study represented essential differences between the participants’ L1 and L2, hence highlighting the effect of L1-L2 distance. The participants were 48 university students majoring in English language. Two phonological awareness tasks were administered, a phoneme deletion task and a phonological judgement task, to test phonological awareness at the phonemic and phonotactic levels. The results showed that the linguistic environment of the phoneme had a significant impact on the participants’ L2 phonological awareness. The linguistic affiliation of the target phoneme was another linguistic factor that affected the participants’ L2 phonological awareness. Their perception of novel L2 phonemes was considerably poorer than non-novel phonemes. This result confirms the validity of the linguistic affiliation hypothesis in explaining phonemic awareness in L2. Additionally, the results revealed that the quality of the phonological representation plays a significant role in the participants’ performance on the phonological awareness tasks in L2 and that the lexical status of the item affected this underlying phonological representation. The findings of this study offer theoretical and practical implications for the acquisition and teaching of a second language.

Phonological Awareness of English among Saudi Learners: An Examination of the Role of Lexical Status and Intra-syllabic Phonological Unit

This study explores phonological awareness ability in the second language. Although some studies have examined L2 phonological awareness, most of these studies have not provided sufficient details on the type of stimulus items employed in these studies nor considered the possible effect of some linguistic factors on the results. Thus, the study aims to explore the impact of the lexical status of the item on phonological awareness in L2. In addition, the study examines the preferred intra-syllabic phonological unit in L2 among Saudi university students. Specifically, the study examines the effect of the lexical status (word vs non-word) and the intra-syllabic phonological unit (onset-rime vs. body-coda) on the phonological awareness of English. The participants were 48 university students majoring in English language. Two phonological awareness tasks were administered to test phonological awareness at the intra-syllabic and phonotactic levels. The tasks were an intra-syllabic segmentation task and a lexical decision task. The results showed significant effects of both linguistic factors on the participants’ L2 phonological awareness. The lexical status of the test item had a significant effect on the participants’ performance in the task. The participants performed significantly better in identifying real-words than non-words, which reflects an advanced phonotactic awareness. Finally, the results revealed that the body-coda unit is the preferred intra-syllabic structure for Saudi learners. Therefore, the study provides evidence that the onset-rime hypothesis is not universal and is at least not applicable to Saudi Arabic speakers. The study offers theoretical and practical implications for the acquisition and teaching of L2.

The Impact of Musical Training on Linguistic Skills in Children: A Review

This paper evaluates the idea of musical education and its benefits on children at the elementary school age. Music has been and will continue to be a part of people's lives, so it is important to investigate bringing it to the field of education. This article discusses the effects of musical education on children’s linguistic skills. It also, if applicable, seeks to find throughlines and common threads between curricula that achieve successful results with children to isolate the important factors that make music more beneficial. Musical education was found to improve phonological awareness abilities in children, most commonly 4-6 years old, and a wide variety of musical curriculums were further found to have a positive impact on children’s linguistic skills.

The importance of phonological awareness as a natural approach in children’s reading process from Manuela Cañizares School

The present study examines the significant impact of phonological awareness on the reading acquisition of children aged 10 to 12, with a specific focus on those acquiring English as a second language in Ecuador. The report highlights the pressing need for educational reforms considering the nation’s difficulties in achieving mastery in the English language. The study used a mixed-methods methodology, using questionnaires and observations to examine the complexities of phonological awareness as a naturalistic approach and its influence on reading ability. The results of the study indicate that a considerable percentage of pupils have difficulties in reading English words, highlighting the need to implement efficient teaching approaches. This research paper presents a survey on a phonological awareness intervention, showing its capacity to improve both phonological awareness abilities and reading ability. Furthermore, the study reveals a deficiency in the use of natural approach techniques and pronunciation tactics, underscoring prospects for pedagogical improvement. The study’s larger ramifications beyond the realm of education, prompting scientists in interconnected fields to contemplate the crucial significance of phonological awareness in the process of language learning. Although this study provides interesting insights, it is important to acknowledge several limitations. One drawback is the narrow scope of the examined linguistic aspects, which may restrict the generalizability of the findings. Additionally, there may be limits on the sample size, which might impact the overall validity and representativeness of the results. Subsequent investigations may be conducted to overcome these constraints and delve into the enduring effects of interventions, therefore offering full insights to educators, policymakers, and researchers interested in language acquisition and teaching. In general, this study highlights the importance of phonological awareness in resolving challenges with reading, facilitating successful language training, and contributing to wider conversations on language acquisition approaches.

