Spatial sonification of letters on tablets to stimulate literacy skills and handwriting in 5 y-o children: A pilot study.

We evaluate the effects of multisensory training on letters, including sonification of graphic symbols. We used "spatial sonification" where letter handwriting movements recorded in a two dimensional plan, vertical and horizontal, are systematically assigned to two acoustic features, spectral composition for the horizontal axis and frequency for the vertical axis. Forty-six kindergarten children were recruited. They were randomly assigned to three multisensory training groups: with sonification (Son) of letters, with a melody unrelated to the shape of the letters (Mel) and without any sound (Sil). We observed a significant effect of training, with the Son group performing better than the other groups in the reading and spelling tasks. We also observed a modification of two kinematic cues (time and in-air time) during handwriting, also in the Son group. We conclude that letter sonification could act as a binder between the visual and auditory dimensions of the letter. The processes underlying this benefit are discussed in the light of the Act-In model, a cognition memory model.

Évaluation des compétences en littératie chez les enfants français de 4-5 ans.

INTRODUCTION: Preschool children develop early literacy skills that are predictive of their reading acquisition.Purpose of research: This study aims to use a short screening tool to examine emergent literacy performances. It includes 4-5-year-old children (N = 14,820) schooled in public and private schools in France. A number of public schools are labelled as with educational needs (Priority education network, REP). Children were assessed in three domains, letter-name knowledge, phonological skills and vocabulary. RESULTS: It is shown that children schooled in REP have poorer scores than children schooled out of REP. We observe no significant difference between scores in children schooled in private schools and public schools out of REP. A significant effect of gender and age is observed, the first in favor of girls and the second in favor of older children. The effect of gender diminishes with the age, the difference between girls and boys becoming smaller. Finally, we examined the distribution of performances in the three domains of children who obtained the lowest scores. CONCLUSIONS: A short screening tool to examine directly the literacy skills in preschool children is an opportunity to define and coordinate preventive actions and appropriate early interventions to help lessen difficulties in learning to read.