• Citer

Does learning to read contribute to the development of working memory ?

par Demoulin, Catherine ;Kolinsky, Régine ;Morais, Jose
Référence ESCOP (29 august - 1st September, 2013: Budapest, Hungary)
Publication Non publié, 2013-08-31

Poster de conférence

• Accès en ligne
• Détails
• Contenu
• Statistiques

Résumé :

Many studies have demonstrated a strong association between working memory (WM) capacities and early reading abilities, most of them highlighting the role of the former on the latter. However, studies comparing illiterate and ex-illiterate adults on WM tasks suggest that literacy acquisition has a beneficial impact on memory processes and/or representations. Hence, the aim of this study was to examine, in beginning readers, the potential effect of reading acquisition on WM capacities growth. Using a cutoff design, we compared performance on WM tasks of children (i) of similar ages but either still preliterate or already decoders (3rd kindergarteners vs. 1st graders born at the beginning vs. end of the year) and (ii) of different ages but similar reading levels (1st graders born at the beginning vs. end of the year, both decoders). Groups were matched on critical control variables (IQ, SES, family literacy environment) according to background information gathered from questionnaires and assessments. If the practice of grapheme-to-phoneme conversion strengthens WM, we may predict better performance among beginning readers than among preliterate children of the same age. Results will be presented at the conference.