The development of phonological representations remains a hot topic within both the developmental and neural network literature. Historically, theoretical accounts have fallen within one of two camps: the accessibility account which proposes that phonological representations are adult-like from infancy (Rozin & Gleitman, 1977; Liberman, Shankweiler & Liberman, 1989) and the emergent account which proposes that phonological representations become gradually restructured over development (Metsala & Walley, 1998; Ventura, Kolinsky, Fernandes, Querido & Morais, 2007; Ziegler & Goswami, 2005). Within this thesis we tested predictions made by the accessibility account and key variants of the emergent account using data from both behavioural (Chapters 2, 3 and 4) and neural network studies (Chapter 5). The novel measures used within Chapters 2 to 4 were devised to allow us to contrast implicit measures of phonological representation (PR) which probe the segmentedness of the representations themselves, with explicit PR measures which tap into children’s conscious awareness of phonological segments. Within Chapter 2 we present evidence that while explicit awareness of phonological structure is dependent on letter-sound knowledge, implicit sensitivity to the segments within words emerges independent of literacy. Within Chapter 3 a longitudinal study investigated the segmentedness of children’s phonological representations at the rime and phoneme level. These results demonstrate that implicit sensitivity to both rime and phoneme segments is driven by vocabulary growth and is not dependent on letter-sound knowledge. The results within Chapter 3 also suggest that, while awareness of rime segments emerges naturally through oral language experience, explicit awareness of individual phonemes is related to letter-sound knowledge. In Chapter 4 we explored the idea of global versus phonemic representation using a mispronunciation reconstruction task. We found that sensitivity to both global and phonemic similarity increased over time, but with global sensitivity reaching adult levels early on in development. In Chapter 5 a neural network was trained on the mappings between real acoustic input and articulatory output data allowing us to simulate the development of phonological representations computationally. The simulation data provide further evidence of a developmental increase in sensitivity to both global and phonemic similarity within a preliterate model. Taken together, the results provide strong evidence that as children’s vocabularies grow they become increasingly sensitive to both the global properties and segmental structure of words, independent of literacy experience. Children’s explicit awareness of phonemes, on the other hand, seems to emerge as a consequence of learning the correspondence between letters and sounds. Within the context of the wider literature, the current results are most consistent with the PRIMIR framework which predicts early detailed phonetic representations alongside gradually emerging phonemic categories (Werker & Curtin, 2005). This thesis underlines the importance of using implicit measures when trying to probe the representations themselves rather than children’s conscious awareness of them. The thesis also represents an important step towards modelling the emergence of segmental representation computationally using real speech data.

Syftet med följande studie är att utifrån en sociokulturell teori bidra med ny kunskap om hur pedagoger i förskoleklass uppfattar språklek och dess betydelse för läs- och skrivinlärningen samt att identifiera pedagogernas medvetenhet för språklekens betydelse i ett främjande och förebyggande perspektiv inom det specialpedagogiska området. Tidigare forskning bekräftar användandet av språklek och att det med stor fördel kan användas i ett förebyggande syfte för läs- och skrivinlärningen.    Studiens empiriska material är insamlat genom ostrukturerade, semistrukturerade gruppintervjuer med inspiration från fokusgruppmetoden. Som metodisk ansats ses det empiriska materialet utifrån en kvalitativ innehållsanalys för att nå olika perspektiv på innehållet.  Resultatet visar att pedagogerna har en relevant utbildning för sitt kunskapsuppdrag och för språklek. Vidare visar resultatet att pedagogernas uppfattningar förstärker sambandet mellan tidiga insatser där språkleken har en tydlig plats och där språkleken kan ses som ett främjande arbetssätt i förskoleklass.  I diskussionen betonas framförallt de möjligheter som språkleken ger och hur det kan påverka skolor på organisationsnivå där beslut fattas om extra anpassningar och särskilt stöd.

