Spelling development in 6–11‐year‐old Greek‐speaking Cypriot children

The aim of the present study was to examine the spelling development of Greek‐speaking children in the early school grades. Although Greek orthography is regular for reading, it is much less transparent as far as spelling is concerned. Spelling development was investigated using a word spelling task designed to explore the effects of word length, familiarity and spelling regularity. One hundred and fifty normally developing primary school children living in Cyprus took part in the study. Results suggest that the children employed both phonological and lexical strategies in spelling Greek words. Results indicated that sub‐lexical procedures were more marked for younger children, whereas lexical processing was employed more widely by older children. The findings are interpreted in terms of stage developmental models.     

Development of orthographic knowledge in German‐speaking children: a 2‐year longitudinal study

There is growing evidence that children develop orthographic knowledge from the very beginning of literacy acquisition. This study investigated the development of German‐speaking children's orthographic knowledge with a nonword choice task. One nonword in each pair contained a frequent consonant doublet (zommul) and the other nonword contained an infrequent doublet (zobbul). Children (N = 54) performed at chance level in kindergarten but chose nonwords with frequent doublets significantly more often than expected by chance in first and second grade. Correlations between children's orthographic knowledge and their reading and spelling skills were not found. The results indicate that knowledge of frequent double consonants is evident in German‐speaking children from first grade onwards, but it is not related to their reading and spelling performance. This finding is consistent with the view that children in transparent orthographies rely less on frequent letter patterns during reading and spelling compared to children in deep orthographies.     

Irlen Colored Filters in the Classroom: A 1‐Year Follow‐Up

Colored filters are used to treat Irlen syndrome (IS), a controversial disorder posited to be the cause of a substantial proportion of reading difficulties. Previously, we found that Irlen colored filters do not produce any short‐term alleviation of reading difficulties in schoolchildren aged 7–12. Here, we tested whether colored filters show benefits with longer‐term use, in a subset of the original sample. We measured reading rate with and without filters in 18 children diagnosed with IS, who had been using the filters for 1 year, and compared the progression of their reading ability across the year against 10 poor‐reader control children. The Irlen‐treatment group did not read any faster when using their colored filter, and showed no disproportionate gain in reading progress across the year compared to controls. We conclude that Irlen filters do not benefit reading, even after 1 year of use.     

Computer‐assisted learning to read and spell: results from two pilot studies

Because multimedia computer programs may provide promising opportunities for the training of initial reading and spelling skills, two small‐scale pilot studies have been conducted with a recently‐developed program to examine its efficacy and impact on the motivation of the users. The first study is concerned with the use of the program in kindergarten children (K2). As there is no curriculum for these children, a computer program that is fully adaptive may well boost their independence in learning to read and spell. The main finding in this study was that kindergarten readers learned in up to 16 hours of computer practice as much as is normally attained in the first 3 months of formal reading instruction in the classroom. In the second study, reading‐disabled students with low levels of motivation engaged in computer‐based spelling practice. The most important finding in this study was that the amount of non‐task directed behaviour of those who had practised with the computer significantly decreased during both computer sessions and classroom sessions. In the discussion the way in which computers can be used most efficiently for the instruction of reading and spelling is analysed and suggestions for further research and development are presented.     

Beginning readers' use of ‘talking books’ software can affect their reading strategies

This paper reports on a small‐scale study that considered whether a phonic‐based ‘talking book’ could outperform one‐to‐one reading tuition with an adult with respect to improving beginning readers' phonological awareness over a short period. It also examined whether the children's reading strategies were affected by their use of the software. Two groups of children, one aged five years and one aged six years, used three phonic‐based talking books over six 15‐minute sessions and were assessed on their phonological awareness and reading strategies both before and after this intervention. Their performance was compared to that of matched comparison groups who were given one‐to‐one adult tutoring with the paper versions of the same books. There were no significant differences between the two groups in their phonological awareness attainment, with both groups showing equivalent gains from pre‐ to post‐test. Use of specific features of the software was associated with gains in rhyme detection ability and with changes in the children's reading strategies.     

