Mocan, S. B. & Leacock, T. L. (2009). Using Fast ForWord® to support learning to read: A review of the Literature. In E‐Learn 2009: Proceedings of the World Conference on E‐Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, & Higher Education, 989‐997. [Pre‐Print] 1 Using Fast ForWord® to Support Learning to Read: A Review of the Literature Simona B. Mocan smocan@sfu.ca Faculty of Education Simon Fraser University Canada Tracey L. Leacock tleacock@sfu.ca Faculty of Education Simon Fraser University Canada Abstract: Fast ForWord® educational software, developed and marketed by the Scientific Learning Corporation to help students learn to read, has been in widespread use for just over a decade. Many schools, districts, and parents have invested considerable time and funds to make Fast ForWord available to students, and an independent review of the research on the impact of this product suite is timely. Our analysis of the literature provides some evidence for cognitive changes, as a result of Fast ForWord training, but evidence that these changes translate into improved reading (achievement) is less clear. Further, other less expensive interventions also show effects on students’ reading levels. This paper will be of interest to researchers, teachers, and school decision makers tasked with helping struggling readers learn to read. Introduction Fast ForWord® (FFW) is a set of computer-based tools designed to help K-12 students who are reading below grade level to improve their reading skills. The developers, the Scientific Learning Corporation, claim that Fast ForWord is both grounded in theory and supported by empirical evidence showing real effects on student achievement. Given the widespread use of the FFW products and the amount of time and money that schools and school districts have invested in using FFW since its commercial introduction in 1997, it is timely to engage in an objective synthesis of the available peer-reviewed research literature to determine what current data shows about the efficacy of this popular eLearning toolset. In this paper, we address the following questions. 1) (Under what circumstances) does training with FFW result in measurable changes? 2) What is the nature of these changes? We begin with a brief overview of the auditory temporal processing theory – the theory of language and reading development that underlies the design of FFW, followed by an overview of FFW. We then discuss what the literature shows about cognitive and achievement outcomes measured after FFW training. We conclude with a discussion of implications for policy and further research. Theoretical Background: Auditory Temporal Processing Theory As they develop, children naturally acquire the basic sound units (phonemes) of the language(s) to which they are exposed. English, for example, has 44 phonemes, and the pairs or groups of phonemes that form English words occur in different combinations with different transitions – some fast, some slow. The brain has to identify these transitions to discriminate among phonemes. Some children have difficulty discriminating among phonemes, and this manifests in various speech and language impairments and learning disabilities (Tallal, Miller, & Fitch,