Two recent computational models of reading development propose that irregular words are read using a combination of decoding and lexical knowledge but differ in assumptions about how these sources of information interact and about the relative importance of different aspects of lexical knowledge. We report developmental data that help to…

The quantitative study examined 325 classroom scores of phonological awareness and vocabulary knowledge across time at the beginning (BOY), middle (MOY), and end (EOY) of the year in Pre-kindergarten (Pre-K). The study also investigated the association between Pre-K classroom instructional interactions that supported phonological awareness and…

A child's early literacy and language skills are the most reliable predictor of future academic achievement. Despite vast amounts of research supporting this link, many children start formal schooling with low early literacy skills. Without intervention or support, these children will likely continue to fall behind their peers. This exploratory…

This meta-analytic review explored the characteristics and effectiveness of combined language (e.g., vocabulary) and code (e.g., phonological awareness) interventions, including synergistic intervention effects for at-risk preschoolers. Data from 29 randomized controlled trials, published before March 2023, reporting on 43 interventions, including…

Teachers are asked to use reading science to inform how they teach phonics and phonological awareness. As teachers look to the research base to guide their practice, some questions and concerns regarding what best practice looks like have come up. This article starts with a brief description of phonics and phonemic awareness and then discusses…

Purpose: Phonological processing skills, or using phoneme knowledge to process language, in preschool- and kindergarten-age children are an important indicator of children's future reading abilities. However, assessing phonological processing skills can be difficult in children with speech sound disorders because scoring often requires that…

Phonological awareness (PA) is an important predictor and outcome of reading. Yet, little is known about the reciprocal relation between PA and reading across development without consistent reading experience (e.g., as a result of limited access to quality education and late enrolment in school). We tested the hypothesis that variable reading…

As reading is inherently a multisensory, audiovisual (AV) process where visual symbols (i.e., letters) are connected to speech sounds, the question has been raised whether individuals with reading difficulties, like children with developmental dyslexia (DD), have broader impairments in multisensory processing. This question has been posed before,…

This study examined 374 Malaysian parent-child dyads to explore the mediating role of preschoolers' reading attitude on the relationship between physical literacy environment and English phonological awareness. Parents provided demographic information and completed a Physical Literacy Environment and Literacy Activities Questionnaire, while…

Today, many children worldwide grow up in bilingual or multilingual families. This study explores early literacy development in Russian-Hebrew bilingual families in Israel. It studies the contribution of the home literacy environment (HLE), the language of communication, and the nature of the maternal writing support in Hebrew and Russian, to…

Phonological awareness and phonological working memory are essential for successful language acquisition and development of literacy. Although this essence is language-universal, its degree varies for different languages, depending, in part, on language transparency. The current study analyzes the adapted versions of the pseudoword repetition test…

Although there is evidence for a close link between early phonological skills and the development of vocabulary and decoding abilities, it is less clear which factors modulate the development of phonological skills. This study longitudinally explored the relation of contextual family variables on the development of phonological skills in 104…

Peer interaction offers critical learning opportunities for preschool students, yet exposure to peers of different skill levels varies within and across classrooms. We explore two ways peers may affect learning: differences in who children play with in a classroom and differences in student composition across classrooms. We find that playing with…

Peer interaction offers critical learning opportunities for preschool students, yet exposure to peers of different skill levels varies within and across classrooms. We explore two ways peers may affect learning: differences in who children play with in a classroom and differences in student composition across classrooms. We find that playing with…

This longitudinal study investigates the shifting roles of phonological awareness (PA) and morpho-lexical knowledge in Hebrew word reading fluency from kindergarten to Grade 4. The research addresses the developmental question regarding the relative importance of morphology versus phonology among beginning and more advanced readers. 440…