Sound symbolic word learning in the middle grades

Sound symbolism is the notion that there is a subset of words in the world’s languages for which sounds and their symbols have some degree of correspondence. Two studies assessed 5th and 6th graders’ knowledge of word meanings for English sound symbolic and non-sound symbolic words. Both studies found that the meanings of sound symbolic words were guessed more often than those for non-sound symbolic words. Study 1 found this for words presented in isolation and for both native speakers of English and those learning English as a second language. Study 1 also found that there was no difference in the ability to use sound symbolic word information between these two participant groups. Study 2 found superior performance on sound symbolic words presented both in isolation and in context and found that the combination these two types of information yielded greater word learning than either alone. We conclude that sound symbolism is a word property which influences the learning of unknown words.     

Word learning: An ERP investigation of word experience effects on recognition and word processing

Adults of varying reading comprehension skill learned a set of previously unknown rare English words (e.g., gloaming) in three different learning conditions in which the type of word knowledge was manipulated. The words were presented in one of three conditions: (1) orthography-to-meaning (no phonology); (2) orthography-to-phonology (no meaning); and (3) phonology-to-meaning (no orthography). Following learning, participants made meaning judgments on the learned words, familiar known words, and unpresented (unlearned) rare words while their ERPs were recorded. The behavioral results showed no significant effects of comprehension skill on meaning judgment performance. Contrastingly, the ERP results indicated comprehension skill differences in P600 amplitude; high-skilled readers showed stronger familiarity effects for learned words, whereas less-skilled readers did not distinguish between learned words, familiar words, and unlearned words. Evidence from the P600 and N400 illustrated superior learning of meaning when meaning information was coupled with orthography rather than phonology. These results suggest that the availability of word knowledge (orthography, phonology, and meaning) at learning affects subsequent word identification processes when the words are encountered in a new context.     

The hidden depths of new word knowledge: Using graded measures of orthographic and semantic learning to measure vocabulary acquisition

We investigated whether the presence of orthography promotes new word learning (orthographic facilitation). In Study 1 (N = 41) and Study 2 (N = 74), children were taught 16 unknown polysyllabic words. Half of the words appeared with orthography present and half without orthography. Learning assessments captured the degree of semantic and orthographic learning; they were administered one week after teaching (Studies 1 and 2), and, unusually, eight months later (Study 1 only). Bayesian analyses indicated that the presence of orthography was associated with more word learning, though this effect was estimated with more certainty for orthographic than semantic learning. Newly learned word knowledge was well retained over time, indicating that our paradigm was sufficient to support long-term learning. Our approach provides an example of how word learning studies can look beyond simple accuracy measures to reveal the cumulative nature of lexical learning.     

The role of pictures and gestures as nonverbal aids in preschoolers’ word learning in a novel language

Previous research suggests that presenting redundant nonverbal semantic information in the form of gestures and/or pictures may aid word learning in first and foreign languages. But do nonverbal supports help all learners equally? We address this issue by examining the role of gestures and pictures as nonverbal supports for word learning in a novel (e.g. original/pretend) language in a sample of 62 preschoolers who differ in language abilities, language background, and gender. We tested children’s ability to learn novel words for familiar objects using a within-subjects design with three conditions: word-only; word + gesture; word + picture. Children were assessed on English translation, immediate comprehension and follow-up comprehension 1 week later. Overall performance on the tasks differed by characteristics of the learners. The importance of considering the interplay between learner characteristics and instructional strategies is discussed.     

Spongelike acquisition of sight vocabulary in beginning readers?

We report two training studies designed to investigate the relation between phonological awareness, sound‐to‐letter mapping knowledge, and printed word learning in novice five‐year‐old readers. Effects of visual memory and of teaching methods are also explored. In our first study, novice five‐year‐old readers able to segment initial phonemes and with good knowledge of mappings between sounds and letters learned words more easily from repeated exposure to texts. Results suggested that visual memory influenced word learning in non‐segmenting but not in segmenting children. Spelling regularity did not affect ease of learning. Nouns were easier to learn than function words. In the second study, although phonological awareness and sound‐to‐letter mapping knowledge still exerted a significant influence, all novice five‐year‐olds were able to learn words more easily if these were taught out‐of‐context singly on flashcards. Results support the view that mental representations of printed words are more easily formed by beginners who are able to match at least some of the phonological segments detected in the spoken word to letters in the printed word.     

