The Hispanic population within the United States has grown to a considerable amount. The state of Florida’s population is 25% Hispanic, with projected estimates of this population continuing to grow in the coming years (Ortman & Shin, 2011). Statistics show that 28.3% of the state’s population, over the age of five, speak a language other than English at home. With this considerable number of Spanish-speakers comes the responsibility to adjust certain educational practices to best meet their needs. Literacy is an essential part of learning, and therefore assessing early literacy is an essential part to any child’s academic development. Phonological awareness is the ability to manipulate and identify the phonological segments of a word (Blachman, Tangel, Ball, Black & Mcgraw, 1999). It is a strong predictor for early literacy abilities (Bradley & Bryant, 1983, Kozminsky & Kozminsky, 1995, Vandervelden & Siegel 1997). This relationship between phonological awareness and early literacy exists within the English language, and also within many other alphabetic languages such as Spanish (Anthony, Williams, McDonald, Corbitt-Shindler, Carlson, & Francis, 2006). Therefore, phonological awareness shares an important relationship to early literacy abilities for both English and Spanish speakers. There are many morphological, phonological, syntactical, and lexical subtleties that exist between varied dialects of the Spanish language. Vocabulary and lexicon use has been shown to positively influence phonological awareness skills in young children. Dialectical classifications of the participants were determined through use of different dialect specific vocabulary word list in the Linguistic and Cultural Background Survey. This study sought to evaluate whether dialectical differences among young Spanish-English bilinguals were associated with performance on measures of phonological awareness and reading. Twelve participants (children ages 3.17 years to 7.5 years and their parents participated in the study. Children completed a short form of the dynamic assessment of phonological awareness in Spanish (Loreti, 2015), the Letter-Word Identification of the Woodcock-Muñoz Language Survey-Revised (WMLS-R; Woodcock et al., 2005), the Elision, Rapid Automatic Naming, and Letter Name/Letter Sound subtests from the Test of Phonological Sensitivity in Spanish (TOPSS; Brea et al., 2003) and the Preschool Language Scales, Fifth Edition Spanish Screening Test (PLS-5; Zimmerman et al., 2011). Parents completed a Linguistic and Cultural Background Survey designed to identify potential dialectical differences among the children. Results from the Linguistic and Cultural Background Survey indicated that all participants used the dialect consistent with Central America, and six additionally used lexical features of dialects outside of Central America. Consequently, children were categorized into either a Central group or a Central Plus group. The Central group indicated the use of words specific to the Central American dialect of Spanish. The Central Plus group indicated use of Central American dialect specific words, as well as words specific to Standard and Caribbean dialects of Spanish. These two groups were compared on the assessments of phonological awareness and early literacy. The results indicated that there were no statistically significant differences on any of the assessments between the dialect groups. Although the comparisons on the measures of Letter Word Identification Subtest and Letter Name Letter Sound subtest demonstrated medium effect sizes in favor of the Central plus another dialect group, and Rapid Automatic Naming demonstrated a medium effect in favor of the Central only group. Further investigation is needed to demonstrate these medium effects to a greater extent.

The current study aimed to develop a model of reading comprehension for children in middle primary school. As part of this overall aim there was a particular focus on the contribution of different types of memory to reading comprehension. The variables selected for consideration were identified from the child and adult literature and were of three types: word reading, language, and memory. The sample comprised 180 primary school children in grades 3-5 recruited from two primary schools. Their ages ranged from 8 years 7 months to 11 years 11 months. The reading comprehension measure was in a multiple-choice format with the text available when answering the questions. The five word reading measures were phonological recoding, orthographic processing, text reading accuracy, text reading speed, and a measure of exposure to print and reading experience. It is recognised that, although exposure to print is closely associated with word reading skills, it is not a direct measure of word reading. The language measures were oral comprehension, receptive vocabulary and receptive grammatical skills. The memory measures included measures of verbal and visuospatial short-term memory, measures of verbal and visuospatial working memory, a measure of the ability to inhibit irrelevant information from working memory and a measure of longer term verbal learning and retrieval. Correlational and hierachical multiple regression analyses were used to extrapolate the relationships between and among these variables. The results revealed that, after controlling for age and general intellectual ability, the word reading and the language variables had a much stronger relationship with reading comprehension than the memory variables. The strongest independent predictors of reading comprehension were orthographic processing and oral comprehension. An additive combination of these two variables provided a more parsimonious model of reading comprehension than other models under consideration. It was concluded that for the age range in this study, language and word reading skills are the main predictors of reading comprehension and that the different types of memory do not make major contributions to reading comprehension.