Background Early literacy skills have a crucial influence on the reading abilities and overall academic success of a child during the school years. The development of phonological awareness skills starts in the pre-school years. While phonological awareness predicts later reading success, working memory is also vital in higher cognitive skills such as reading. Phoneme-grapheme association supports and improves the lexical representation of words in the memory. The phoneme-grapheme association rules in transparent orthographies are in general more predictable and more words can be accurately read at an early stage. Therefore, reading accuracy and fluency seem to develop more straightforwardly since the phoneme-grapheme association is less complicated. As yet, the researcher has come across no studies which explored the role of phonological awareness and working memory in Afrikaans with its transparent orthography. Purpose To explore and describe the role of working memory in the acquisition of phonological awareness skills and ultimately reading in Afrikaans, a language with a transparent orthography. Method A cross-sectional descriptive design with correlational components was used to obtain data from the participants, aged 7 years to 8 years 11 months. Thirty-five participants from five private schools with Afrikaans as language of learning and teaching (LoLT) were assessed. Results The participants employed phonetic decoding more than eidetic decoding. The word reading skills of the participants developed rapidly and exceeded regular expectations. An overall high reading rate was displayed by the participants, likely due to the transparent orthography of Afrikaans. A higher score for the reading comprehension test was obtained by participants who read the comprehension test fluently. Text reading fluency made a more significant contribution to the performance of the participants on the reading comprehension test than word reading fluency. The number memory reversed subtest was more challenging than number memory forward. Shorter words were recalled more easily than longer words. It was less challenging for the participants to recall an eight- to ten-word sentence than to recall a list of words. Visual spatial memory had no significant relationship to the decoding or reading comprehension skills of the participants. The rhyming production subtest was more challenging than the rhyming discrimination subtest. The impact of syllable awareness skills on the word decoding skills of the participants was not significant. The segmenting and blending scores exceeded the expected performance of the participants. The correlation coefficient between reading comprehension and WM was not statistically significant. The relationship between WM and reading skills seems to be the same in both opaque and transparent orthographies. The correlations of PA and PhA skills with the word reading skills of the participants were moderate in strength. A fairly strong correlation between reading comprehension and PA as well as PhA skills was, however, observed. Conclusion The fairly strong statistically significant correlation between word reading skills and WM supports reading development in the early phases. The reasoning behind this deduction is that children who cannot hold and manipulate information in memory will find phoneme-grapheme association difficult. Keywords: Afrikaans, phonological awareness, reading, transparent orthographies, working memory. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology / MA (Speech-Language Pathology) / Unrestricted

The purpose of this study was to identify relationships that exist between reading ability in 3rd grade and phonological awareness in kindergarten. A second purpose was to identify specific prereading skills that best predict later reading success. This study used a quantitative research design to answer the research questions posed. The population for this research was 244 fourth grade students enrolled in 3 primary schools in a school system in Southwest Virginia. The data used for this research study were obtained from each student's score on the kindergarten Phonological Awareness and Literacy Screening and the 3rd grade Virginia Standards of Learning examination in reading. Four predictor variables (rhyme awareness, letter recognition, sound-letter relationships, and concept of word) were evaluated to determine their level of predictability for later reading success. Independent samples t-tests were conducted to determine whether a significant difference in the mean score of the PALS and SOL examination in reading existed between male and female students. Pearson correlation coefficients were computed to determine whether a statistically significant relationship existed between the PALS and the SOL examination in reading. Subsequent Pearson correlation coefficients were computed to determine if a significant relationship existed between the PALS and the SOL examination in reading for female and male students. Female students were found to have a higher mean score than male students on the kindergarten PALS. Female and male students tended to score about same on the 3rd grade SOL examination in reading. PALS score and SOL score were found to be significantly related suggesting that students with high phonological awareness scores in kindergarten tended to also have high scores on the 3rd grade Virginia SOL examination in reading. A Pearson correlation coefficient also indicated that female students with high kindergarten phonological awareness scores tended to have high scores on the 3rd grade Virginia SOL examination in reading. Rhyme awareness was identified as the best early predictor of later reading ability.

Educators need measurement tools to determine phonological awareness in young children. This study investigated the appropriateness of rhyme cloze tasks, referred to as Finish-a-Rhyme-Story items, which were designed to measure preschool and kindergarten children's early rhyme development. The rhyme cloze tasks required children to verbally complete a sentence by filling in a final rhyming word that matched a rhyme pattern highlighted in a short story that was read aloud to them. The task required rhyme awareness as well as comprehension of the language in the story. Twenty-four items were individually administered to preschool (n = 207) and kindergarten (n = 382) children to determine item performance and discriminative power. Rasch analysis indicated that the difficulty level of the items was well matched for the sample indicating that the items were developmentally appropriate for preschool and kindergarten children. Several analyses of variance (ANOVA) compared the performance of preschool and kindergarten children as well as the performance of monolingual English speaking (ENG) children and English Language Learners (ELL) to determine if there were group differences on the rhyme cloze measure. Results also indicated that the items have the ability to discriminate between children with high and low level rhyming ability based on the Rasch model; kindergarten children were more aware of the rhyme component than preschool children and ENG children were more aware than ELL children.