EXTRAMURAL ENGLISH AND ADULT EFL LEARNERS’ PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS

This study examines the duration of adult EFL learners’ extramural English activities related to their phonological awareness. For this purpose, (Indonesian, N = 32, 3 males and 29 females) learners participated in the study. After analyzing the questionnaires and the phonological awareness test using the non-parametric (Spearman) correlation, the result showed a strong positive correlation between the amount of time the adult EFL learners spend for spoken and written extramural English activities and their phonological awareness ability. The extramural English activities they mainly engage in are dealing with technology. The findings call for future research examining the effect of extramural English on phonological awareness and other possible English components or skills.

ECRIMO, an app to train first graders' spelling: Effectiveness and comparison between different designs

The present study assessed the effectiveness of the ECRIMO educational application designed to build first‐grade level spelling skills. We tested whether using the app to teach spelling would be as effective as providing the same training using traditional paper exercises. The effect of integrating gamification into mobile learning apps, which has been little studied in the context of young children, is also investigated. A pretest/training/posttest design was implemented with 311 first‐graders divided in four groups: no training, paper training, the ECRIMO app with gamification features, and the ECRIMO app without gamification. Spelling, reading and phonological awareness abilities was measured at both pretest and posttest. The training was conducted over a 7‐week period (4.40 hours in total). The experimental design allowed us to answer three questions: (1) Is spelling training effective regardless of the medium used? (2) Is training through the app as efficient as paper‐based training? (3) Does gamification impact students' learning performance? Mixed‐model analyses revealed (1) a positive effect on the training outcome depended on the initial spelling ability of participants, (2) a comparable efficiency between autonomous training using the ECRIMO app on tablets and the same training provided by teachers using paper exercises and (3) a marginally positive effect of gamification that is greater for the weakest students. The present study proposes an original and pertinent experimental design to test the relevance of educational applications. The design features of learning apps can impact students' learning differently depending on their initial level. A critical step should be verifying that using online apps for training is at least as effective as the same training using paper exercises. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic A significant number of children experience difficulties in reading and spelling from the first years of learning. The use of new technologies to support classroom teaching is rapidly developing as a topic of interest for educational professionals and researchers. Evaluations of new technologies developed to enhance literacy skills suggest that many factors can vary their effectiveness. The effectiveness of a digital educational application can be enhanced or undermined by design choices, such as gamification. What this paper adds Spelling training with the app ECRIMO seems effective for first year students, especially those with the lowest and middle level. Comparable effects of both the tablet‐based and paper equivalent training on participants' spelling were found. The use of gamification in ECRIMO could be more suitable for the weakest students. Implications for practice and/or policy Educational technologies should be evidence‐based and should be evaluated with both a passive and an active control group. The design should be carefully considered and tested, as it may be advantageous for some students and disadvantageous for others. The use of digital technology in education can be beneficial for classroom practice, when the activity can be carried out in total autonomy, leaving the teacher available for a group of pupils with specific needs.

The Effect of Phonics Intervention for Adult with Dyslexia: Case Study

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to examine whether phonological processing skill-based phonics intervention is effective in improving phonological awareness, decoding, and spelling in adults with dyslexia. In addition, this study aimed to ascertain in detail the characteristics of decoding, spelling, and phonological awareness in adults with dyslexia. Methods: The participant of this study was a 46-year-old adult female with dyslexia, and a single subject experiment research method was used. An intervention program for phonological awareness, decoding, and spelling was conducted 28 times in total (3 baseline sessions, 22 intervention sessions, and 3 maintenance sessions) and her performance was assessed with assessments modified by the researcher. Results: It was confirmed that phonological processing skill-based phonics intervention is effective in improving decoding, spelling, and phonological awareness abilities. A detailed analysis of spelling errors in the adult with dyslexia revealed that errors for single vowels, basic consonants, and basic final consonant were the most common. A detailed analysis of errors by phonological awareness unit and task showed struggles with - in order of difficulty - deletion, blending, substitution, and discrimination. Among the discrimination tasks, final consonant discrimination was the most difficult. Conclusion: The results of this study are meaningful as basic data for improving the perception of adults with dyslexia and intervention program for them.