Alphabetic access route in beginning reading acquisition in Portuguese: The role of letter-name knowledge

The present study investigates Ehri's (Ehri & Wilce 1985; Scott & Ehri 1990) hypothesis that knowledge of the alphabet enables children to learn to read by processing and storing letter-sound relations in words. In particular, it examines whether letter-name knowledge facilitates the learning of spellings in which the names of one or more letters can be heard in the pronunciation of the words. Preschool children who could not read any word out of context were divided into two groups on the basis of their ability to name the letters of the alphabet: one group knew the names of the letters while the other did not. Both groups were taught to read two types of simplified spellings: visual spellings, that is, spellings whose letters did not correspond to sounds in the pronunciations of the words but which were visually more salient (e.g., X_QKO for the word cerveja), and phonetic spellings, that is, spellings whose letters corresponded to sounds in the pronunciation of the words (e.g., CRVA for the word cerveja). In all phonetic spellings, the name of at least one letter could be clearly heard in the pronunciation of the words. Results corroborated Ehri's hypothesis. The children who did not know the names of the letters learned to read the visual spellings more easily than the phonetic ones. On the other hand, the children who knew the names of the letters showed the opposite pattern, that is, they learned the phonetic spellings more easily than the visual ones.     

Unpacking the relation between morphological awareness and Chinese word reading: Levels of morphological awareness and vocabulary

The nature of the relations among morphological awareness, vocabulary and word reading in Chinese children remains relatively unclear. The present study aimed to distinguish between sublexical morphological awareness, referring to the ability to use the meaning cues of semantic radicals embedded in a compound character, and lexical level morphological awareness, defined as the ability to understand and manipulate single characters (i.e., morphemes) comprising Chinese compound words, on word reading. We also examined the role of vocabulary knowledge on the relation between morphological awareness and word reading at both the sublexical and lexical levels. A group of 172 Chinese second graders were administered measures of sublexical and lexical level morphological awareness, vocabulary knowledge, phonological awareness, orthographic knowledge, nonverbal ability, and word reading. Both sublexical and lexical levels of morphological awareness were moderately correlated with word reading. Vocabulary knowledge appeared to partially mediate the effect of sublexical morphological awareness on word reading, but it fully mediated the effect of lexical level morphological awareness on word reading. These results suggest that sublexical and lexical level morphological awareness play distinct roles in Chinese word reading; vocabulary knowledge is an important factor influencing the relation between morphological awareness and word reading in Chinese.     

语境与词语翻译--在具体语境中把握词义

翻译工作中，首先遇到的是词语翻译问题，按字面意义翻译，译文往往晦涩，不通顺，不能够充分表达原义。在这种情况下，应从词语的具体语境入手，寻求答案。通过Cruse对词语意义的分类，探讨了具体语境下词语的翻译，并通过一些具体例子阐述了具体语境中词语翻译的四种类型。     

论训诂的因文定义

因文定义是训诂中最常用的一种训释词语意义的方法,本文以古今训诂材料为基础,阐述因文定义的"文"、"义"的具体所指,"文"与"义"的内在联系,论述了因文定义方法运用的审"文"要领和定"义"的原则、要求.     

Pathways to word problem solving: The mediating roles of schema construction and mathematical vocabulary

When solving word problems, many children encounter difficulties in making sense of the information and integrate it into a meaningful schema. This is the fundamental phase on which subsequent problem solution depends. To better understand the processing underlying this fundamental phase, this study examined the roles of schema construction and knowledge of mathematical vocabularies in word problem solving. The participants were 139 Chinese third graders studying in Hong Kong. Path analysis showed that there were two kinds of pathways to word problem solving: language-related and number-related. In particular, reading fluency was related to word problem solving in two mediated language-related pathways: one via schema construction, the other via knowledge of mathematical vocabularies. In the number-related pathway, arithmetic concept was related to word problem solving via knowledge of mathematical vocabularies. These findings highlight the specific roles of schema construction and mathematical vocabulary in word problem solving, thereby providing useful implications of how best to support children in understanding and integrating the information from the problem.     

The building blocks of writing: Learning to write letters and spell words

This study examined the development of beginning writing skills in kindergarten and the relationship between early writing skills and early reading skills. Sixty children were assessed on beginning writing skills (including letter writing, individual sound spelling, and real and nonsense word spelling) and beginning reading skills (including letter name and letter sound knowledge, global early reading ability, phonological awareness, and word reading). Children’s beginning writing abilities are described, and they exhibited a range of proficiency in their ability to write letters, spell sounds, and spell real and nonsense words. Global early reading proficiency, phonological awareness, and/or letter sound fluency predicted letter writing, sound spelling, and spelling of real and nonsense words. Appreciation is expressed to the participating students and teachers at Dwight D. Eisenhower School and to Margaret Boudreau and Joan Foley for assistance in scoring students’ responses.     

Orthographic similarity and phonological transparency in spelling

In a brief, exploratoryspelling intervention, second through fourthgrade students, divided in two groups of 70students, learned to spell Latin loan wordsthat ended in -ion with either alinguistically explicit or implicit method. The -ion words were chosen because theypossess similar orthographic structure inaddition to uniform pronunciation. In theexplicit instruction, linguistic andorthographic properties of the words weresimultaneously considered and non-overlappingdistributive patterns between sound andspelling were discussed, whereas in theimplicit instruction discussion was limited tothe orthographic pattern. The explicitinstruction was based on the Orton–Gillinghammethod. Linguistically explicit instructionimproved discrimination of /zh/ and /sh/sounds, spelling of word endings tion andsion and, most importantly, spellinggeneralization to novel words over implicitinstruction. These results were consistent pergrade. The children in each instructionimproved equally on spelling of the stressedvowel, which did not receive explicit attentionin the intervention, as well as on reading ofboth the stressed vowel and the word endings. Thus, the effectiveness of drawing explicitversus implicit attention was shown across andwithin type of instruction. The results appearto support sound-based spelling instruction.     

