Behavioral and neural links between spoken language sounds and written words in young children
Official title: Behavioral and neural measures of phonological-to-orthographic transfer in young children
Funded at Yale University · NIH-11618515 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This grant studies how young children learn from listening and reading to improve literacy, by looking at how sound patterns transfer to written language.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Yale University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New Haven, United States) |
| Project start | September 18, 2026 |
| Project end | August 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $249,000 |
| NIH project number | 4R00HD113838-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11618515 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are children aged 5 to 11, including those who are adopted or have diverse language backgrounds, who are learning to read.
✕Less likely to help
Young children outside the 5–11 age range or those without language learning challenges may not directly benefit.
What this research studies
Researchers at Yale will investigate how children ages 5 to 11 learn from auditory and visual language cues and how these skills support reading. The project uses behavioral tasks and neural measures to examine how sound patterns relate to written language in pre-literate and early-reading children. The study aims to uncover the brain mechanisms behind cross-modal learning, which could inform early literacy support. Findings may help tailor reading interventions for children who struggle with phonological-to-orthographic connections.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, results could guide early literacy interventions and teaching methods tailored to how children integrate sounds and written language.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies show links between statistical learning and literacy, but this project explores cross-modal transfer in younger, pre-literate to early-reading children.
Where this research is happening
-
Yale University
New Haven, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Isbilen, Erin — Yale University
- Study coordinator: Isbilen, Erin
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.