An early reader two decades later: a follow‐up case study on the Metacognitive reading strategies of ‘Jan’

This is a follow‐up study regarding one of the early readers whose metacognitive reading strategies were explored in my 1991 qualitative case study research, published in Reading, 29 (2), 30–33. Unique factors in the original study involve the inclusion of young children as informants related to self, task and text. Six‐year‐old ‘Jan’ is now almost 26, and a semi‐structured interview method was used to examine effects the previous study may have had on her development as well as her current preferences regarding reading strategies, comparing her profile to that of her past reading self. In addition, the contemporary qualitative study explores conclusions regarding the reading process that might assist educators in the teaching of reading as well as facilitate further research with young children. Results of this follow‐up study support involving young children as informants regarding their literacy events and imply the need for further research regarding adult readers, related to further understandings of the reading process and best educational practice.     

The immediate and longer‐term effectiveness of a speech‐rhythm‐based reading intervention for beginning readers

Despite empirical evidence of a relationship between sensitivity to speech rhythm and reading, there have been few studies that have examined the impact of rhythmic training on reading attainment, and no intervention study has focused on speech rhythm sensitivity specifically to enhance reading skills. Seventy‐three typically developing 4‐ to 5‐year‐old children were randomly allocated to one of three treatment groups and received a speech‐rhythm‐based intervention, a phonological‐awareness‐based intervention, or a control intervention over 10 weeks. All children completed pre‐test, post‐test and delayed post‐test measures of speech rhythm sensitivity, single‐word reading, phonological awareness and vocabulary. The results show that it is possible to train speech rhythm sensitivity in this age group and that children who undertook the speech rhythm intervention showed a significant improvement in their word reading performance compared to children in the control group. Group differences were maintained 3 months later.     

Literacy Instruction,SES, and Word‐Reading Achievement in English‐Language Learners and Children with English as a First Language: A Longitudinal Study

Socioeconomic gradients and growth‐mixture model trajectories of word‐reading achievement were examined from kindergarten to Grade 5 in all the children who entered kindergarten within a school district and started receiving literacy‐intensive instruction from that point on. In kindergarten, the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and word reading was significant in two of the three subgradients identified in English‐language learners (ELL), and in the only gradient identified in children with English as first language (L1). With more instruction, SES effects progressively disappeared and ELL and L1 gradients became identical. The trajectories showed that ELL and L1 children of middle‐SES level improved similarly as they progressed through Grade 5. However, at the lowest and highest end of the SES spectrum, the ELL children improved more than the L1 even though in kindergarten they were the most at risk for reading failure. The results suggest that the literacy‐intensive program may have reduced the negative influence of SES on word‐reading development.     

A Rhythmic Musical Intervention for Poor Readers: A Comparison of Efficacy With a Letter‐Based Intervention

There is growing evidence that children with reading difficulties show impaired auditory rhythm perception and impairments in musical beat perception tasks. Rhythmic musical interventions with poorer readers may thus improve rhythmic entrainment and consequently improve reading and phonological skills. Here we compare the effects of a musical intervention for poor readers with a software intervention of known efficacy based on rhyme training and phoneme‐grapheme learning. The research question was whether the musical intervention would produce gains of comparable effect sizes to the phoneme‐grapheme intervention for children who were falling behind in reading development. Broadly, the two interventions had similar benefits for literacy, with large effect sizes.     

Predictors of word‐reading ability in 7‐year‐olds: analysis of data from a U.K. cohort study

Previous U.K. population‐based studies have found associations amongst early speech and language difficulties, socioeconomic disadvantage and children's word‐reading ability later on. We examine the strength of these associations in a recent U.K. population‐based birth cohort. Analyses were based on 13,680 participants. Linear regression models were fitted to identify factors that were associated with word‐reading score at the age of 7 years. Path analysis models were fitted to examine phonological skills as a mediator of the relationships. We found that male gender, preterm birth, naming vocabulary at age five, concerns about speech and language, maternal education, type of housing tenure, lone parenting, parent attachment and frequency of reading to the child were all independently associated with word reading. For each of these predictors, there was evidence suggesting that a substantial proportion of the effect may be mediated by phonological skills (ranging from 52 to 89%). Despite policy intervention, many of the same risk factors identified in previous studies still predict children's word‐reading ability in the United Kingdom. Results support the phonological model, with phonological skills on the pathway to word reading.

What is already known about this topic?

• A range of studies has implicated poor socioeconomic background and disadvantaged family circumstances as risks for children's poor word reading.
• Good early development of language skills is firmly established as a pathway to promoting reading ability.
• Not all poor readers show deficits in phonological skills, although such deficits correlate highly with reading difficulties.

