Abstract

n the present study, we explored how linguistic skills (phonological and semantic) influence the multiple components of school arithmetic (numeration, computation, and word problems) by analyzing them sequentially. We studied a sample of 262 schoolchildren, aged 8 to 11, nested in 27 classrooms, using the following measures: semantic skills, phonological skills, numeration, computation, word problems, visuospatial reasoning, and working memory. On the basis of a multilevel path analysis, we found that phonological and semantic skills predict each arithmetic component differently and independently. Phonological skills displayed a direct effect on computation and an indirect effect on word problems, mediated by computation. On the other hand, semantic skills showed a direct effect on numeration and word problems and an indirect effect on computation, mediated by numeration, as well as on word problems, mediated by numeration and computation.