在閱讀文句的過程中，隨著文字內容的不同語言特性，眼睛凝視位置與時間也會有所不同；而使用眼動儀(eye tracker)可以精確記錄眼睛凝視的位置和停留時間，研究者可藉此瞭解閱讀歷程中不同的訊息處理機制。此外，眼動誘發呈現(eye movement contingent display)技術精確且快速的刺激呈現控制，能根據眼球凝視的位置，在特定時間與特定位置立即更換螢幕呈現的文字，如此對於閱讀歷程中訊息處理的動態運作，能夠提供更準確的掌握。實驗一以移動視窗的方式，測量中文閱讀的知覺廣度，發現眼睛每次凝視能知覺並處理的文字範圍，包括凝視點及右側四個中文字。實驗二亦採用移動視窗的方式，並操弄視窗週邊文字遮蔽的時間，發現週邊文字在凝視開始的90毫秒內即被提取；週邊文字遮蔽時間的長短不會影響凝視時間，而是影響在下個凝視點訊息整合之凝視時間。實驗三以邊界技術的方式，探討週邊文字被提取的特性，操弄預視字與目標字在字形與字音的相似或相異；結果顯示在一定的條件下，能獲得字音訊息在早期階段被提取之證據，而字形訊息在整合不同訊息的階段產生明顯的影響。實驗四則以快速促發作業的方式，探討凝視位置促發字的文字特性對目標字訊息整合的影響；結果顯示促發字呈現時間較短的情況下，字音效果只在形異的情況下產生，同樣獲得字音訊息在早期階段被提取之證據。本論文應用所發展的眼動誘發呈現技術進行一系列實驗，分別就中文閱讀的知覺廣度、凝視點對於週邊訊息之處理時序、以及週邊與凝視點位置對文字提取之特性和訊息整合機制加以探討，藉此推論中文閱讀時眼動所引發的動態文字處理歷程。 第一章　眼球運動與閱讀歷程的關係 I 第二章 閱讀的眼動控制之運作與影響因素 10 第三章 中文閱讀的眼動研究回顧 20 研究目的 30 第四章 眼動誘發呈現技術的發展 31 第五章 中文閱讀的知覺廣度與呈現改變的影響 34 實驗一 39 第六章 凝視點對週邊訊息的提取時間 45 實驗二 48 第七章 凝視點對週邊文字提取的特性 54 實驗三 55 第八章 凝視點上文字的語音提取 62 實驗四Ａ 64 實驗四Ｂ 65 綜合討論 68 參考文獻 76 附錄一：實驗一與實驗二使用的文章材料 109 附錄二：實驗三與實驗四的句子與操弄單字 113 / In the process of reading, the location and duration of eye fixations varied accroding the language properties of the text. Using the eye tracker nowdays, it precisely records the location and fixation duration of eye movements. That gives an opportunity to understand the cognitive operations of reading. Furthermore, the eye movement contingent display technique is capable to change the display with both the speed and precision. It changes the text on the computer screen at specific location and time, according the location where the eyes are fixating. This advanced technique provides the possibility to explore the nature of dynamic processing of reading. Experiment One uses the moving window paradigm to measure the perceptual span of Chinese reading. It showed that the range of perceived characters in reading includes four characters to the right of fixations. Experiment Two also uses the moving window paradigm but the time of showing "window" is varied. It showed that the characters in peripheral were perceived within 90 msec in the beginning of fixations. The time to mask the peripheral text did not affect the fixation duration of display change, but the time of next fixation. Experiment Three uses the boundary paradigm to show the type of character information can be retrieved in peripheral and integrated with the information on the next fixation. It showed the phonological code can be retrieved in peripheral, but the orthographic code is dominated when integrating information across fixations. Experiment Four uses the fast priming paradigm to show the type of information can be retrieved on fixations. It showed the same pattern for both the third and forth experiment. The phonological effect can be obtained under certain circumstances, when the availability or validity of orthographic information is reduced. The dynamic processing of eye movements in reading and a general model for cognitive operation are discussed.

