Project TROCHEE

Canonical trochees in reading development

According to current models of reading skills acquisition, children first develop competency with smaller components of written language, such as letters and letter combinations, which is gradually followed by the use of larger components, such as syllables, morphemes, or whole words. However, fluent and accurate reading necessitates structuring sequences of strong and weak syllables, such as the trochee, which is a component in which a strong syllable is succeeded by a weak one. Although the trochee serves as a core feature of the German words, it has been overlooked in models of reading development. The TROCHEE Project aims to more closely examine the trochee’s role. We want to figure out when children can incorporate trochaic structure when reading words, how this ability develops across different reading contexts, and how this ability relates to linguistic and nonlinguistic factors which are already known to influence reading development. The results should contribute to the expansion of models of reading development, as well as establish word-level prosody within teaching methodology.

Selected publications:

• Bar-Kochva, I. (2013). What are the underlying skills of silent reading acquisition? A developmental study from kindergarten to the 2nd grade. Reading and Writing 26(9), 1417-1436. DOI: 10.1007/s11145-012-9414-3.
• Bar‐Kochva, I. & Nevo, E. (2019). The relations of early phonological awareness, rapid‐naming and speed of processing with the development of spelling and reading: a longitudinal examination. Journal of Research in Reading 42(1), 97-122. DOI: 10.1111/1467-9817.12242.
• Weber, C., Schöfl, M., Steinmair, G., Zepnik, S., & Grimm, A. (2024). Language abilities and phonological information processing mediate the association of spelling with bilingualism and socioeconomic status. Frontiers in Education. DOI: 10.3389/feduc.2024.1383421.