Early LiteracyNCT06504264
The Effect of Articulatory Gestures on Early Literacy Skills in 4-year Olds
A study testing phonemic segmentation in people with Early Literacy and Articulatory Gestures, run by Montclair State University at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
This study will use an experimental design to explore if articulatory gestures (with letters and phonemic awareness training) enhance early literacy skills more than general mouth awareness training (with letters and phonemic awareness training) or letter/phonemic awareness training alone. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 48 to 59 monthsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Early Literacy, Articulatory Gestures, Phonemic Awareness
- What is being tested?
- phonemic segmentation
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 9 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 1 Sep 2024to 30 Jun 2025
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 48 to 59 months
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Child
Who may be able to join
- Knows 15 letter names
- Passes hearing screening
- Passes Fluharty-2 Language Screening
- Can segment no more than three consonant-vowel (CV), VC, or CVC words into phonemes
- Not able to read more than one word or nonword used in the posttest.
Who cannot join
- Does not know 15 letter names
- Fails hearing screening
- Fails Fluharty-2 Language Screening
- Can segment more than three consonant-vowel (CV), VC, or CVC words into phonemes
- Reads more than one word or nonword used in the posttest.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
Montclair State University
Montclair, New Jersey, 07043
About this study
Official title: The Effect of Articulatory Gestures on Word Reading, Non-word Reading, and Phonemic Segmentation in 4-year Olds
This study will use an experimental design to explore if articulatory gestures (with letters and phonemic awareness training) enhance early literacy skills more than general mouth awareness training (with letters and phonemic awareness training) or letter/phonemic awareness training alone.
Read the detailed description
Multisensory reading strategies, which recruit one or more of the five senses, are routinely used in general education classrooms as well as with children who are struggling readers. Despite their wide use in schools, little research exists to substantiate the utilizing these strategies to enhance literacy. One type of multisensory reading strategy, articulatory gestures, is of particular interest to speech-language pathologists (SLPs) as they are uniquely positioned to provide speech sound placement cues. Limitations of the few prior studies that exist have prevented the isolation of the articulatory gestures themselves as the main contributor to the gains seen in literacy. This study aims to control for factors such as motivation, engagement, and time on task to explore the specific contribution of articulation strategies during phonemic awareness training on phoneme segmentation, reading of phonemically spelled words, and nonword reading in typically developing four-year old children. Using an experimental design, participants will be randomly assigned to one of three conditions: 1) phonemic awareness training with articulatory gestures, 2) phonemic awareness training with general mouth pictures, and 3) phonemic awareness training with no mouth/articulation pictures at all. Interventions will focus on phoneme-letter correspondence and phonemic segmentation using strategies specific to each group and differences between groups will be considered for pre and posttest measures.
- Conditions
- Early Literacy, Articulatory Gestures, Phonemic Awareness
- Being tested
- phonemic segmentation
- Medical subject headings
- Literacy
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
phonemic segmentationBehavioural
during phonemic segmentation activities, articulatory gestures will be used while teaching letters and their sounds.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| LPA: Letters-phonemes-articulatory gestures | Experimental | This group will receive training for phonemic segmentation that includes using printed letters, sounds (phonemes) while simultaneously learning the articulation placements of the letters/sounds. Receives: Behavioral: phonemic segmentation |
| LPM: Letters-phonemes-general mouth awareness | Experimental | This group will receive training for phonemic segmentation that includes using printed letters, sounds (phonemes) while simultaneously learning about the mouth in general. Receives: Behavioral: phonemic segmentation |
| LP: Letters-phonemes | Experimental | This group will receive training for phonemic segmentation that includes using printed letters and sounds (phonemes) only. Receives: Behavioral: phonemic segmentation |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
number of words correctly phonemically segmented from primary investigator created list
will tell the sounds in 9 words presented orally
Measured: immediately after the intervention
Secondary outcomes (2)
number of words read correctly from primary investigator created list
will read phonemically 6 spelled words
Measured: immediately after the intervention
number of nonwords read correctly from primary investigator created list
will read 7 nonwords
Measured: immediately after the intervention
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted16 Jul 2024
- Study start1 Sep 2024
- Primary completion30 Jun 2025
- Study completion30 Jun 2025
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Early LiteracyStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Non-randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Participant
- Enrolment
- 9 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Montclair State University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Robyn Becker, Principal investigator, Montclair State University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06504264
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- IRB-FY23-24-3843
- Status last verified
- Aug 2026
- First submitted
- 3 Jul 2024
- Last updated
- 31 Aug 2026
- Results posted
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 31 Aug 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- The Effect of Articulatory Gestures on Word Reading, Non-word Reading, and Phonemic Segmentation in 4-year Olds
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06504264
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- IRB-FY23-24-3843
- Conditions
- Early Literacy, Articulatory Gestures, Phonemic Awareness
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 9 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Montclair State UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 1 Sep 2024 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 30 Jun 2025 (actual)
- Study completion
- 30 Jun 2025 (actual)
- First posted
- 16 Jul 2024 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This study will use an experimental design to explore if articulatory gestures (with letters and phonemic awareness training) enhance early literacy skills more than general mouth awareness training (with letters and phonemic awareness training) or letter/phonemic awareness training alone.