<p>I denna studie analyseras skriftspråksutvecklingen hos sex elever i riskzonen för läs- och skrivsvårigheter. Syftet med studien är att klarlägga vilken roll specialpedagogiska insatser spelar för elevers skrift-språkliga utveckling. Har innehållet i stödet någon betydelse för elevernas utveckling och vad händer när stödet uteblir? Studien fokuserar på tidig kontra sen identifiering av elevernas läs- och skrivsvårigheter samt påföljande insatser. I detta sammanhang analyseras också hur dessa insatser påverkar elevernas självförtroende och motivation för skolarbetet. Resultatet tyder på att det inte främst är tidpunkten för insatserna som är det mest betydelsefulla för en positiv utveckling, utan snarare innehållet i stödet. Det är det språkliga stödet, anpassat till elevernas specifika svårigheter och utvecklingsnivå, som är den avgörande faktorn. Detta stöd bygger på träning i fonologisk medvetenhet, korrela-tionen mellan fonem och grafem, uppbygg-nad av ordförrådet och utvecklande av effektiva lässtrategier. Tidpunkten för insatserna är inte generaliserbar utan beroende av problemets art och det enskilda barnets förutsättningar. Det framkommer i studien att det skedde en positiv utveckling av läs- och skrivförmågan i samtliga fall, oavsett om de var tidiga eller sena. Det skedde även en positiv social utveckling. De tre barnen som fick sena insatser fick emellertid genomgå en period med flera negativa följdverk-ningar, men så snart de språkliga insatserna kom till stånd vändes den negativa trenden och arbetsglädjen byggdes successivt upp. Specialundervisning, där språket inte spelar någon central roll, visade sig i denna studie inte ge någon större effekt. Resultaten från studien visar på ett övertygande sätt att det är av yttersta vikt att de barn som ligger i riskzonen för läs- och skrivsvårigheter får en omsorgsfull språklig utredning gjord till exempel av logoped. Elevens problem bör utredas i grunden så att rätt hjälp kan anvisas till varje enskild elev. Det måste också finnas en koppling mellan utredningen och de pedagogiska insatserna. Studien visar även att det är viktigt att det finns tillgång till pedagoger med ändamålsenlig kompetens för att uppnå önskvärt resultat. Mycket i denna studie tyder på att tidsmarginalerna är små i barnets tidiga utveckling. Man måste därför studera tidpunkten för insatserna mera specifikt i förhållande till barnets utvecklingsnivå och problemets art för att barnet ska få hjälp på rätt nivå så att läsinlärningen blir framgångsrik. Studien understryker betydelsen av meningsfullhet, god självbild, motivation och sammanhang för eleverna.</p><p>This study investigates the development of the reading and writing ability of six pupils in danger of developing reading and writing disabilities. The purpose is to investigate the effects of remedial teaching on their reading and writing abilities. How much does the contents of the teaching matter, and what happens when remedial teaching is not forthcoming? The focus is on comparing the consequences of early vs. late discovery of the disability, and of the ensuing measures taken. The self confidence and motivation of the pupils are also analysed in this context. My results imply that the content of the remedial teaching is of greater importance to a favourable development than an early discovery. The crucial factor is the adaptation of the linguistic support to the specific problems and developmental level of each individual pupil. The support consists in developing phonological awareness, phonem-graphem correlation, vocabulary and efficient reading strategies. As for the timing, no generalised conclusions can be made. The outcome is dependent on the nature of the problem, and of the preconditions and capacities of the individual child. The study shows that there was a positive development of the reading and writing ability in all six cases, regardless of whether the discovery of the disability was early or late. There was also a positive social development. In the three cases where the remedial teaching came late, the children went through a period that had several adverse consequences, but as soon as the supportive measures were initiated the negative trend was broken, and the joy of learning developed gradually. Remedial teaching where the focus was not primarily on linguistic development did, however, seem to have little effect. This study demonstrates clearly how vital it is that children in danger of developing reading and writing disabilities are carefully examined by, e.g., a speech therapist. Their individual problems must be thoroughly investigated, so that the supportive measures can be tailored to suit their needs. Hence, the examination must be closely linked to the pedagogical efforts. The study also shows that access to pedagogues with an adequate competence is crucial to the achievement of a favourable result. There are strong indications in this study that the time windows are quite narrow in the early development of a child. The timing of the remedial teaching must be more specifically studied, and related to the developmental level and specific problems of each individual child, in order to achieve an optimal reading development. This study emphasises the importance to the pupils of relevance, a positive self image, motivation and coherence.</p>

