Low Short-Term Memory Capacity
Introduction
One element of learning to read is that you have to hold various complex bits of information in your short-term memory. There are the phonemes in a word, then when you have blended those you need to keep the word in memory while you look for the meaning of that word, you then hold that while you do the whole thing again and then you hold a series of words in memory as you form a sentence.
So, all this stuff is shooting around in your temporary storage areas of the brain. If your capacity for short-term memory is overloaded, then you will lose part of what you are trying to remember and the reading process will fail.
The normal range of capacity for short-term memory is 7 plus or minus two. So 7 items is average and 5 is low. For instance, you can give me 6 random digits and I will almost always be able to remember them. If you give me 7 then I will be overloaded and usually only manage to give you back the first 3 or 4 of them. So I have a slightly below average short-term memory.
The Solution To Poor Declarative Memory Capacity
The brain is very malleable. The more you use any part of it, the stronger it will become.
So, first of all, reading practice will actually improve your ability to be able to read.
Second, as your reading improves, elements of the process begin to become automatic. That means they are not putting a load on your short term memory.
It is a bit like driving a car. When you are learning, everything has to be thought about and you are very busy. But a year later you can drive along chatting to your passenger.
Reading is the same. The more practise that you get the easier it becomes and the more spare capacity you have for processing the meaning of the text.
The technical terms for the two types of memory are declarative and procedural. You have conscious access to your declarative memory, whereas all your automatic processes happen in your procedural memory.
So, as a child practices reading, it starts off in declarative memory but slowly moves into procedural memory.
Therefore, the aim is to get the child reading slowly and steadily. Over the months the speed of reading and level of comprehension will improve as declarative memory resources are freed up.
I have to say that of all the causes of reading difficulty, this is the slowest and most grinding of solutions. It is hard work, but the result is still achievable.
During the 6 month Easyread course a child will read over 25,000 words. That is massively aided by the TrainterText that we use. The routine of reading that much, day by day builds experience and will do a lot to move the process from the declarative memory to the procedural memory.
However, it will almost certainly be an ongoing task and continued regular practice will be essential.
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