Authors: Foulin, Jean Noel.

Article: Why is letter-name knowledge such a good predictor of learning to read?.

Publication: Reading and Writing (Springer). 18, 129–155 2005 | DOI: 10.1007/s11145-004-5892-2

[Full Text]


The knowledge of letter names measured just before children enter school has been known for a long time as one of the best longitudinal predictors of learning to read in an alphabetic writing system. After a period during which the comprehensive investigation of this relationship was largely disregarded, there is now a growing interest in attempts to understand the role(s) letter names play in literacy acquisition. This paper reviews these recent studies and emphasizes their main findings regarding the influence of letter-name knowledge in early and formal literacy for three main components of literacy acquisition: first, the emergence of the phonological processing of print; then, the learning of letter-sound correspondences; finally, the development of phonemic sensitivity skills. The final section discusses the status of letter-name knowledge (LNK) in literacy acquisition and suggests possible directions for further research.



Foulin, JN. Why is letter-name knowledge such a good predictor of learning to read?. Read Writ 18, 129–155 (2005).

Tagged as: alphabet and letter names

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