<p>Cochleaimplantat (CI) är ett tekniskt hjälpmedel som ges till personer med dövhet eller grav hörselnedsättning. Ett CI kan hos barn ge en möjlighet till ökad utveckling av kognitiva och språkliga förmågor. Syftet med föreliggande studie var att undersöka utvecklingen av kognitiva och språkliga förmågor hos barn med CI. Studien är en del av en longitudinell studie som tidigare genomförts 2007 och 2008. Deltagarna var sju barn med CI mellan 8;8 och 14;5 år. Jämförelser gjordes mellan prestationerna hos barnen med CI 2007, 2008 och 2009 samt mellan prestationerna hos barn med CI och normalhörande barn. Resultatet visade att barnen med CI hade en positiv utveckling av prestationerna i test av visuospatialt och komplext arbetsminne samt läsningens avkodningsdel. Samma tydliga positiva utveckling sågs inte av fonologiska representationer, fonologiskt arbetsminne, receptivt ordförråd samt läsförståelse. Den utplanande utvecklingen av fonologiska representationer kan vara en anledning till avsaknaden av positiv utveckling av fonologiskt arbetsminne och receptivt ordförråd.  Trots brister i fonologisk bearbetning kan barn med CI ha en positiv utveckling av läsning när det gäller avkodning. Samma tydliga positiva utveckling sågs inte av läsförståelse vilket kan bero på högre krav på arbetsminne och receptivt ordförråd. En grundlig utredning av varje barn bör göras för att upptäcka individuella styrkor och svagheter.</p> / <p>A Cochlear implant (CI) is a technical device given to individuals with severe to profound hearing impairment/deafness. CI can provide children with increased possibilities to develop cognitive and linguistic abilities. The purpose of this study was to investigate the development of cognitive and linguistic abilities in children with CI. This study is part of a longitudinal study previously carried out in 2007 and 2008. The participants were seven children with CI between the ages of 8;8 and 14;5. Comparisons were made both between the performances of the children with CI 2007, 2008 and 2009 and between the performances of the children with CI and the reference group of children with normal hearing. The result demonstrated that the children with CI showed a positive development of visuo-spatial and complex working memory as well as the decoding part of reading. This pattern of development was not seen in tests of phonological representations, phonological working memory, receptive vocabulary and reading comprehension. The poor development of phonological representations may be related to the poor development of phonological working memory and receptive vocabulary. Despite difficulties with phonological processing a positive development of the decoding abilities was seen. This pattern of development was not seen in reading comprehension which could be due to higher demands on working memory and receptive vocabulary. A thorough assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of each individual child should always be carried out.</p><p> </p><p> </p>

<p>Phonological awareness is the ability to recognise, identify and manipulate components in words. Phonological awareness is an important part of the early literacy learning, although researchers disagree on how the connection arises. In the United Kingdom, synthetic phonics is a recommended way to teach literacy and the Jolly Phonics is a common approach within this method. In Sweden, mostly synthetic but also analytic methods are used for literacy teaching. The PhonicStick is developed as a communication device for impaired people and is based on the Jolly Phonics. In this study, the PhonicStick was being tested on children aged 5 and 6 years in mainstream pre-school classes to evaluate the use of it and its use for improvement of phonological awareness. The participating children were randomly divided into a test and a control group. All children were pre- and post-tested to analyse the possible improvement of parts of the phonological awareness. The test group went through three PhonicStick sessions, including different games and tests. The results from the pre- and post-tests of phonological awareness showed no significant differences between the test and control group. However, four out of five PhonicStick tests showed a significant improvement between session 1 and session 3. This shows that the children in the study were able to handle the PhonicStick after only three sessions, including remembering phonics the without visual information and producing words including two or three phonics.