The interaction of vocabulary and short-term memory in predicting phonological awareness: a comparison of dyslexic and non-dyslexic children

Using data from a longitudinal comparative study of children at risk of dyslexia ( Snowling, Gallagher & Frith, 2003 ), this paper reports some replication of work by Gibbs (2004) . It was found that the development of phonological awareness might, for children between the ages of 6 and 8 years of age and not considered to be at risk of dyslexia, be facilitated by an interaction of memory span and lexical knowledge. This effect was not, however, found for children of the same age who were considered to be at risk of dyslexia. For these children an interaction, with contrasting implications, was found between the ages of 3 years 9 months and 6 years. Some theoretical and practical implications of these findings are outlined.     

Dissociation between comprehension and pronunciation in dyslexic and hyperlexic children

Findings from an analysis of the reading performances of three reading-disabled children provide a tentative answer to the controversial issue whether reading-disabled children have a language comprehension deficit or not. Of the three reading-disabled children studied, two were poor in language comprehension but had much better word-reading skill. The third disabled reader had superior listening comprehension but was poor in word-reading skill. The two good word-readers appear to use two different strategies, viz., grapheme—sound association and whole word-pronunciation asssociation to pronounce the written word. It is concluded that pronunciation and comprehension skills are two dissociable components of the reading process and that they follow separate courses of development. Case studies presented in this paper suggest that these two components can be affected independent of each other resulting in different types of reading disabilities. It is concluded that answer to the question whether poor readers are also deficient in language comprehension depends on the type of disabled readers investigated even though educational experience and severity of the reading problem can act as confounding factors.

---

     

Predicting word and pseudoword reading in Arabic-speaking children: the independent contributions of phonological and morphological awareness and visual attention

The present study explored whether phonological awareness (PA), morphological awareness (MA) and visual attention (VA) independently predict word and pseudoword reading accuracy in native Arabic-speaking children from grades 4 and 5. A total of 141 participants took part in the study, and were divided into two groups of readers with (n = 30) and without (n = 111) dyslexia. PA was measured with orally administered syllable manipulation and deletion tasks. The MA task targeted the dismantling of composite Arabic words into meaningful parts in oral modality. VA was assessed by objects and letters cancellation tasks. The results showed that the two groups differed significantly in all of the measures. The regression analysis output showed that VA emerged as a significant predictor of word and pseudoword reading beyond the predictive role of PA and MA. These results have implications for the understanding of the underlying factors of word and pseudoword reading development in Arabic.     

Children's word structure knowledge: Implications for decoding and spelling instruction

Research has shown that not all children internalize the structure of English orthography as they learn to decode and spell. In fact, many children have difficulty mastering these two skills. In this paper, the relevance of word structure knowledge to decoding and spelling instruction and performance is discussed. It was anticipated that explicit, discussion oriented, and direct decoding instruction based on word origin and structure would result in improved reading and spelling performance. During the instruction, students compared and contrasted letter-sound correspondences, syllable patterns, and morpheme patterns in English words of Anglo-Saxon, Romance, and Greek origin. Upper elementary grade students receiving the decoding instruction made significant gains in word structure knowledge and in decoding and spelling achievement.     

Diagnosing word decoding problems: A process-analytic approach

In this article we attempt to demonstrate the theoretical and practical limitations of traditional subgroup classifications of acquired and developmental dyslexia. As an alternative, we suggest a process-analytical approach. A variant of a dual-route model for word processing is presented. The model guided the design of a computerized test battery for assessing strategies in word decoding and processes underlying each strategy. The usefulness of the approach was demonstrated on two cases, which according to traditional criteria, were classified as auditory dyslexics. Although both cases displayed marked deficiencies in the phonological route for word decoding, they differed in terms of underlying processes. In one case the primary problem could be located to phonological synthesis, whereas the other case had poor access of letters (phonological recoding). Such individual processing characteristics are not normally revealed by the traditional subgrouping approach.     

Developing phonological awareness and word recognition skills: A two-year intervention with low-income,inner-city children

Low-income, inner-city children were involved in a two-year intervention delivered in the regular classroom by regular classroom teachers to develop phonological awareness and word recognition skills. For the treatment children, an 11-week phoneme awareness program in kindergarten was followed by a first grade reading program (extended to grade 2 for some children) that emphasized explicit, systematic instruction in the alphabetic code. Control children participated in the school district's regular basal reading program. Both groups participated in a phonetically-based spelling program mandated by the district. At the end of grade 1, treatment children (n = 66) significantly outperformed control children (n = 62) on measures of phonological awareness, letter name and letter sound knowledge, and three measures of word recognition, and reached marginal significance (0.056) on a fourth. They also significantly outperformed the control children on two measures of spelling. One year later, at the end of grade 2, the treatment children (n = 58) significantly outperformed the control children (n = 48) on all four measures of word recognition. For the groups as a whole, there were no differences on the one measure of spelling readministered at the end of grade 2. However, there were significant differences in spelling between the treatment (n = 16) and control children (n = 13) who remained in the bottom quartile of spellers at the end of grade 2 when partial credit was given for phonetically correct spelling, and significant differences in reading favoring these treatment children on all four measures of word recognition.     

