The Reading to Language Connection
Fast ForWord exercises help individuals connect the language skills that are ultimately necessary for learning to read. A person who does not recognize and process word sounds accurately will not be able to make the right associations between letter representations and spoken language. If printed words can be effectively recognized, comprehension of connected text depends heavily on the reader’s oral language abilities. This is particularly true with regard to understanding the meanings of identified words and syntactic relationships among them. Each language skill adds to the overall picture, or goal, which is fluent reading and communication. The skills necessary for reading are phonological awareness, decoding, word recognition, listening comprehension, working memory, sound-letter recognition (phonics), semantics, and language comprehension. These are targets of the Fast Forword Program.