Detailed description
Multisensory reading strategies, which recruit one or more of the five senses, are routinely used in general education classrooms as well as with children who are struggling readers. Despite their wide use in schools, little research exists to substantiate the utilizing these strategies to enhance literacy. One type of multisensory reading strategy, articulatory gestures, is of particular interest to speech-language pathologists (SLPs) as they are uniquely positioned to provide speech sound placement cues. Limitations of the few prior studies that exist have prevented the isolation of the articulatory gestures themselves as the main contributor to the gains seen in literacy. This study aims to control for factors such as motivation, engagement, and time on task to explore the specific contribution of articulation strategies during phonemic awareness training on phoneme segmentation, reading of phonemically spelled words, and nonword reading in typically developing four-year old children. Using an experimental design, participants will be randomly assigned to one of three conditions: 1) phonemic awareness training with articulatory gestures, 2) phonemic awareness training with general mouth pictures, and 3) phonemic awareness training with no mouth/articulation pictures at all. Interventions will focus on phoneme-letter correspondence and phonemic segmentation using strategies specific to each group and differences between groups will be considered for pre and posttest measures.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Non-randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind (participant)
- Number of arms
- 3
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| LPA: Letters-phonemes-articulatory gestures | Experimental | Behavioral: phonemic segmentationThis group will receive training for phonemic segmentation that includes using printed letters, sounds (phonemes) while simultaneously learning the articulation placements of the letters/sounds. |
| LPM: Letters-phonemes-general mouth awareness | Experimental | Behavioral: phonemic segmentationThis group will receive training for phonemic segmentation that includes using printed letters, sounds (phonemes) while simultaneously learning about the mouth in general. |
| LP: Letters-phonemes | Experimental | Behavioral: phonemic segmentationThis group will receive training for phonemic segmentation that includes using printed letters and sounds (phonemes) only. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 48 to 59 months
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Child
Key inclusion criteria (5 listed)
- Knows 15 letter names
- Passes hearing screening
- Passes Fluharty-2 Language Screening
- Can segment no more than three consonant-vowel (CV), VC, or CVC words into phonemes
- Not able to read more than one word or nonword used in the posttest.
Key exclusion criteria (5 listed)
- Does not know 15 letter names
- Fails hearing screening
- Fails Fluharty-2 Language Screening
- Can segment more than three consonant-vowel (CV), VC, or CVC words into phonemes
- Reads more than one word or nonword used in the posttest.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| phonemic segmentationduring phonemic segmentation activities, articulatory gestures will be used while teaching letters and their sounds. | Behavioural | LP: Letters-phonemes, LPA: Letters-phonemes-articulatory gestures, LPM: Letters-phonemes-general mouth awareness |
Primary outcome
number of words correctly phonemically segmented from primary investigator created list
Time frame: immediately after the intervention
will tell the sounds in 9 words presented orally
2 secondary outcomes
number of words read correctly from primary investigator created list
Time frame: immediately after the intervention
number of nonwords read correctly from primary investigator created list
Time frame: immediately after the intervention
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 31 Aug 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Robyn Becker principal investigator
Montclair State University
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing phonemic segmentation in people with Early Literacy and Articulatory Gestures, run by Montclair State University at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 5 inclusion and 5 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 31 Aug 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
number of words correctly phonemically segmented from primary investigator created list (time frame: immediately after the intervention). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 31 Aug 2026.