What this paper adds

• This is an original analysis of factors in a recent cohort of U.K. children, using stratified sampling to be representative of the U.K. population as a whole.
• A range of child‐specific, family socioeconomic and family relationship factors were independently associated with word‐reading ability when children were age seven.
• For each of the predictors, there was evidence suggesting that a substantial proportion of the effect, if causal, may be mediated by phonological skills (ranging from 52 to 89%).

Implications for theory, policy or practice

• Despite policy intervention, many of the same risk factors identified in older studies still predict children's word‐reading ability in the United Kingdom.
• Results lend weight to the phonological model, where deficits in phonological skills are on the pathway to word reading.

     

The effect of instructional quality on low‐ and high‐performing students

The study assessed the effects of the quality of reading and math instruction and classroom climate on the academic skills and engagement of 314 children in 245 classrooms at the end of third grade. All of the children in the study were from families with low incomes. On a classroom observation measure developed for the study, regression analyses revealed that relatively high ratings on the reading and math instruction subscales, which were scored after a half‐day observation, predicted better reading and math achievement test scores, respectively, for third graders who had previously had poor academic performance, but did not have a significant effect for relatively high‐performing students. High teacher ratings on the reading instruction and classroom climate observation scales predicted high levels of student engagement. The findings suggest the importance of high‐quality teaching for economically disadvantaged children who have poor academic skills.     

The effects of CD-ROM storybook reading on Israeli children’s early literacy as a function of age group and repeated reading

The effects of reading a CD-ROM storybook on children’s early literacy were examined as a function of their age group and the number of times they used the software. The investigation was carried out on 214 children: 108 pre-kindergarten children (aged 4:2 to 5:3) and 106 kindergarten children (aged 5:3–6:4). This population included 107 girls and 107 boys. The children in each group were randomly assigned to one of three groups. The first intervention group was afforded three CD-ROM storybook reading sessions. The second group was afforded five reading sessions and the third group served as a control and was afforded the regular kindergarten program. Pre- and post-intervention early literacy measures included vocabulary, word recognition and phonological awareness. No age group differences were found between the children’s early literacy progress after using the software and no interaction was found between age group and the number of reading sessions. Children from both age groups exhibited a similar level of story comprehension. Children who used the software five times exhibited greater progress in word meaning than those who used it three times and children in both of these groups did better than the control group. Children who used the software five times exhibited greater progress in word reading and phonological awareness than children in the control group. Implications for future research and education are discussed.     

Rapid recovery in sub‐optimal readers in Wales through a self‐paced computer‐based reading programme

Basic literacy skills underlie much future adult functioning, and are targeted in children through a variety of means. Children with identified special needs in reading were exposed to a self‐paced computer‐based reading programme that focused on improving phonetic ability. Exposure was limited to three, 40‐minute sessions a week, for 10 weeks. The children were assessed in terms of their reading, spelling and mathematics abilities before the programme commenced, and immediately after the programme terminated. The programme improved reading and spelling by about eight months, but had no impact on mathematics. The results suggest that brief exposure to a self‐paced phonetic computer‐based teaching programme had some benefits for the sample.     

‘Eye-candy’ in ‘Interactive Books’– a Wholesome Diet?

CD-ROMs are becoming more widely used now and one particular genre seems to have a good deal to offer as a medium for the development of reading. These so-called ‘interactive books’ have not yet been investigated in terms of their usefulness in teaching reading and Clare Burrell and John Trushell make a useful beginning to this. They are particularly concerned with whether the eye catching graphics of these books helps or hinders children’s reading of them and their report raises many interesting issues.     

Examining between‐group and within‐group effects of a peer‐assisted reading strategies intervention

The present study sought to evaluate the effects of a reading strategy instructional program on the reading competence of third‐grade students. Students were instructed in fluent and strategic reading by trained research assistants in whole class settings and subsequently worked on expository text material together with peers. Their reading competence was assessed continuously: in the baseline phase prior to the intervention (4 times), while the intervention was in place (8 times), and after the end of the intervention (4 times). Additionally, reading competence in the wait list control students was assessed 8 times during the same time period. Accordingly, within‐ and between‐group comparisons of students’ test scores were conducted on the data, with both resulting in significant positive effects on the reading competence of intervention students. This research provides an example of how to strengthen the validity of quasiexperimental intervention research through the addition of design features like multiple measurement points.     

