Research Validates Montessori Approach to Teaching Language

Montessori Life, Summer 2004 by Richardson, Sylvia Onesti

The importance of literacy and early childhood education is once again front and center in our country. The research in reading, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the past three decades, has contributed abundantly to bringing this about.

Montessorians should delight in the knowledge that what has been learned about the neuroanatomy and neuropsychology of spoken and written language development validates Dr. Montcssori's insights and wisdom of almost a century ago.

NIH Research

When the NIH was asked by Congress to study learning disabilities (LD), the research concentrated on reading disabilities because they constitute more than 80 percent of learning disabilities. Reading disability is clearly the most damaging in terms of an individual's school progress and adjustment, and occupational and vocational success (Lyon, 1998). The research has shown that:

1. Language-based reading disabilities (dyslexia) are the most prevalent type of LD and affect approximately 17 percent of school-aged children to some degree.

2. Dyslexia is defined by the NIH researchers as one of the several distinct learning disabilities. It is a specific language-based disorder of constitutional origin characterized by di fficulties in single word decoding, and usually reflects insufficient phonological processing abilities. These difficulties in single word decoding are often unexpected in relation to age, cognitive, and academic abilities; they are not the result of generalized developmental disability orscnsory impairment. Dyslexia is manifested by variable difficulty with different forms of language, often including, in addition to problems reading, aconspicuous problem with acquiring proficiency in writing and spelling.

3. While other factors, such as delay in processing rapidly presented information, have been identified as contributing to reading disability, deficits in phonological processing appear to reflect the major impediment in learning to read. Deficits in phonological processing are characterized by difficulty in phonemic awareness (the recognition that each word is made up of individual sounds), and in segmenting syllables and words into constituent sound units called phonemes; in brief, difficulty in turning spelling into sounds.

4. Deficits in phonological processing, strong indicators that there will be difficulties in learning to read, can be identified in kindergarten and first grade, even in preschool. Unfortunately, however, the majority of dyslexic children are not identified until third grade.

5. Measures of phonemic awareness, letter name knowledge, and rapid automatic naming of objects and/or colors (RAN) administered in the first semester of kindergarten can predict which children may fall in the bottom 10 percent in word recognition ability at the start of second grade.

6. In school-age children, measures of verbal memory (e.g. digit span), naming speed, and phonology are the best indicators of reading skills.

7. Poor decoding and poor verbal memory result in poor vocabulary, poor retrieval and speed, and poor comprehension of written language.

8. Molecular genetic and behavioral studies both show that deficits in phonological processing are usually heritable. In genetic studies of dyslexia, a gene isolated on Chromosome 5 has significant effects on orthographic skill development and affects phonemic awareness, decoding, and word recognition in decreasing order. Chromosome 15 has been linked to word recognition, and Chromosome 2 was found to be involved, perhaps linked to Chromosome 15.

9. There are significant differences in the structures and function of the brains of dyslexic individuals. They process language in a different way, i.e., there is a difference in brain design.

10. The most effective interventions are found in structured language curricula, which start with the direct teaching of phonemic awareness, and offer a combination of explicit instructions in sound-symbol relationships (phonics) and direct and integrated instruction in text reading and comprehension. This balanced approach is necessary for adults as well as children with dyslexia.

11. In spite of the chromosomal links, early environmental enrichment and teaching are beneficial for these children.

12. Current university-based teacher preparation programs were found to be inadequate for the preparation of teachers to address reading difficulties or dyslexia or other types of LD.

Since one of the underlying neuropsychological deficits in dyslexia is now known to be a problem in phonological processing, Dr. Montessori's sensorial and early language exercises and their indirect preparation for the development of writing and reading are significant and important.

At-Risk Factors

Teachers in the Montessori primary grades should be aware of the most frequently observed characteristics of children at risk for reading disability, as follows:

* Family history of spoken and/or written language problems.

* Delay in the acquisition and/or use of speech.