[Short-, middle and long-term effects of training in phonological awareness and letter-sound correspondence on phonological awareness and on reading and spelling].

OBJECTIVE

The present study intended to evaluate the short-, middle and long-term effects of preschool training in phonological awareness and letter-sound correspondence, conducted in Swiss dialect in Swiss kindergartens, on the basis of the outcome variables phonological awareness and reading and spelling competence.

METHOD: From a total sample of 109 children with complete datasets over all measurement points, a paired sample of 26 children each from the experimental and from the control group was selected for statistical analyses. Evaluated on the one hand were the short- middle and longer-term effects of the training on the development of the phonological awareness, while on the other, the average reading and spelling competencies and the percentage of reading-and-spelling disabled children in the training and in the control group were compared for the 1st and 2nd grades.

RESULTS

Effects of the training on phonological awareness could be documented up to the beginning of the 1st grade. The average reading and spelling competencies did not differ be-tween the groups, whereas the percentage of spelling-disabled children was markedly reduced in the training group.

CONCLUSIONS

As a whole, the results are seen as a confirmation of the efficacy of the training in the primary prevention of reading and writing disorders.