Speech development patterns and phonological awareness in preschool children
Virginia A Mann1, Judith G Foy
1Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California--Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-5100, USA. vmann@uci.edu
Annals of Dyslexia
|September 13, 2007
Summary
Preschoolers with speech sound errors, particularly in early consonants, show weaker phonological awareness. Speech production, including errors, is more connected to rhyme awareness, suggesting a new way to identify reading risks.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Speech-Language Pathology
- Early Literacy Research
Background:
- Early literacy skills are crucial for academic success.
- Phonological awareness is a key predictor of reading ability.
- The relationship between speech production and phonological awareness requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between consonant articulation skills and phonological awareness in preschool children.
- To explore the link between speech production patterns, including errors, and different aspects of phonological awareness (rhyme and phoneme awareness).
Main Methods:
- A sample of 102 preschool children was assessed for consonant articulation using a developmental typology.
- Phonological awareness was evaluated, focusing on rhyme and phoneme awareness.
- Statistical analysis examined the relationship between speech production variables and phonological awareness measures.
Main Results:
- Children failing to master early-8 consonants and exhibiting specific production errors demonstrated deficient phonological awareness.
- Children with no consonant errors showed advanced phonological awareness.
- Both typical speech patterns and errors were more strongly correlated with rhyme awareness than phoneme awareness.
Conclusions:
- Speech production, including the presence and type of errors, is significantly associated with phonological awareness in preschoolers.
- Rhyme awareness appears to be more closely linked to speech production than phoneme awareness.
- The findings suggest that assessing speech production may offer novel avenues for identifying preschool children at risk for reading difficulties.
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