</p> / <p>Fonologisk medvetenhet är förmågan att känna igen, identifiera och manipulera komponenter i ord. Fonologisk medvetenhet är en viktig del av den tidiga läsinlärningen även om forskarna är oeniga om hur sambandet uppstår. I Storbritannien är Synthetic Phonics en rekommenderad metod vid läs- och skrivinlärning och Jolly Phonics är en vanlig strategi inom denna metod. I Sverige används framför allt syntetiska men även analytiska metoder vid läs- och skrivundervisning. The PhonicStick är utvecklad som ett kommunikationshjälpmedel för personer med funktionsnedsättning och baseras på Jolly Phonics. I den här studien testades the PhonicStick på 5- och 6-åriga barn i vanliga förskoleklasser för att utvärdera användningen av den och dess användning för förbättring av den fonologiska medvetenheten. De deltagande barnen delades slumpmässigt in i en test- och en kontrollgrupp. Alla barn pre- och posttestades för analys av eventuella förbättringar i delar av den fonologiska medvetenheten. Testgruppen genomgick tre PhonicStick-tillfällen som inkluderade olika lekar och tester. Resultaten från pre- och posttesten av fonologisk medvetenhet visade inte några signifikanta skillnader mellan test- och kontrollgruppen. Fyra av fem PhonicStick-tester visade dock en signifikant förbättring mellan tillfälle 1 och tillfälle 3. Detta visar att barnen i studien kunde hantera the PhonicStick efter bara tre tillfällen, genom att komma ihåg fonem utan visuell information och att producera ord med två eller tre fonem.</p>

Cochleaimplantat (CI) är ett tekniskt hjälpmedel som ges till personer med dövhet eller grav hörselnedsättning. Ett CI kan hos barn ge en möjlighet till ökad utveckling av kognitiva och språkliga förmågor. Syftet med föreliggande studie var att undersöka utvecklingen av kognitiva och språkliga förmågor hos barn med CI. Studien är en del av en longitudinell studie som tidigare genomförts 2007 och 2008. Deltagarna var sju barn med CI mellan 8;8 och 14;5 år. Jämförelser gjordes mellan prestationerna hos barnen med CI 2007, 2008 och 2009 samt mellan prestationerna hos barn med CI och normalhörande barn. Resultatet visade att barnen med CI hade en positiv utveckling av prestationerna i test av visuospatialt och komplext arbetsminne samt läsningens avkodningsdel. Samma tydliga positiva utveckling sågs inte av fonologiska representationer, fonologiskt arbetsminne, receptivt ordförråd samt läsförståelse. Den utplanande utvecklingen av fonologiska representationer kan vara en anledning till avsaknaden av positiv utveckling av fonologiskt arbetsminne och receptivt ordförråd.  Trots brister i fonologisk bearbetning kan barn med CI ha en positiv utveckling av läsning när det gäller avkodning. Samma tydliga positiva utveckling sågs inte av läsförståelse vilket kan bero på högre krav på arbetsminne och receptivt ordförråd. En grundlig utredning av varje barn bör göras för att upptäcka individuella styrkor och svagheter. / A Cochlear implant (CI) is a technical device given to individuals with severe to profound hearing impairment/deafness. CI can provide children with increased possibilities to develop cognitive and linguistic abilities. The purpose of this study was to investigate the development of cognitive and linguistic abilities in children with CI. This study is part of a longitudinal study previously carried out in 2007 and 2008. The participants were seven children with CI between the ages of 8;8 and 14;5. Comparisons were made both between the performances of the children with CI 2007, 2008 and 2009 and between the performances of the children with CI and the reference group of children with normal hearing. The result demonstrated that the children with CI showed a positive development of visuo-spatial and complex working memory as well as the decoding part of reading. This pattern of development was not seen in tests of phonological representations, phonological working memory, receptive vocabulary and reading comprehension. The poor development of phonological representations may be related to the poor development of phonological working memory and receptive vocabulary. Despite difficulties with phonological processing a positive development of the decoding abilities was seen. This pattern of development was not seen in reading comprehension which could be due to higher demands on working memory and receptive vocabulary. A thorough assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of each individual child should always be carried out.

