Little Frog and Toad: Interaction of orthography and phonology in Polish spelling

The interaction of lexical and non-lexicalprocesses in spelling was investigated throughlexical priming of non-lexical spelling, inPolish, a language in whose relativelytransparent orthography lexical informationmight be expected to play a less influentialrole than in English. Orthographic choice fornonwords was assessed under free and primedspelling conditions for both adults andchildren using direct and associative priming.The findings indicated that lexical orthographyinfluences resolution of nonlexical phonologyin spelling and identified two sources ofinfluence: one in unprimed spelling, wherelong-standing orthographic knowledge affectednonword orthographic choice so that it was notdetermined solely by phonology, the other inprimed spelling, where orthographic solutionsto nonwords were influenced by the covertorthography of the prime. The most powerfulevidence for lexical influence comes from thefinding that lexical orthography not onlyinforms resolution of phonology in cases ofambiguity, but overrides phonology whenresolution is unambiguous.     

Differences in the reading of shallow and deep orthography: developmental evidence from Hebrew and Turkish readers

The present study investigates differences in the word‐reading process between individuals reading in a deep (unpointed Hebrew) and a shallow orthography (Turkish). The participants were 120 students evenly and randomly recruited from three levels of education (primary = 3rd–4th graders; middle = 6th–7th graders; high = 9th–10th graders). The students were tested with a computerised paradigm that assessed their efficiency in determining the identicalness of real word (RW) pairs and nonsense word (NW) pairs under perceptual and conceptual conditions. Based on a strong orthographic depth hypothesis, Turkish readers were hypothesised to manifest superior word‐processing skills in comparison to Hebrew readers, both for RWs and NWs. Evidence obtained from the analysis of the quantitative and qualitative performance of the participants failed to support this prediction. Findings are discussed with reference to a single‐route grain‐size‐based word‐reading model and a modified dual‐route word‐reading model.     

A reading-level match study of phonemic processes underlying reading disabilities in a transparent orthography

The current study examined the relationship in Spanish (i.e., a transparent orthography) between different levels of phonological awareness and reading disabilities. In addition, the strategies used by the children when they resolved phoneme segmentation and reversal tasks were analyzed. A sample of 133 subjects were selected and organized in three different groups: (1) A group of 45 reading-disabled children, (2) A comparison group of 44 normal readers matched in age with the reading disabled, and (3) A reading level match group of 44 younger normal readers at the same reading level as the reading disabled. Three phonological awareness tasks were used to measure levels of intrasyllabic and phonemic awareness. The reading disabled group was equivalent to the younger reading level-matched control group in the odd-word-out task. However, there were differences in the phonemic tasks (e.g., phoneme segmentation and reversal) because the reading disabled group performed more poorly than the younger children. Overall, the children matched in age with the reading disabled group were superior in all phonological awareness tasks. There were differences between the groups when the strategies used by the children were analyzed.     

维吾尔族儿童汉语发展性阅读障碍的个案报告

本文通过阅读障碍的测验工具,对吐鲁番市某小学四年级的学生艾克的阅读能力进行了测验,并结合家长和教师的访谈、课后观察等研究方法,探讨了维吾尔族儿童汉语发展性阅读障碍的表现和成因,并对教师及家长提出建议。     

The effects of morphological structure on reading proficiency—A developmental study

The present report with three inter-related studies examined the effects of morphological complexity on reading proficiency in 103 fourth graders, 88 fifth graders and 107 sixth graders trichotomized into below average, average and above average readers. The reaction time paradigm and the developmental framework with three age groups provided more sensitive and stable results for inferring mental processes in accessing the lexicon. Study 1 on lexical decision with visually presented words and non-words with different morphemic boundaries suggests that words can be accessed in a decomposed state as morphemes by children. Study 2 and the complementary Study 3 requiring the vocalization of derived or base forms of words primed by target items in sentence frames indicate that words might be accessed in full forms. Further, the depth of derivational morphology and of base morphology with correlated phonological changes affect reading proficiency.     

Correlates of early reading performance in a transparent orthography

A cross-sectional study was conducted with 83first – and 81 fourth graders at the end of theschool year to examine factors accounting forearly reading performance in Finnish, atransparent orthography with a clear mapping ofphonemes onto graphemes. Measures for bothgrades included reading comprehension, phonemeawareness, and object- and digit naming.Additionally measures of skills in morphology,spelling and a screening battery wereadministered to the first graders. The sets ofmeasures accounted for 56% of the variance inreading performance in first grade and 64% infourth grade. Phoneme awareness was stronglyrelated to reading performance and spelling atthe end of first grade, but only forless-skilled readers in fourth grade. Theseresults suggest a larger role for phonemeawareness for children learning a transparentorthography than has been suggested in earlierstudies. At the same time, listeningcomprehension contributed more strongly tofirst-grade reading performance than has beenreported for children learning to readEnglish.     