Poverty is a social context that has direct impact on students' performance since the conditions associated with poverty (brain development, social interactions, nutrition, and emotional environment) all play a role in developmental outcomes. Head Start is an early intervention program designed to address the unique needs of students from poverty. The Head Start Impact Study (DHHS, ACF, 2012) and other research (Lee, Brooks-Gunn, and Schnur, 1988; Ramey and Ramey, 2004) indicate that the academic achievement of low-income students who participated in Head Start is mixed as they move through elementary school. The purpose of the Head Start program is to prepare students with skills so that they begin kindergarten on an even playing field with their more advantaged peers (DHHS, ACF, 2013). Although students who participate in Head Start begin kindergarten with the appropriate readiness skills, initial gains are not maintained as they move through elementary school (Burkham and Lee, 2002). The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the effects of the Head Start program as its students move through kindergarten and first grade. In the study, I analyzed data to find relationships between student performance on the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) (University of Virginia, 2010) and classroom practices that led to high achievement. Two Title I schools were studied. PALS scores were analyzed using t-tests, ANOVAs and multiple regressions. Reading performance in second grade was measured using scores from the Developmental Reading Assessment (Beave, 2006). Qualitative data were collected through interviews, focus groups, and document reviews. These data were utilized to make connections between the results of PALS and reading scores and the best practices being used in schools that showed strong results for the kindergarten and first grade students in the study. By triangulating data, I uncovered relationships between best practice strategies being used in high performing schools and achievement of former Head Start enrollees. / Ed. D.

No description available.

The PhonicStick is a joystick which has been developed as a communicative device to be used by people with severe physical disabilities. During the developmental phase the possibility of using this device in order to train the phonological awareness of 6 – 8 year old children was examined. The studies conducted did not show any statistical difference in phonological awareness when this was tested with current tests after the children had trained with the PhonicStick. One explanation for this could be that the children had already begun to read and write in school. Therefore, a part of the present study was aimed at investigating if a difference in results on the norm referenced tests could be obtained if the children were 4-5 years old instead of 6-8. Parts of a norm referenced test for phonological awareness and an adapted test material for the PhonicStick were used for this evaluation. The 10 examined children were equally divided into a test and a control group.In addition, a meta study was performed, where all the studies relevant to phonological awareness and the PhonicStick were evaluated. Data from these studies were summarized, and processed statistically. Only two statistically significant (p<0.05) differences could be shown after the training with the PhonicStick: both the test group and the control group obtained better results in the posttest in the test of “phoneme identification” and the test group performed better at the test “word production” then the control group. A possible interpretation of the results could be that there might be an intuitive phonological awareness that can not be tested with the current tests for phonological awareness. / The PhonicStick är en joystick som utvecklas med avsikt att bli ett kommunikationshjälpmedel att användas för människor med grava fysiska funktionsnedsättningar. Under utvecklingsarbetet undersöktes om det även kunde användas för att träna fonologisk medvetenhet hos 6-8-åringar. Undersökningarna visade inte någon statistisk skillnad i fonologisk medvetenhet när detta undersöktes med gängse normerade tester efter träning med the PhonicStick. En förklaring kunde vara att dessa barn redan tränats i att läsa och skriva i skolan. Därför undersöktes i en delstudie i detta arbete om en skillnad i resultat på de normerade testen kunde hittas om barnen var 4-5-år istället för 6-8. Delar av ett normerat test för fonologisk medvetenhet och ett bearbetat testmaterial för the PhonicStick användes vid utvärderingen. De 10 undersökta barnen var jämt fördelade på testgrupp och kontrollgrupp. Dessutom utfördes en metastudie, i vilken alla inom området fonologisk medvetenhet relevanta studier med the PhonicStick utvärderades. Data från dessa studier sammanfattades och bearbetades statistiskt. Endast två skillnader kunde med statistiskt säkerhet (p<0,05) visas efter träning med the PhonicStick: både testgruppen och kontrollgruppen var bättre på posttestet i deltestet ”fonemidentifiering” och testgruppen presterade bättre på deltestet ”ordproduktion” än vad kontrollgruppen gjorde. En möjlig tolkning av resultaten kan vara att det kan finnas en intuitiv fonologisk medvetenhet som inte kan testas med gängse test för fonologisk medvetenhet.