The relationship between phonological awareness and word reading accuracy in Oriya and English: A study of Oriya‐speaking fifth‐graders

This study investigated the relationships between phonological awareness and reading in Oriya and English. Oriya is the official language of Orissa, an eastern state of India. The writing system is an alphasyllabary. Ninety‐nine fifth grade children (mean age 9 years 7 months) were assessed on measures of phonological awareness, word reading and pseudo‐word reading in both languages. Forty‐eight of the children attended Oriya‐medium schools where they received literacy instruction in Oriya from grade 1 and learned English from grade 2. Fifty‐one children attended English‐medium schools where they received literacy instruction in English from grade 1 and in Oriya from grade 2. The results showed that phonological awareness in Oriya contributed significantly to reading Oriya and English words and pseudo‐words for the children in the Oriya‐medium schools. However, it only contributed to Oriya pseudo‐word reading and English word reading for children in the English‐medium schools. Phonological awareness in English contributed to English word and pseudo‐word reading for both groups. Further analyses investigated the contribution of awareness of large phonological units (syllable, onsets and rimes) and small phonological units (phonemes) to reading in each language. The data suggest that cross‐language transfer and facilitation of phonological awareness to word reading is not symmetrical across languages and may depend both on the characteristics of the different orthographies of the languages being learned and whether the first literacy language is also the first spoken language.     

Development of Reading in Grades K–2 in Spanish‐Speaking English‐Language Learners

Development of English‐ and Spanish‐reading skills was explored in a sample of 251 Spanish‐speaking English‐language learners from kindergarten through Grade 2. Word identification and reading comprehension developed at a normal rate based on monolingual norms for Spanish‐ and English‐speaking children, but English oral language lagged significantly behind. Four categories of predictor variables were obtained in Spanish in kindergarten and in English in first grade: print knowledge, expressive language (as measured by vocabulary and sentence repetition tasks), phonological awareness, and rapid automatic naming (RAN). Longitudinal regression analyses indicated a modest amount of cross‐language transfer from Spanish to English. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that developing English‐language skills (particularly phonological awareness and RAN) mediated the contribution of Spanish‐language variables to later reading. Further analyses revealed stronger within‐ than cross‐language associations of expressive language with later reading, suggesting that some variables function cross‐linguistically, and others within a particular language. Results suggest that some of the cognitive factors underlying reading disabilities in monolingual children (e.g., phonological awareness and RAN) may be important to an understanding of reading difficulties in bilingual children.     

Long‐term outcomes of early reading intervention

This study explores the long‐term effectiveness of two differing models of early intervention for children with reading difficulties: Reading Recovery and a specific phonological training. Approximately 400 children were pre‐tested, 95 were assigned to Reading Recovery, 97 to Phonological Training and the remainder acted as controls. In the short and medium term both interventions significantly improved aspects of children's reading, Reading Recovery having a broader and more powerful effect. In the long‐term, 3½ years after intervention, there were no significant effects on reading overall, though Reading Recovery had a significant effect for a subgroup of children who were complete non‐readers at 6 years old. Phonological Training had a significant effect on spelling. The short and medium‐term effects demonstrate that it is possible substantially to reduce children's reading problems. The long‐term effects raise doubts about relying on early intervention alone.     

Domain‐General Learning and Memory Substrates of Reading Acquisition

Prior research has demonstrated that linguistic skills and knowledge contribute to successful reading acquisition. In contrast, little is known about the influence of domain‐general learning abilities on reading. To investigate associations between general memory functions and reading during the early stages of learning to read, performance measures of word‐level reading and of declarative and procedural learning were obtained in a cohort of 140 children, annually during their first 4 years of school. We hypothesized that differences in learning task performance would relate to reading ability in the early years, when children are first learning to read. We employed a series of linear mixed effects models to test the relationships between learning abilities and reading across time. Declarative learning performance predicted reading ability in first grade, while procedural learning performance predicted reading ability in second grade. Our findings suggest that reading acquisition may depend in part on general capacities for learning.     

‘Reading’ pictures: what do they reveal? Young children's reading of visual texts

What does the ‘reading’ of pictures reveal compared with the reading of print? The researcher examines aspects of visual literacy through the responses of young children to two picture storybooks. The findings emphasise how images can evoke different levels of response. The study confirms that we need to reconsider the nature of reading and reading education in an environment where words and print are no longer the dominant medium. Examples of responses are shown from children who are native speakers of English, as well as from children for whom English is a second language.