Outcomes of three different types of computerized training in sub-lexical items (word-initial consonant clusters) on reading speed for 39 German-speaking poor readers in Grades 2 and 3 were evaluated. A phonological-orthographic association group, a reading aloud group, and a combined group were compared in performance with an untrained control group. During short-term training, the intervention groups showed higher gains than the control group in reading speed of the trained sub-lexical items and of the words containing the trained segments. No differences were found between the intervention groups. In the development of pseudoword reading, the groups did not show differential improvements. The generalization effect to pseudoword reading was similar, whether the pseudowords contained the trained segment as a syllable or as a non-syllabic letter string. The gains induced by training were specific to the materials used in training and did not induce gains in general reading speed.

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The outcomes of computerized training in the correspondences between phonological and orthographic units are reported. Forty-four Finnish-speaking first-graders with poor pre-reading skills were assigned to one of two groups, intervention or control. The children in the intervention group received computerized training over a 6-week period (mean 170 minutes in total) while the children in the control group received regular reading instruction only. Although the short intervention program produced accelerated growth in letter naming, no differential outcomes emerged between the groups in terms of reading acquisition. The outcomes for the poorest performers on six cognitive-linguistic disadvantages were analysed to identify the factors mediating responsiveness to the training. In terms of reading acquisition, the intervention was more effective than ordinary instruction for children with low phoneme awareness skills and attention difficulties as defined by teacher ratings.