The human brain did not evolve specifically to read. So how does a child transform a brain already learning to understand speech into one capable of recognizing written words? In this episode of the Beyond Words SLP podcast, host Garrett Oyama, MS, CCC-SLP, welcomes UCLA developmental neuroscientist Jin Wang, PhD, to explore how children’s language and literacy systems develop together. Drawing on longitudinal behavioral and neuroimaging research, the discussion examines the development of phonological, semantic, and syntactic processing from infancy through the elementary-school years and how these systems become integrated with the emerging reading network.
A central focus is phonological awareness. Dr. Wang’s research has shown that the quality of neural representations of speech sounds in the temporal cortex at ages 5–6 predicts subsequent reading gains, suggesting that the developing spoken-language system provides an important foundation for literacy. But the relationship also runs in the opposite direction. Longitudinal research from Dr. Wang and colleagues shows that reading skill predicts later changes in the neural basis of phonological awareness, supporting a reciprocal relationship between learning to read and spoken-language processing.
This interaction can even be observed in brain regions typically associated with visual word recognition. In young children, activation of the left ventral occipitotemporal cortex during an entirely auditory phonological task is related to reading ability, illustrating how literacy can begin linking written and spoken language systems.
The discussion also moves beyond phonology to examine how semantic and syntactic systems develop, how early language organization may predict later abilities, and how learning to read progressively changes the architecture of the developing language brain. Dr. Wang shares research examining speech processing during infancy, including findings that lateralization of the superior temporal cortex during speech perception in sleeping infants was associated with children’s subsequent language abilities in kindergarten.
For speech-language pathologists, this research raises an important question: Rather than treating language and literacy as separate clinical domains, should we think of them as parts of a developing system that continuously shapes itself?
A central focus is phonological awareness. Dr. Wang’s research has shown that the quality of neural representations of speech sounds in the temporal cortex at ages 5–6 predicts subsequent reading gains, suggesting that the developing spoken-language system provides an important foundation for literacy. But the relationship also runs in the opposite direction. Longitudinal research from Dr. Wang and colleagues shows that reading skill predicts later changes in the neural basis of phonological awareness, supporting a reciprocal relationship between learning to read and spoken-language processing.
This interaction can even be observed in brain regions typically associated with visual word recognition. In young children, activation of the left ventral occipitotemporal cortex during an entirely auditory phonological task is related to reading ability, illustrating how literacy can begin linking written and spoken language systems.
The discussion also moves beyond phonology to examine how semantic and syntactic systems develop, how early language organization may predict later abilities, and how learning to read progressively changes the architecture of the developing language brain. Dr. Wang shares research examining speech processing during infancy, including findings that lateralization of the superior temporal cortex during speech perception in sleeping infants was associated with children’s subsequent language abilities in kindergarten.
For speech-language pathologists, this research raises an important question: Rather than treating language and literacy as separate clinical domains, should we think of them as parts of a developing system that continuously shapes itself?
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