The transient role of explicit phonological recoding for reading acquisition

This study explores early stages of reading acquisition, specifically the relation of phoneme blending and letter recoding to individual differences in word decoding. The hypothesis was that facility in letter recoding and accuracy of phoneme blending are substantial components of word decoding in beginning readers but not for skilled reading and that reliance on phoneme-sized decoding of words would dissipate as reading proficiency increased. In four studies we examined the ability to recode letters, blend phonemes and decode words in four groups of Dutch children (early Grade 1, N = 130, older Grade 1, N = 81, Grade 3, N = 54 and a group of children with a reading lag, N = 356). Phoneme blending was only related to the reading ability of beginning Grade 1 children. By the end of Grade 1 ability to blend phonemes did not differentiate reading capacity, nor for older children in Grade 3 and reading disabled children. Letter recoding was related to word decoding in all four studies, although the strength of that relation did dwindle as reading skill level increased. The results of the study appear consistent with self teaching hypothesis and other theories that imply a transient role of explicit phonological recoding in word identification.