Bilingual phonological awareness as a function of language proficiency

Aims and objectives: The present study examined whether phonological awareness reflects a stable construct or whether it varies by the different languages of bilingual speakers. In particular, the study tests to what extent language proficiency determines phonological awareness above and beyond language structural characteristics. Methodology: Bilingual adult speakers were tested as they afford within-participant comparisons to address this issue. Specifically, 29 Hebrew (L1)-English (L2) bilinguals were compared to 33 English (L1)-Hebrew (L2) bilinguals on a timed auditory rhyme judgment task including 270 word-pairs (90 English pairs, 90 Hebrew pairs, and 90 pseudo-Hebrew pairs). Data and analysis: Reaction times and dʹ on the rhyme judgment task were compared between the two bilingual groups to examine the role of language proficiency in predicting phonological awareness performance. Furthermore, rhyme judgments on Hebrew pairs were correlated with those on English pairs to provide within-participant index of phonological awareness stability. Findings: Rhyme judgment performance on the same set of words was affected by the strength of linguistic representations, as determined by language proficiency profile. English-Hebrew bilinguals performed better on English pairs, whereas Hebrew-English bilinguals performed better on Hebrew pairs. Moreover, within-group comparisons revealed that performance in the more proficient language was not correlated with performance in the less proficient language. Originality: By testing two groups of bilinguals who differ in their language dominance profile using the same set of materials (including both L1 and L2 pairs), the results reveal differences in phonological awareness abilities as a function of language proficiency that cannot be reduced to structural differences between the examined languages. Significance: The findings underscore the dynamic nature of phonological awareness abilities and carry implications for clinical diagnosis of bilingual populations, in that rhyme judgment performance in one language should not be taken to index expected abilities in the other language of bilingual speakers.

Verbal fluency in bilingual school-age children: Looking at switching, clustering, and the effect of language experience

Aims: The sparse available evidence on verbal fluency in bilingual children shows them to perform lower than monolinguals on semantic fluency (taken as indicating vocabulary) but on par or better on phonemic fluency (taken as indicating executive functioning). This study takes a more detailed look at verbal fluency skills in bilingual children by examining their search strategies, the extent to which verbal fluency skills are related to bilingual exposure, and how bilinguals perform on verbal fluency across their languages. Data and Analysis: First-graders ( n = 43) and third-graders ( n = 45) included monolingual speakers of French and French bilinguals who varied in their overall exposure to French and age of acquisition (AoA) to French. Participants were tested in French or in French and English on vocabulary and semantic and phonemic fluency. Language exposure was measured through detailed parent report. Group analyses, correlations, and regressions were conducted to examine performance and the involvement of language experience and vocabulary. Findings: Bilinguals performed lower than monolinguals on semantic fluency, but on par on phonemic fluency. Bilingual performance was not affected significantly by AoA or bilingual exposure. For all participants, performance was predicted by vocabulary size as well as cluster size and switching. However, the groups showed different use of search strategies. In semantic fluency, bilinguals relied more on switching, whereas monolinguals relied on both. Originality: The current paper related the measurement of search strategies (cluster size, switching) and the effect of language experience to the examination of verbal fluency in bilingual children. Implications: The results suggest that verbal fluency is dependent on vocabulary size, regardless of amounts of language exposure or AoA, and highlights need for more research into the relationship with other language skills, such as phonological awareness and reading ability.

Exploring the effects of a home-based literacy intervention on the family literacy practices of Māori preschool children

This paper reports on findings from a study that explored the efficacy of a home-based literacy intervention in advancing preschool children’s foundational literacy skills. A secondary line of enquiry in the study sought to determine the effects of the intervention on the family literacy practices, in particular, the way in which families engaged with their children in shared book-reading, and the variety of literacy activities that occurred in homes. The intervention, adapted from Tender Shoots, consisted of two main areas of focus - one, named Rich Reading and Reminiscing (RRR), concentrated on stimulating children’s oral language skills, and the other, called Strengthening Sound Sensitivity (SSS), aimed to generate shifts in children’s phonological awareness abilities. Data sets were gathered with eight Maori preschool children and their families over a twelve-week period, which corresponded with the duration of the intervention. The study employed a crossover design, where four children and their families participated in the RRR component of the intervention, which ran for six weeks, followed by the SSS portion of the intervention. The remaining four children participated in the same parts of the intervention but in reverse order of delivery. The crossover approach established a control in the study, and allowed the effects of each part of the intervention on family literacy practices to be more clearly revealed. The findings showed the intervention resulted in positive shifts in family literacy practices. More particularly, families were more likely to use an interactive approach during shared book-reading, and incorporated elements of the intervention into their daily practice after the intervention had ceased.

