The role of words\' syllable count in learning to read: pre-schoolers awareness of morphology

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Abstract

  To ascertain the role of words' syllable count in phonological awareness of children, a sample of 80 male and female Faarsee speaking preschoolers with the average age of 5.5 years was selected and then tested on phonological awareness using a test constructed for this purpose. Data analyses revealed the syllable count and gender had a significant effect on syllable awareness, with girls out-performing the boys in both two- and three-syllable words. Findings indicate that preschoolers need to become more phonologically aware prior to entering school if reading problems are to be avoided farther along.

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