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Training reading fluency: is it important to practice reading aloud and is generalization possible?

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Abstract

Outcomes of three different types of computerized training in sub-lexical items (word-initial consonant clusters) on reading speed for 39 German-speaking poor readers in Grades 2 and 3 were evaluated. A phonological–orthographic association group, a reading aloud group, and a combined group were compared in performance with an untrained control group. During short-term training, the intervention groups showed higher gains than the control group in reading speed of the trained sub-lexical items and of the words containing the trained segments. No differences were found between the intervention groups. In the development of pseudoword reading, the groups did not show differential improvements. The generalization effect to pseudoword reading was similar, whether the pseudowords contained the trained segment as a syllable or as a non-syllabic letter string. The gains induced by training were specific to the materials used in training and did not induce gains in general reading speed.

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Notes

  1. Two children had a reading speed above the 25th percentile in the list of frequent words; however, they were included in the participant group as their performance in two other subtests was low (<25th percentile).

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Acknowledgments

This paper is part of the first author’s doctoral thesis. This study was supported by the Finnish Center of Excellence Program of the Academy of Finland (44858 and 213486), the Finnish Graduate School of Psychology, and Niilo Mäki Institute. We would like to thank the schools and children who participated in the study. We tender our thanks to Michael Freeman for polishing the language.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Niilo Mäki Institute, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, Jyväskylä, 40014, Finland

    Sini Hintikka & Mikko Aro

  2. University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria

    Sini Hintikka & Karin Landerl

  3. University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

    Karin Landerl

  4. University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland

    Heikki Lyytinen

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  1. Sini Hintikka
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  2. Karin Landerl
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  4. Heikki Lyytinen
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Correspondence to Sini Hintikka.

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Hintikka, S., Landerl, K., Aro, M. et al. Training reading fluency: is it important to practice reading aloud and is generalization possible?. Ann. of Dyslexia 58, 59–79 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-008-0012-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-008-0012-7

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