Use orthography in L2 auditory word learning: Who benefits?

The effect of capitalizing on orthography in auditory learning of English words was examined in 74 children who spoke Mandarin Chinese as their primary language. To use orthographic information for auditory word learning, children must recode printed words phonologically to assist the reconstruction of the speech single misheard or underspecified, an ability that may depend heavily on phonological awareness (PA). In this study, children with poorer PA of Chinese and those with better PA were taught novel English words in an auditory learning task under two exposure conditions: auditory words presented with their written forms and auditory words presented with undecodable symbols. Word learning performance was better in the written form condition than in the symbol condition, but the effect was smaller for children with poorer PA. The facilitative effect was associated with L2 PA for children with poorer PA but not for children with better PA. The results are discussed with regard to how poor PA may constrain auditory word learning in an L2 context.     

Influence of word meaning on the acquisition of a reading vocabulary in second-grade children

The acquisition of a reading vocabulary for abstract and concrete words was examined in 62 second-grade children. Words had been learned as part of a basal reader program or as part of outside reading. Word recognition speed and reading accuracy were examined for abstract and concrete words using lexical decision and word naming tasks. The size of the concreteness effect was similar for both processing tasks. In neither task did concreteness influence reaction times, but abstract words were read with less accuracy than concrete words in both tasks. Further, these concreteness effects in reading accuracy were larger for words that were part of a basal reading program than for words acquired during free reading. We conclude that word meaning influences the entry of words at a time when children are developing a sizeable reading vocabulary.     

语境在翻译中的作用

语境又称上下文,它指各语言单位的语言环境。它有广义和狭义之分。狭义上下文指句子的范围内,该单位的一些语言单位;广义上下文指该单位的超出句子范围的语言环境。正确理解语境,可以解决翻译中语言多义性的问题,也可以帮助理解具体语言环境下语言的具体意义。     

Letter names, phonological awareness and the phonetization of writing

Following several studies on the relationship between phonological awareness, children’s knowledge of letter names and their understanding of the alphabetic code, we pose the hypothesis that children’s knowledge of letter names may contribute to their analysis of the oral segments of words, thereby enabling them to produce writing in which some of the sounds are represented by appropriate letters. The participants were 80-syllabic 5-year-old kindergarten children, who were assigned to 2 experimental and 2 control groups and submitted to phonological and letter knowledge tests. We asked the children in the experimental groups to write a set of words in which either the initial sound (Exp. G. 1) or the middle sound (Exp. G. 2) coincided with the name of a letter known by the child; the children in the control groups were asked to write a set of control words. The results show that the introduction of facilitating words prompts syllabic children to produce writing in which some of the sounds are represented by appropriate letters; Exp. G. 1 gave better results than Exp. G. 2. Finally, there is a positive relationship between the results achieved by children in phonological and letter name tests and the number of sounds they write phonetically.     

词族现象探微

词族的大量出现,有其独特的语言学价值。它说明了附加构词法表现非常突出,汉语的最佳词音长度受到挑战,某些外来悟睚成为汉语中能产性极强的构词语素。词族现象也为我们提供了透视社会变革,考察人们思想观念变化等方面的认识价值。     

从结构和功能角度看英语词汇教学

本文从词汇教学现状中的两种教学理论出发，分析了英语词汇教学中的构词法和语境教学的意义及其方法。提出了教师在教词汇的过程中，不仅要教会学生词汇的意思，更要教会学生学习词汇的方法的观点。     

试论英语语音的模糊性

文章从静态和动态两个角度探讨英语语音的模糊性。首先，以音素为切入点，发现根据声腔的开放和封闭基本可以把元音和辅音分清楚，但由于声腔的开放大小没有明确的界限，实际上所获得的是近似的模糊音；接着以音位为切入点，从音位变体，非音质音位等方面来考察，发现语音的社会性促成音位变体间的模糊界限；再以语流音变为切入点，从同化、异化等五种语流音变现象中，发现相邻音彼此间相互影响以及语速的快慢、声音的高低、强弱导致语音模糊性。     

How psychology helps us to understand word reading

ABSTRACT

This paper presents an overview of evidence from psychological research, which enables us to understand the processes involved in word reading, how children develop word reading skills and how to teach them to read words successfully. Psychological models of reading in alphabetic orthographies propose two routes to word reading: an indirect route requiring mapping of letters and sounds using phonological processes and a direct route, mapping visual identities of words onto meaning using visual processes and memory. The dual route paves the way to an understanding of what children need to achieve to be able to read words. Evidence about how people read words successfully has led to the development of effective teaching programmes and of tests to identify deficits when word reading does not develop optimally.