Memory training improves reading performance of school children

Children are able to process linguistic information better when they have completed previously an entertaining memory training, said a joint study by the Humboldt University of Berlin and the University of the Saarland on Thursday. The study has now been published in the latest issue of journal "Child neuropsychology". In the study, the researchers have developed a playful memory training on the computer for elementary school children and compared their math and reading performance before and after training. Primary school children had to remember rows of different animals during the memory training on the computer and received virtual apples from a monkey if they remembered correctly. Before and after this training, the performance of children was recorded in the areas of reading and mathematics. Although there was no evidence of an improvement in math skills, the children showed after memory training improved performance in reading compared to a control group, as they recognized and understood words much better, said the study. "We assume that children with training retain more and more effectively linguistic information in memory. Thus, the reading process goes more smoothly for them," says Julia Karbach, the psychologist of the University of the Saarland. However, the improvement of reading performance after memory training is of limited duration, as Julia Karbach said: "After three months, we have seen no long further successes."