Why is ambiguity detection in kindergarten a predictor of reading abilities ?
Résumé
Recent studies demonstrated that 5-to-6-yearolds' abilities to detect and solve ambiguities in speech is a strong predictor of their later reading abilities in first-to-third grade. However, the origins of this relationship remain unclear. For some researchers, success in ambiguity detection is reflective of global language knowledge, while for others, it is reflective of cognitive control skills. In this study, we examined the contributions of oral language knowledge, SES, and cognitive control skills to preschoolers' ability to detect ambiguities. Later we will investigate the relationship among all these factors to early reading development. Our preliminary results show that 5-to-6-year-olds vary greatly in their ability to detect both lexical and structural ambiguities in speech. Moreover, regression analysis revealed that children's cognitive control skills is the strongest predictor of kindergarteners' ambiguity resolution abilities. This is the first study demonstrating that the ambiguity detection task designed to predict reading performance in children is also reflecting their cognitive control skills.
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