The relationships among working memory, inhibitory control, and reading skills were studied in 966 individuals, 6-49 years old. In addition to a standardized measure of word recognition, they received a working memory (listening span) task in the standard, blocked format (three sets containing two-, three-, or four-item trials) or in a mixed format (three sets each containing two-, three-, and four-item trials) to determine whether scores derived from the standard format are influenced by proactive interference. Intrusion errors were investigated in order to determine whether deficits in working memory were associated with the access, deletion, or restraint functions of inhibitory control. The results indicated that deficits in working memory were characteristic of individuals with reading disabilities at all ages. These deficits may be associated with the access and restraint functions of inhibition. Working memory skills increased until the age of 19. The blocked format showed a gradual decline in adulthood whereas the mixed format did not. The different patterns suggest that the decline in working memory skills associated with aging may result from growing inefficiencies in inhibitory control, and not diminished capacity.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether the same component processes are involved in reading acquisition for children with varying levels of proficiency in English in kindergarten and the first grade. The performance of 858 children was examined on tasks assessing basic literacy skills, phonological processing, verbal memory, and syntactic awareness. There were 727 children who were native English speakers (NS children) and 131 children who spoke English as a second language (ESL children). Although ESL children performed more poorly than NS children on most measures of phonological and linguistic processing in kindergarten and first grade, the acquisition of basic literacy skills for children from both language groups developed in a similar manner. Furthermore, alphabetic knowledge and phonological processing were important contributors to early reading skill for children from both language groups. Therefore, children learning English may acquire literacy skills in English in a similar manner to NS children, although their alphabetic knowledge may precede and facilitate the acquisition of phonological awareness in English.The importance of language skills in reading acquisition within one's native language is uncontroversial (e.g.. In fact, children who are poor readers show deficits in their ability to detect rhyming words, delete phonemes from words, and engage in activities which require metaphonological operations (Ben-Dror,

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This study examined whether the same component processes are involved in reading acquisition for native and nonnative speakers of English in the 1st grade. The performance of 88 children was examined on tasks assessing reading skill, phonological processing, and syntactic awareness. Fifty children were native English speakers (LI), and 38 children were from Punjabi-speaking families (ESL). Although measures of word recognition and phonological processing successfully discriminated between average and poor readers, they did not discriminate between the 2 language groups. Analyses of word reading errors revealed similar error patterns for ESL and LI children, yet different error patterns for average and poor readers. For both LI and ESL children, reading difficulties appear to be strongly linked with impaired phonological processing.

This study examined whether measures used to identify children at risk for reading failure are appropriate for children from different language backgrounds. Tasks assessing literacy and phonological and language processing at the beginning and end of kindergarten were administered to 540 native English speakers (NS), 59 bilingual children (BL), and 60 children whose initial exposure to English was when they began school (ESL). Although the BL and ESL children performed more poorly than the NS children on most measures of phonological and linguistic processing, the acquisition of basic literacy skills for children with different language backgrounds developed in a similar manner. Furthermore, planned contrasts between the language groups did not explain the variance in the children's literacy performance in May. Instead, alphabetic knowledge and phonological processing were important contributors to early reading skill. Therefore, children learning English may acquire literacy skills in English in a similar manner to NS children, although their alphabetic knowledge may precede and facilitate the acquisition of phonological awareness in English.