Training of poor readers' phonological decoding skills: Evidence for syllable-bound processing

A flash card computer program designed to increase decoding speed in reading was evaluated with a sample of 55 eight- to twelve-year-old Dutch poor readers by using a pretest-training-posttest control group design. The reading level of the poor readers was comparable to the reading level of normal readers in grade two. After 8 weeks of practicing (twice a week) for 30 minutes per session, children in the training group showed substantial improvements in decoding speed not only on pseudowords directly practiced during the training, but also in untrained pseudowords and in existing words. The no-training control group did not improve in decoding speed from pre- to posttest. The results, furthermore, indicate that syllable-bound processes play a role in phonological decoding in Dutch, and that the flash card method used in this study stimulates poor readers to decode letter strings into syllabic units, which leads to an increase in decoding speed. The role of the syllable in phonological decoding and the potential of a specific flash card technique as a means to improve decoding skills of poor readers are discussed.     

Antecedents to reading disability: Preschool language development and literacy experiences of children from dyslexic families

In a longitudinal study of the relation between preschool development and later reading abilities, children with dyslexic parents and/or older siblings were compared to children with no family incidence of dyslexia. Many children from dyslexic families developed reading problems by the end of the second grade, and these poor readers were characterized chiefly by weaker early syntactic and phonological skills and by less frequent exposure to books during their preschool years than the preschoolers who became normal readers. Some implications of the results for etiological theories of dyslexia are discussed.     

Executive functioning and word reading in Hong Kong Chinese children: A 1-year longitudinal perspective

This study examined the bidirectionality between kindergarten children's executive functioning (EF) and word reading across two time points. Participants were 523 Hong Kong Chinese-speaking children (mean age at Time 2 = 64.59 months; 52.9% male) and their parents. At Time 1, children were administered the measures of EF skills: inhibitory control, attention shifting, working memory and Chinese word reading. They were reassessed with these measures at Time 2 one year later. Results from the cross-lagged panel model revealed that, controlling for child age, gender and parental education levels, children's word reading at Time 1 was significantly predictive of their working memory at Time 2, but that the three EF skills at Time 1 were not predictive of word reading at Time 2. These findings underscored the role of early word reading in promoting children's working memory.     

The role of orthographic flexibility in Chinese word reading among kindergarten children

Abstract

The present study aimed to examine the potential importance of orthographic flexibility for Chinese reading acquisition. Orthographic flexibility is a novel concept that represents the ability to manage and switch attention among multiple aspects of orthographic information. A total of 92 Chinese kindergarten children at age 6 were assessed on measures of orthographic flexibility, orthographic knowledge, executive functions (EF) skills (i.e. cognitive flexibility and working memory) and Chinese word reading. Results of hierarchical regressions showed that orthographic flexibility uniquely and significantly contributed to word reading beyond the effects of established predictors, namely orthographic knowledge and EF skills. Path analysis further indicated that orthographic flexibility significantly mediated the contribution of EF skills to word reading. These findings provided theoretical insights into the linkage between domain-general EF skills and domain-specific reading ability. The present study also provided practical implication that training on orthographic flexibility in addition to orthographic knowledge could be beneficial to early acquisition of Chinese word reading.     

Heterogeneity in adult dyslexic readers: Relating processing skills to the speed and accuracy of oral text reading

Subgroups of Finnish dyslexic adults (N = 84)displaying, relative to each other, a distinctivecombination of accuracy and speed of oral text readingwere compared in phonological and orthographicprocessing, verbal short-term memory and readinghabits. Inaccurate phonological decoding appeared todetermine the number of errors made in text reading,while inability to utilize effectively rapid lexicalaccess of words manifested as slow text reading speed.Phonological and orthographic word recognitionprocesses were less tightly integrated among dyslexicthan normal readers. Our results indicate thatadvanced orthographic processing skills might help anumber of the dyslexic readers to compensate for theirserious phonological deficits. The subgroups alsodiffered from each other in reading habits. Arelatively fast reading speed, even with numerouserrors, appears to be more rewarding in everydayreading than a slower but more accurate readingstyle.     