I denna studie analyseras skriftspråksutvecklingen hos sex elever i riskzonen för läs- och skrivsvårigheter. Syftet med studien är att klarlägga vilken roll specialpedagogiska insatser spelar för elevers skrift-språkliga utveckling. Har innehållet i stödet någon betydelse för elevernas utveckling och vad händer när stödet uteblir? Studien fokuserar på tidig kontra sen identifiering av elevernas läs- och skrivsvårigheter samt påföljande insatser. I detta sammanhang analyseras också hur dessa insatser påverkar elevernas självförtroende och motivation för skolarbetet. Resultatet tyder på att det inte främst är tidpunkten för insatserna som är det mest betydelsefulla för en positiv utveckling, utan snarare innehållet i stödet. Det är det språkliga stödet, anpassat till elevernas specifika svårigheter och utvecklingsnivå, som är den avgörande faktorn. Detta stöd bygger på träning i fonologisk medvetenhet, korrela-tionen mellan fonem och grafem, uppbygg-nad av ordförrådet och utvecklande av effektiva lässtrategier. Tidpunkten för insatserna är inte generaliserbar utan beroende av problemets art och det enskilda barnets förutsättningar. Det framkommer i studien att det skedde en positiv utveckling av läs- och skrivförmågan i samtliga fall, oavsett om de var tidiga eller sena. Det skedde även en positiv social utveckling. De tre barnen som fick sena insatser fick emellertid genomgå en period med flera negativa följdverk-ningar, men så snart de språkliga insatserna kom till stånd vändes den negativa trenden och arbetsglädjen byggdes successivt upp. Specialundervisning, där språket inte spelar någon central roll, visade sig i denna studie inte ge någon större effekt. Resultaten från studien visar på ett övertygande sätt att det är av yttersta vikt att de barn som ligger i riskzonen för läs- och skrivsvårigheter får en omsorgsfull språklig utredning gjord till exempel av logoped. Elevens problem bör utredas i grunden så att rätt hjälp kan anvisas till varje enskild elev. Det måste också finnas en koppling mellan utredningen och de pedagogiska insatserna. Studien visar även att det är viktigt att det finns tillgång till pedagoger med ändamålsenlig kompetens för att uppnå önskvärt resultat. Mycket i denna studie tyder på att tidsmarginalerna är små i barnets tidiga utveckling. Man måste därför studera tidpunkten för insatserna mera specifikt i förhållande till barnets utvecklingsnivå och problemets art för att barnet ska få hjälp på rätt nivå så att läsinlärningen blir framgångsrik. Studien understryker betydelsen av meningsfullhet, god självbild, motivation och sammanhang för eleverna. This study investigates the development of the reading and writing ability of six pupils in danger of developing reading and writing disabilities. The purpose is to investigate the effects of remedial teaching on their reading and writing abilities. How much does the contents of the teaching matter, and what happens when remedial teaching is not forthcoming? The focus is on comparing the consequences of early vs. late discovery of the disability, and of the ensuing measures taken. The self confidence and motivation of the pupils are also analysed in this context. My results imply that the content of the remedial teaching is of greater importance to a favourable development than an early discovery. The crucial factor is the adaptation of the linguistic support to the specific problems and developmental level of each individual pupil. The support consists in developing phonological awareness, phonem-graphem correlation, vocabulary and efficient reading strategies. As for the timing, no generalised conclusions can be made. The outcome is dependent on the nature of the problem, and of the preconditions and capacities of the individual child. The study shows that there was a positive development of the reading and writing ability in all six cases, regardless of whether the discovery of the disability was early or late. There was also a positive social development. In the three cases where the remedial teaching came late, the children went through a period that had several adverse consequences, but as soon as the supportive measures were initiated the negative trend was broken, and the joy of learning developed gradually. Remedial teaching where the focus was not primarily on linguistic development did, however, seem to have little effect. This study demonstrates clearly how vital it is that children in danger of developing reading and writing disabilities are carefully examined by, e.g., a speech therapist. Their individual problems must be thoroughly investigated, so that the supportive measures can be tailored to suit their needs. Hence, the examination must be closely linked to the pedagogical efforts. The study also shows that access to pedagogues with an adequate competence is crucial to the achievement of a favourable result. There are strong indications in this study that the time windows are quite narrow in the early development of a child. The timing of the remedial teaching must be more specifically studied, and related to the developmental level and specific problems of each individual child, in order to achieve an optimal reading development. This study emphasises the importance to the pupils of relevance, a positive self image, motivation and coherence.

