Relation Between Memory Span, Naming Time, Speech Rate, and Reading Competence

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Abstract
Many children with reading disability are found to have a short memory span, slow naming time, and slow speech rate. The causal link between reading and the three variables is the topic of this investigation. Subjects were 140 elementary school children who were given a word decoding test (reading) and a test each of memory span, naming time, and speech rate for words. Memory span was found to be a linear function of naming time and speech rate, and all three tests were better performed by good readers than by average readers, who in turn were better than poor readers. Reading was best predicted by naming time, followed by speech rate; prediction from memory span was weak as revealed by multiple regression. A path analysis further examined these relationships by fitting a model. The close connection between naming time and speech rate was represented by a latent variable, and this had the strongest link to reading decoding. The variable has two components: phonological activation on confronting a word and its articulation. It was suggested that when children with reading decoding disability show a short span, it is because of the two components. The components can be assessed by the tests for naming time and speech rate for the diagnosis of dyslexia.