English expressive vocabulary growth and its unique role in predicting English word reading: A longitudinal study involving Hong Kong Chinese ESL children

This longitudinal study examined the developmental trajectory of English expressive vocabulary and its relationship to English word reading in a sample of 141 Hong Kong children learning English as a second language (ESL). The children were observed six times at 3-month intervals over 15 months, from the spring of their second year of kindergarten (K2) to the end of their third year (K3). The development of English expressive vocabulary was nonlinear during the assessment period. With age, nonverbal IQ, English phonological awareness, letter knowledge and Chinese character reading controlled, the initial level of expressive vocabulary predicted English word reading 15 months later. More importantly, the expressive vocabulary growth rate during the 15 months also predicted English word reading. Our findings underscore the predictive power of the growth trajectory of expressive vocabulary in Hong Kong ESL children. Practical implications of the study are discussed.     

The nature of the phonological processing in French dyslexic children: evidence for the phonological syllable and linguistic features' role in silent reading and speech discrimination

This study investigated the status of phonological representations in French dyslexic children (DY) compared with reading level- (RL) and chronological age-matched (CA) controls. We focused on the syllable’s role and on the impact of French linguistic features. In Experiment 1, we assessed oral discrimination abilities of pairs of syllables that varied as a function of voicing, mode or place of articulation, or syllable structure. Results suggest that DY children underperform controls with a ‘speed-accuracy’ deficit. However, DY children exhibit some similar processing than those highlighted in controls. As in CA and RL controls, DY children have difficulties in processing two sounds that only differ in voicing, and preferentially process obstruent rather than fricative sounds, and more efficiently process CV than CCV syllables. In Experiment 2, we used a modified version of the Colé, Magnan, and Grainger's (Applied Psycholinguistics 20:507–532, 1999) paradigm. Results show that DY children underperform CA controls but outperform RL controls. However, as in CA and RL controls, data reveal that DY children are able to use phonological procedures influenced by initial syllable frequency. Thus, DY children process syllabically high-frequency syllables but phonemically process low-frequency syllables. They also exhibit lexical and syllable frequency effects. Consequently, results provide evidence that DY children performances can be accounted for by laborious phonological syllable-based procedures and also degraded phonological representations.     

Effectiveness of computer-based treatment for dyslexia in a clinical care setting: outcomes and moderators

The clinical effectiveness of a treatment for children with dyslexia was examined, as well as the moderating impact of plausible cognitive and socio-economic factors on treatment success. Results revealed that the treatment group accrued significant greater gains than the control group in reading and spelling skills. The treatment group obtained a level of reading accuracy and spelling that was comparable with the normative mean. Post-treatment levels of reading rate were comparable to the lower bound of the normal range. Treatment effectiveness was robust against individual differences, except for a moderating impact of phonological memory and rapid automatized naming.     

Syllable-based reading improvement: Effects on word reading and reading comprehension in Grade 2

This study examined the effects of a syllable-based reading intervention for German second graders who demonstrated difficulties in the recognition of written words. The intervention focused on fostering word reading via syllable segmentation. The materials consisted of the 500 most frequent syllables typically read by 6- to 8-year-old children. The aims were to practice phonological recoding, consolidate orthographic representations of syllables, and routinize the access to these representations. Compared to children randomly assigned to a wait-list group, poor readers in the treatment condition showed significant improvements in standardized measures of phonological recoding, direct word recognition, and text-based reading comprehension after the 24-session intervention. Poor readers in the treatment condition also showed greater improvements in development of word recognition compared to children with efficient word recognition skills. The results provide evidence that a syllable-based reading intervention is a promising approach to increase struggling readers’ word recognition skills, which in turn will improve their reading comprehension.     

Exploring support for dyslexic adults in the English workforce: lessons learnt from the story of an adult dyslexia group

Dyslexia support is likely to be in place for students within educational establishments in England. However, there are a significant number of adults with dyslexia in the English workplace who are no longer involved in education and for whom ongoing support is necessary to enable them to reach their potential in a world of increasing literacy demands. Legislation has led to significant moves towards inclusion in the English workplace, but there has been a lack of public recognition of the concerns and needs articulated by adults with this invisible disability. The formation of local voluntary groups provides one model of support for adults with dyslexia. This article examines the setting up of one such group and highlights issues involved in this process. The nature of the group structure and the support offered is discussed, including its impact on the individuals concerned. Finally, the author makes recommendations for stakeholders in the inclusion of adults with dyslexia.