The Relationship between Working Memory and Silent Reading Abilities in a Sample of Hearing Impaired Students in Riyadh  / Mohammed J. Thabit

Previous studies have shown that reading abilities in hearing impaired individuals are less efficient than those found in hearing individuals. Baddeley and Hitch [1, p.p. 47-98] have explained the difference in reading abilities between the two groups as due to the lower capacity of the working memory of the hearing impaired individuals compared to that of hearing individuals. Baddeley and Hitch suggested that the phonological loop, an integral part of the working memory, plays an important role in learning basic skills that are thought to be essential for learning to read, skills such as non-word repetition, new word learning skill, and vocabulary knowledge. In support of the previous suggestion, some researchers have found high correlations between different measures of working memory and reading skills. Since the efficiency of the phonological loop depends on hearing integrity, some researchers have proposed that the phonological loop is less active in hearing impaired individuals; and this might be the cause of their reading deficiency. To test this hypothesis, this study examined working memory in groups of hearing and hearing impaired students from the sixth elementary and third intermediate school level, using a number of visual working memory stimuli. The aim of the study was to find out whether or not hearing impaired students use the same memory strategies as hearing students, and also to find out if the phonological loop plays an active role in learning to read for hearing impaired individuals as it does in hearing ones. The results of the study have shown a high correlation between reading and memory tests scores for all subjects. There was no significant difference in working memory scores between hearing impaired and hearing students, which indicates that both groups use similar memory strategies.