Rapid automatic naming: Easy to measure, hard to improve (quickly)

One explanation for the relationship between serial rapid naming (SRN) and reading is that SRN affects the temporal proximity of the phonological activation of the letters in a word, which, in turn, influences the acquisition of orthographic knowledge. To test this hypothesis, a group of Dutch first grade children was trained in the rapid serial naming of letter sounds. In addition, a no-training control group and a serial addition training group were included. Various measures of SRN and of reading were administered to evaluate the effect of the training. Before the training, we found a symbol-specific relationship between SRN and reading: the relationship of reading with letter-sound naming was higher than its relationship with number naming. The training of serial letter-sound naming was not successful. In contrast, the serial addition training was highly effective. We conclude that it might be difficult to quickly improve the serial rapid naming of letter sounds in beginning readers.