Visuo-Spatial Abilities and Phonological Awareness as Predictors of Reading Accuracy in Arabic Children With and Without Dyslexia

ABSTRACT Although the link between developmental dyslexia and visual-spatial deficit has been recurrently highlighted, the relationship between visual-spatial abilities and reading performance is still a controversial issue, considering the orthographic variability of the language being learned. This study aimed to examine whether visuo-spatial abilities (i.e. attention, short-term memory, and relations) contribute significantly to predicting word and pseudo-word reading independently of phonological awareness in Arabic speaking children in grades 4 and 5. An inter-groups comparison between two groups of readers comprising typical readers (n = 44) and children with dyslexia (n = 32). All participants were tested in phonological (phonological awareness) and visuo-spatial measures (visual short-term memory test, visuo-spatial attention, and visuo-spatial relations). Results showed that typical readers outperformed the group of dyslexics in all the phonological and visuo-spatial measures. Visuo-spatial abilities were also a contributing factor in predicting word reading after controlling for phonological awareness, age, and non-verbal reasoning. Findings indicate that vowelised word reading in Arabic is heavily underpinned by phonological awareness and visuo-spatial abilities, found to be impaired in a group with dyslexia. Findings are viewed in the frame that reveals the integrated roles of phonological awareness and visual and spatial abilities in reading development.

Rise Time Perception, Phonological Processing, and Reading in Brazilian Portuguese-Speaking Schoolchildren

Background/Aims: Studies of people with dyslexia have pointed to the ability to perceive the amplitude envelope rise time (“beat” perception) as a possible cause of phonological processing (PhP) difficulties in this population. However, there are very few studies about the relationships between such skills in the non-dyslexic school population. Methods: We investigated the influence of the beat perception ability on PhP and reading skills of 93 Brazilian Portuguese-speaking schoolchildren from the 3rd to the 5th year, with data on reading, phonological awareness (PhA), lexical access, phonological operational memory, and perception of amplitude envelope rise time. To verify the possible effects of age, gender, and school grade on the tasks in the study, we directly included these variables in the models. Results: Modeling structural equations showed that beat perception did not influence PhP or reading skills, but only the tasks of repetition of words and pseudowords. These tasks may be related because of the demand for phonological working memory necessary to perform the beat perception task rather than a possible connection between this and phonological abilities, as reported in the literature. Conclusion: We suspect beat perception could be of relevance only for subjects with altered reading and/or a deficit in PhP. Further studies will indicate whether the rise time of the amplitude envelope is an essential acoustic clue only for those individuals whose PhA ability is not fully present.

보편적 학습설계 기반 음운인식 프로그램이 다문화 읽기곤란학생의 음운인식능력에 미치는 효과

보편적 학습설계 기반 음운인식 프로그램이 다문화 읽기곤란학생의 음운인식능력에 미치는 효과

Early literacy and child wellbeing: Exploring the efficacy of a home-based literacy intervention on children’s foundational literacy skills

This paper reports on findings from a doctoral study that explored the efficacy of a home-based literacy intervention in advancing preschool children’s foundational literacy skills. Two key cognitive skills critical for early literacy success were examined in particular, those being phonological awareness, and elements of oral language, including vocabulary knowledge, which is the specific skill discussed in this paper. The intervention consisted of two main areas of focus – one, named Rich Reading and Reminiscing (RRR), concentrated on stimulating children’s oral language skills, and the other, called Stimulating Sound Sensitivity (SSS), aimed to generate shifts in children’s phonological awareness abilities. Data sets were gathered with eight children and their families over a twelve-week period, which corresponded with the duration of the intervention. A final set of data was collected six months after the intervention ceased. The study employed a crossover design, where four children and their families participated in the RRR component of the intervention, which ran for six weeks, followed by the SSS portion of the intervention. The remaining four children participated in the same parts of the intervention but in reverse order of delivery. The crossover approach established a control in the study, and allowed the effects of each part of the intervention on the children’s early literacy skills to be more clearly revealed. This paper reports on two children – one from each cohort – whose results are evidence of the efficacy of the intervention in advancing key aspects of children’s foundational literacy skills. Key Findings The children who participated in the RRR component of the intervention first showed improvements in vocabulary knowledge mid-intervention. Conversely, the children who participated in the SSS component first made gains in their phonological awareness skills before the other cohort of children did. These findings have implications for early childhood educators and families concerning the strategies adopted by these stakeholders which aim to foster strong cognitive skills critical for literacy success.

