The contribution of rapid automatized naming with reading rate and text comprehension in Brazilian elementary school children

ABSTRACT

Purpose  The main objective of the present study was to examine the contribution of rapid automatized naming (RAN) to reading rate and text comprehension. We also analyzed whether the performance on a rapid automatized naming task in the first year of schooling could be a predictor of the future skill in reading speed and text comprehension.

Methods  Forty protocols with phonological processing skills assessments were analyzed, namely: rapid automatized naming, phonological awareness and phonological working memory, as well as assessment of reading rate and comprehension, carried out in 2008 and 2011, when children were respectively, in the 2nd and 5th grades of Elementary School I.

Results  For children in 2nd grade, the RAN of objects was able to predict their performance in reading speed, whereas for children in 5th grade, the performance of RAN of letters plays such a role. In the 2nd grade, RAN contributes indirectly, through reading speed, to the performance of children in reading comprehension. In the 5th grade, among the phonological processing skills, working memory stands out for correlating significantly with reading comprehension. The reading speed of the 2nd grade was able to predict the performance of the reading speed in the 5th. grade.

Conclusion  Such findings are important for clinical and educational practice, reinforcing that RAN is an important skill which contributes to reading rate which in turn, is important for reading comprehension