Age-related development of phonological skills in children aged 7–10 and their role in reading competence

Abstract

This article examines age-related developmental characteristics of phonological skills in children aged 7–10 and their significance in the acquisition of reading competence. It explores the relationships between phonemic awareness, phonological memory, syllabic analysis and synthesis, phonological processing, and reading accuracy, speed, and fluency. The developmental dynamics of phonological operations in children aged 7-8 and 9-10, including increasing task complexity and changes in automaticity, are theoretically discussed. A comparative analysis addresses the development and manifestation of phonological skills and associated difficulties in typically developing children and children with dyslexia. The consistency of grapheme-phoneme correspondences and the agglutinative structure of Uzbek are considered important linguistic factors influencing phonological development. The article emphasizes the importance of comprehensive assessment based on task accuracy, processing speed, and the ability to manage increasing task complexity. This approach provides a theoretical and methodological foundation for identifying persistent phonological difficulties, distinguishing age-related developmental patterns, and assessing early dyslexia risk. The theoretical findings also inform future improvements in diagnostic criteria for assessing phonological skills among Uzbek-speaking primary school students.