Phonological awareness is the ability to recognise, identify and manipulate components in words. Phonological awareness is an important part of the early literacy learning, although researchers disagree on how the connection arises. In the United Kingdom, synthetic phonics is a recommended way to teach literacy and the Jolly Phonics is a common approach within this method. In Sweden, mostly synthetic but also analytic methods are used for literacy teaching. The PhonicStick is developed as a communication device for impaired people and is based on the Jolly Phonics. In this study, the PhonicStick was being tested on children aged 5 and 6 years in mainstream pre-school classes to evaluate the use of it and its use for improvement of phonological awareness. The participating children were randomly divided into a test and a control group. All children were pre- and post-tested to analyse the possible improvement of parts of the phonological awareness. The test group went through three PhonicStick sessions, including different games and tests. The results from the pre- and post-tests of phonological awareness showed no significant differences between the test and control group. However, four out of five PhonicStick tests showed a significant improvement between session 1 and session 3. This shows that the children in the study were able to handle the PhonicStick after only three sessions, including remembering phonics the without visual information and producing words including two or three phonics. / Fonologisk medvetenhet är förmågan att känna igen, identifiera och manipulera komponenter i ord. Fonologisk medvetenhet är en viktig del av den tidiga läsinlärningen även om forskarna är oeniga om hur sambandet uppstår. I Storbritannien är Synthetic Phonics en rekommenderad metod vid läs- och skrivinlärning och Jolly Phonics är en vanlig strategi inom denna metod. I Sverige används framför allt syntetiska men även analytiska metoder vid läs- och skrivundervisning. The PhonicStick är utvecklad som ett kommunikationshjälpmedel för personer med funktionsnedsättning och baseras på Jolly Phonics. I den här studien testades the PhonicStick på 5- och 6-åriga barn i vanliga förskoleklasser för att utvärdera användningen av den och dess användning för förbättring av den fonologiska medvetenheten. De deltagande barnen delades slumpmässigt in i en test- och en kontrollgrupp. Alla barn pre- och posttestades för analys av eventuella förbättringar i delar av den fonologiska medvetenheten. Testgruppen genomgick tre PhonicStick-tillfällen som inkluderade olika lekar och tester. Resultaten från pre- och posttesten av fonologisk medvetenhet visade inte några signifikanta skillnader mellan test- och kontrollgruppen. Fyra av fem PhonicStick-tester visade dock en signifikant förbättring mellan tillfälle 1 och tillfälle 3. Detta visar att barnen i studien kunde hantera the PhonicStick efter bara tre tillfällen, genom att komma ihåg fonem utan visuell information och att producera ord med två eller tre fonem.

The literature on spelling and spelling development suggests there is a strong relationship between spelling and phonology (Bruck &amp; Treiman, 1990; Caravolas, Hulme &amp; Snowling, 2001; Craig, 2006; Gindri, Keske-Soares &amp; Mota, 2007). Spelling, however, is considerably less researched than reading (Caravolas, Humle &amp; Snowling, 2001). Spelling difficulties are known to be more persistent in people with reading and writing disabilities, even when their reading has become acceptable (Høien &amp; Lundberg, 1999) but more research is needed in this area. Assessment and detailed knowledge of the difficulties is of great importance in order to provide the appropriate help for children with reading and writing disabilities (Frisk, 2010; Magnusson, Nauclér, &amp; Reuterskiöld, 2008). The purpose of the present study was to develop and try out a phonologically based spelling test for children, with focus on medial phonemes. The study contained 150 pupils in grade 1 and 2 as well as pupils in remedial teaching due to reading and spelling difficulties in the same grades. In addition to spelling, all pupils were tested for reading ability, phonological awareness, nonverbal intelligence and auditory discrimination. Misspellings were analysed with three quantitative and one qualitative classification methods. Results showed that the spelling test based on analyse of medial phonemes captured misspellings to the same extent as the other quantitative classification method.  Pupils in grade 2 received significant higher results in the spelling test than pupils in grade 1. The group of typically developed pupils had significantly better results than the pupils with reading and writing disabilities. Results also showed that real words were significantly easier to spell than non-words. Moreover, significant correlations between spelling and reading ability, and spelling and phonological awareness, were found. The strong correlation between spelling ability and phonological awareness, and the fact that children with reading and writing disabilities performed poorly on spelling of non-words, lead to the conclusion that spelling and phonology are closely related, which is supported by the literature (Bruck &amp; Treiman, 1990; Caravolas, Hulme &amp; Snowling, 2001; Craig, 2006; Gindri, Keske-Soares &amp; Mota, 2007).