This study aimed to explore the knowledge, perceptions and skills of Foundation Phase English Second Language educators as determinants for developing a support programme for educators to improve their phonological awareness teaching skills. Phonological awareness skills are the most important precursor to reading skills, meaning that there is a strong correlation between phonological awareness and reading ability. However, research indicates that many educators do not have the necessary knowledge or skills to teach phonological awareness effectively. All Foundation Phase learners are compelled to have English as a First Additional Language from Grade 1 in order to prepare them for when English becomes the LoLT from Grade 4. It is therefore critical that all the language skills (including phonological awareness skills) necessary for learning are well established in the Foundation Phase. This qualitative study utilised a multiple case study with five ESL Foundation Phase (FP) educators in two rural schools in the Hartbeespoort area in the North West Province. These schools were quintile 1 government schools and all educators were employed by the Department of Basic Education. Data were collected in two phases. The first phase involved collecting data on educator knowledge, perceptions and teaching skills of phonological awareness, using open questionnaires, individual interviews, classroom observations and document analysis. Based on the findings of phase 1 a support programme was compiled to enhance the effective teaching and assessment of phonological awareness in ESL Foundation Phase classrooms. The second phase involved conducting a training workshop for the educators on phonological awareness and the support programme, to enable them to implement it in their classrooms after training. During implementation data were gathered via classroom observations and a focus group interview was conducted afterwards to determine the value of the support programme. The findings of this study revealed that, as a result of various factors, but especially because of FP educators’ own limited proficiency in English and inadequate training with regard to phonological awareness, they did not have sufficient knowledge and teaching skills to purposefully develop learners’ phonological awareness. After receiving focused and comprehensive training and follow-up in-service support, the FP educators seemed to gain an in depth understanding of phonological awareness, as well as improved skills in the teaching thereof. These findings were addressed in recommendations for the DBE and schools, emphasizing that pre-service, as well as in-service, educators need accurate training and constructive in-service support with regard to phonological awareness. This is essential in order to ensure that all learners learning English as a second language in the Foundation Phase, have developed sufficient phonological awareness skills to enable optimal learning in English as LoLT from Grade 4.

This study aimed to explore the knowledge, perceptions and skills of Foundation Phase English Second Language educators as determinants for developing a support programme for educators to improve their phonological awareness teaching skills. Phonological awareness skills are the most important precursor to reading skills, meaning that there is a strong correlation between phonological awareness and reading ability. However, research indicates that many educators do not have the necessary knowledge or skills to teach phonological awareness effectively. All Foundation Phase learners are compelled to have English as a First Additional Language from Grade 1 in order to prepare them for when English becomes the LoLT from Grade 4. It is therefore critical that all the language skills (including phonological awareness skills) necessary for learning are well established in the Foundation Phase. This qualitative study utilised a multiple case study with five ESL Foundation Phase (FP) educators in two rural schools in the Hartbeespoort area in the North West Province. These schools were quintile 1 government schools and all educators were employed by the Department of Basic Education. Data were collected in two phases. The first phase involved collecting data on educator knowledge, perceptions and teaching skills of phonological awareness, using open questionnaires, individual interviews, classroom observations and document analysis. Based on the findings of phase 1 a support programme was compiled to enhance the effective teaching and assessment of phonological awareness in ESL Foundation Phase classrooms. The second phase involved conducting a training workshop for the educators on phonological awareness and the support programme, to enable them to implement it in their classrooms after training. During implementation data were gathered via classroom observations and a focus group interview was conducted afterwards to determine the value of the support programme. The findings of this study revealed that, as a result of various factors, but especially because of FP educators’ own limited proficiency in English and inadequate training with regard to phonological awareness, they did not have sufficient knowledge and teaching skills to purposefully develop learners’ phonological awareness. After receiving focused and comprehensive training and follow-up in-service support, the FP educators seemed to gain an in depth understanding of phonological awareness, as well as improved skills in the teaching thereof. These findings were addressed in recommendations for the DBE and schools, emphasizing that pre-service, as well as in-service, educators need accurate training and constructive in-service support with regard to phonological awareness. This is essential in order to ensure that all learners learning English as a second language in the Foundation Phase, have developed sufficient phonological awareness skills to enable optimal learning in English as LoLT from Grade 4.