Rhythm in the blood: The influence of rhythm skills on literacy development in third graders

Margaux Lê (1) , Pauline Quémart (1) , Anna Potocki (1) , Manuel Gimenes (1) , David Chesnet (2) , Eric Lambert (1)

1 CeRCA [Poitiers] - Centre de recherches sur la cognition et l'apprentissage [UMR 7295]
2 MSHS de Poitiers - Maison des sciences de l'homme et de la société de Poitiers

Several studies have shown the influence of rhythm skills on the processing of written language, especially at the beginning of literacy development. The first objective of this study was to determine the persistence of this link at an advanced grade level. The second objective was to better understand the factors underlying this relationship and, more specifically, to examine the hypothesis of mediation by phonological and/or motor skills. In total, 278 third graders performed literacy tasks (word/pseudoword decoding and spelling), a rhythm production task, two phonological tasks (phonological awareness and rapid automatized naming), and motor tasks. Significant correlations were observed between literacy and each of rhythm skills, phonological skills, and motor skills. However, structural equation models showed that the influence of rhythm skills on literacy was mediated neither by phonological skills nor by motor abilities. These results suggest that rhythm skills continue to play a role in the acquisition of written language in third graders and that this contribution seems to be independent of phonological and motor skills.

Mots clés: Rhythm; Reading; Spelling; Motor skills; Phonological skills; Structural Equation Modeling

Domaines: Psychologie

Margaux Lê, Pauline Quémart, Anna Potocki, Manuel Gimenes, David Chesnet, et al.. Rhythm in the blood: The influence of rhythm skills on literacy development in third graders. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 2020, 198, pp.104880. ⟨10.1016/j.jecp.2020.104880⟩. ⟨hal-03117885⟩