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Reading and Writing

, Volume 30, Issue 3, pp 509–521 | Cite as

Examining the independent contribution of prosodic sensitivity to word reading and spelling in early readers

  • A. J. Holliman
  • N. Gutiérrez Palma
  • S. Critten
  • C. Wood
  • H. Cunnane
  • C. Pillinger
Article
First Online:

Abstract

This study was designed to examine the independent contribution of prosodic sensitivity—the rhythmic patterning of speech—to word reading and spelling in a sample of early readers. Ninety-three English-speaking children aged 5–6 years old (M = 69.28 months, SD = 3.67) were assessed for their prosodic sensitivity, vocabulary knowledge, phonological, and morphological awareness (predictor variables) along with their word reading and spelling (criterion variables). Bivariate (zero-order) correlation analyses revealed that prosodic sensitivity was significantly associated with all other variables in this study. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that after controlling for individual differences in vocabulary, phonological, and morphological awareness, prosodic sensitivity was still able to explain unique variance in word reading, but was unable to make an independent contribution to spelling. The findings suggest that prosodic sensitivity gives added value to our understanding of children’s reading development.

Keywords

Prosody Vocabulary Phonology Morphology Reading Spelling 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

This research was funded by a Nuffield Foundation Grant for Research and Innovation, awarded to Dr. Andrew J. Holliman, but the views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Foundation. More information is available at www.nuffieldfoundation.org. The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the Nuffield Foundation, along with the schools, teachers, parents, and children who participated in this study.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Faculty of Health and Life SciencesCoventry UniversityCoventryUK
  2. 2.Department of PsychologyUniversity of JaenJaénSpain

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