Treating children with co-occurring stuttering and speech sound disorder: a long-term follow up study

ABSTRACT Purpose: To conduct long-term follow-up assessment on children who had previously undergone concurrent, direct treatment for co-occurring stuttering and speech sound disorder. Methods: Four children (6;10–7;7 years) were followed-up approximately 40 months after commencing Stage 1 of the Lidcombe Program. The primary outcome for stuttering, percentage of syllables stuttered, was assessed on within – and beyond-clinic samples. Percentage of consonants correct, the primary speech outcome, was gathered on single-word and connected-speech samples. Primary outcomes were analysed for statistically significant change and to assess stability of treatment gains. Additionally, formal assessment of phonological awareness ability was conducted. Results: At long-term follow-up, 2 participants had experienced relapse of stuttering. Three of the four children were within age-expected norms for percentage of consonants correct, while one participant was rated at a mild-moderate severity level on this measure. All four children had assessment scores that were within normal limits for phonological awareness. Conclusion: Children with co-occurring stuttering and speech sound disorder may be treated concurrently using direct therapy approaches in the short-term, however may be more prone to relapse across both disorders. For this caseload of children, a longer maintenance period is recommended, with regular assessments being undertaken to ensure stability of treatment gains in the long-term.

English Word and Pseudoword Spellings and Phonological Awareness: Detailed Comparisons From Three L1 Writing Systems.

Spelling is a fundamental literacy skill facilitating word recognition and thus higher-level reading abilities via its support for efficient text processing (Adams, 1990; Joshi et al., 2008; Perfetti and Stafura, 2014). However, relatively little work examines second language (L2) spelling in adults, and even less work examines learners from different first language (L1) writing systems. This is despite the fact that the influence of L1 writing system on L2 literacy skills is well documented (Hudson, 2007; Koda and Zehler, 2008; Grabe, 2009). To address this shortcoming, this study collected data on real word spelling, pseudoword spelling, and phonological awareness (elision) abilities from 70 participants (23 native speakers; 47 ELLs with alphabetic, abjad, and morphosyllabic L1s). Analyses compared performance on real word and pseudoword spelling between L1 English speakers and ELLs, and additionally among the non-native-speaker L1 groups (categorized into alphabet, abjad, and morphosyllabary groups). Similar comparisons were made across groups for performance on phonological awareness. Further, correlations were calculated between phonological awareness and real word spelling and between phonological awareness and pseudoword spelling, separately for L1 English speakers and the various ESL groups. Spelling accuracy on real words and pseudowords as well as phonological awareness skill differed between native speakers and ESL speakers, and also varied by the ESL speakers’ L1 writing system. Theoretically interesting patterns emerged in the spelling data. For example, the morphosyllabic L1 speakers had strong real word spelling (better than the other ESL groups) but greatly decreased pseudoword accuracy (a drop of 59% in accuracy). Although alphabetic L1 speakers had low spelling accuracy in terms of strict scoring, they had lower rates of errors per item, highlighting the importance of scoring approach for shaping the conclusions that are drawn. Error rates also revealed vowels to be more problematic than consonants, particularly in abjad L1 speakers. The results demonstrate that L2 spelling abilities, phonological awareness, and the relationships among them vary by L1 writing system, and that differing approaches to scoring and analysis may lead to varying conclusions.

IMPROVEMENT OF PHONOLOGICAL SKILLS – IMPROVEMENT OF READING

The article “Improvement of Phonological Skills – Improvement of Reading” underlines the importance of phonological awareness in the development of reading skills. Several studies show that reading is a very complex skill that involves cognitive processes, intellect and other variables, but the key factor for the development of good reading skills is a good level of phonological awareness.Before the intervention a special material was created, which was systematically ordered according to the current level of each child’s phonological awareness abilities. Children were evaluated before and after the intervention.The aim of this research is to evaluate the possibility to develop good phonological analysis and synthesis skills for six to seven years old children with phonematic perception disorder.The research methods used in the study are the analysis of scientific literature, the gathering of primary data with specially designed evaluation material, the analysis of gathered primary data, and the observation of child’s performance during the training sessions.

