Influence of working memory in reading comprehension in 4th grade students

摘要

PURPOSE: To investigate the role of verbal and non-verbal working memory and vocabulary levels in reading comprehension. The specific goals were to evaluate working memory abilities, vocabulary and reading skills in a group of fourth grade children and to estimate the relations between memory comprehension performances. METHODS: Participants were 15 children between 9:11 and 11:4 years old with no auditory, visual and/or neurological deficits. All subjects were tested individually for academic performance, reading (decoding and comprehension), vocabulary, and verbal and non-verbal memory. RESULTS: Vocabulary knowledge (r= 0,546, p= 0,035) and verbal working memory (r= -0,689, p=0,004) showed statistically significant correlations with performance in comprehension in this group of fourth grade children, with no school difficulties. Neither non-verbal working memory nor decoding skills influenced reading comprehension. CONCLUSION: The performance on vocabulary and the good ability of verbal working memory were relevant variables for reading comprehension in this population.