Teaching music in the early years in schools in challenging circumstances: developing student teacher competence and confidence through cycles of enactment

ABSTRACT The call to raise UK educational standards has a focus on the underachievement of pupils attending schools in challenging socioeconomic circumstances. Research suggests that music can have a significant role in developing children’s phonological awareness, language and future reading ability. Many generalist primary school teachers feel that they do not have the confidence or pedagogical knowledge required to teach music in a way that engages and stretches pupils. Student teachers may not, therefore, have the opportunity to observe good practice or to teach music whilst on placement. A teacher educator carried out an action research project using discursive group and individual interviews. The aim was to improve understanding of how to support student teachers in developing confidence and competence to teach music in the early years. Undertaken as part of Hope Challenge, a project that brings together a university Initial Teacher Education programme and primary schools in challenging circumstances, the action research consisted of a cycle of enactment involving the teacher educator, student teachers and class teacher in modelling, reflecting and acting. This action research approach played a crucial role in developing confidence, pedagogical knowledge and enthusiasm for teaching music and offers a model for future teacher professional development.

Intrinsic Cerebro-Cerebellar Functional Connectivity Reveals the Function of Cerebellum VI in Reading-Related Skills.

The engagement of the cerebellum VI in reading was reported in both typically developing and dyslexic readers. However, it is still not clear how the cerebellum VI contributes to reading. Here we have examined the correlation of intrinsic cerebro-cerebellar functional connectivity with two critical reading-related skills—phonological awareness (PA) and rapid automatized naming (RAN)—with fMRI technology. Specifically, we tested the hypothesis that the cerebellum may contribute to reading either by phonological skills or by automatizing skills. We chose the left and right cerebellum VI as ROIs, and we calculated the intrinsic cerebro-cerebellar functional connectivity during a resting state. We further explored whether and how cerebro-cerebellar resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) is associated with individuals’ reading-related skills including PA and RAN. The results showed that the functional connectivity between the left supramarginal gyrus and bilateral cerebellum VI was related to RAN, and the connectivity between the left insula and right cerebellum VI was related to PA. However, the effect of PA did not survive after the RAN was regressed out. Control analyses further confirmed that it was the intrinsic cerebro-cerebellar functional connectivity rather than the local cerebellar functionality that associated with phonological awareness ability and rapid automatized naming ability. For the first time, the relationship between cerebro-cerebellar resting state functional connectivity and specific reading-related skills has been explored, and this has deepened our understanding of the way the cerebellum VI is involved in reading.

Eye Movements During RAN as an Operationalization of the RAN-Reading "Microcosm".

Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN) is a strong predictor of reading aloud, though there is little agreement on what underpins RAN or how it relates to reading. Some theorize phonological skills, while others suggest that RAN reflects the “microcosm” of cognitive and attentional processes also required for reading, with more recent research using eye movements in an attempt to study this relationship. In the current study, we aimed to extend previous investigations to identify whether the temporal patterns of eye movements predict RAN and can, therefore, be established as a method to study the cognitive processes underlying RAN that could then be utilized to elucidate the relationship of RAN to reading. A Gazepoint eye tracker was used to record the eye movements of 93 learner readers aged 5–8 years (M age = 7.00) while performing a custom computerized alphabetic RAN task. Text reading accuracy, comprehension and rate; nonverbal intelligence; and phonological awareness abilities were also assessed. Regression analyses showed that, independently of phonological awareness, eye movements [Fixation Count (FC) and Fixation Duration (FD)] measured during RAN tasks were highly reflective of children’s rapid naming performance (92.8%). Both mean FC and mean FD during RAN tasks also predicted text reading accuracy (36.3%), comprehension (31.6%), and rate (36.2%) scores, and in predicting these text reading skills there was a high level of shared variance with RAN performance. In a sub-sample of participants, longer average FDs and counts independently discriminated children with reading difficulties (n = 18; aged 7–9) from neurotypical children matched for age (n = 18), but not from younger neurotypical children matched for reading level (n = 18; aged 5–6). Together, these results suggest that the analysis of eye movements recorded during RAN allows for the operationalization of many of the spatially and temporally-bound cognitive and attentional processes that underpin the RAN, and a step towards elucidating its relationship to reading.