Explaining phonology and reading in adult learners: Introducing prosodic awareness and executive functions to reading ability

Background

This study was designed to extend our understanding of phonology and reading to include suprasegmental awareness using measures of prosodic awareness, which are complex tasks that tap into the rhythmic aspects of phonology. By requiring participants to access, reflect on and manipulate word stress, the prosodic awareness measures used here necessarily impose demands on the executive system. Prosodic awareness was evaluated as a phonological predictor of reading in older readers while controlling for executive functions (EF) in order to ascertain whether observed predictive relationships could be confidently attributed to suprasegmental awareness.

Methods

103 adults between 18 and 55 years of age completed tasks on prosodic awareness, EF, vocabulary, nonverbal abilities, naming speed and short‐term memory.

Results

Independent contributions of prosodic awareness added to models of word reading, whereas EF processes did not uniquely contribute to adult reading outcomes.

Conclusions

Suprasegmental phonology explains individual differences in word reading among experienced readers. Theoretical implications of findings are discussed.

Implications for Practice

What is already known about this topic

• Phonological awareness (PA) becomes less predictive of reading in older readers. PA is typically assessed at the level of the segment (e.g., phonemes, syllables and onset‐rimes), with less focus on suprasegmental processes (e.g., rhythm, stress and intonation).
• Suprasegmental phonological processing includes measures of prosodic ability (e.g., awareness and manipulation of suprasegmental features of oral language). Studies on prosodic awareness and reading have independent contributions beyond segmental PA in early readers. Less work has been investigated among adult readers.
• Executive functions (EF) including inhibitory control, working memory, switching and updating and monitoring of goal directed behaviour, predict overall academic achievement. Limited studies have controlled for EF demands in phonological tasks.

What this paper adds

• Tasks of prosodic awareness necessarily impose demands on the executive system when manipulating components of oral language. After controlling for EF and controls, prosodic awareness explained individual differences in adult word reading.
• Tasks of suprasegmental phonological processes explain the association between phonology and reading in older and more experienced readers. Researchers who explore phonology and reading development should begin to include tasks of prosodic awareness to examine the dual role of segmental and suprasegmental PA as it is implicated across development.

Implications for theory, policy or practice

• Theoretical models of phonology and reading can be extended to include suprasegmental processes.
• For educational practitioners involved in reading assessment of older readers, tasks of prosodic awareness are a more age‐appropriate measure of phonology.
• Tasks of phonology and reading with increasing complexity impose greater demands on the executive system. The relationship between cognitive flexibility and reading needs to be considered in theoretical models of reading.

     

探究性阅读教学初探

探究性阅读在语教学中有着重要的作用，可以培养学生的批判意识、实践能力，能开拓学生的视野，它是我们今后语教学中要着重培养的一种学习方式。进行探究性阅读教学可以采取以下措施：1．培养学生的质疑习惯，2．师生共同解疑，3．组织实践活动。     

A developmental study of the relationship between reading development and the self-system

The aims of this three-year longitudinal study were to examine 1) the concurrent development of different components of the self-system; 2) how the development of this self-system relates to cognitive and metacognitive development in reading; and 3) whether or not there are gender differences both in the development of the self-system as well as in its relation to the development of reading. One hundred and seventy-eight elementary school children were first assessed in the fourth grade and then again in each of the two following years. A similar pattern of intercorrelations between self-system components was evident for boys and girls, and this pattern was quite stable across the three school grades. In addition, similar patterns of moderate relations between the self-system and cognitive and metacognitive development in reading were observed across time. According to these findings, there appears to be some stability, consistency and coherence in how late elementary school children’s beliefs about themselves as learners are organized in their self-system. It is also evident that children of this age are able to make valid self-appraisals of their capabilities.     

Aye,aye, aye,aye: orthography enhances rapid word reading in an exploratory study

Rapid Word Reading, a novel word‐reading efficiency measure, was used to determine if articulations or processing times associated with reading the word ‘aye’ were enhanced through the phonological or orthographic qualities contained in the preceding word. In the experiment, ‘aye’ followed either an identical ‘aye’, the homophones ‘I’ or ‘eye’ or high‐frequency (HF) unrelated English words. The words that preceded ‘aye’ were chosen to provide a graduated degree of phonological and orthographic information available to enhance the efficiency of recognising the following word. Semantically, phonologically, and orthographically independent high‐frequency words preceded ‘aye’ and served as a baseline measure of the articulation and processing times of ‘aye’. ‘I’ preceded ‘aye’ to provide enhanced recognition through phonological association alone. Phonological and partial orthographic associations were provided by ‘eye’ before ‘aye’, and complete phonological and orthographic associations were provided by ‘aye’ before ‘aye’. Repeated measures analysis showed that ‘aye’ was processed fastest when it followed an identical ‘aye’. The processing time enhancement for this condition was significantly faster than all other conditions. Additionally, the mean articulation duration of ‘aye’ was significantly slower when ‘aye’ followed an identical ‘aye’ than when it followed HF words. The findings documented the importance of separating phonological and orthographic information in English homophones.     

The role of phonology in reading Japanese: Or why I don't hear myself when reading Japanese

Based on the phenomenal experience that when I read Japanese I don't hear inner speech, I suggest that the role of phonology may be more limited when reading text in Japanese than in English. Although this possibility has been suggested by others, I argue for somewhat different sources of this reduced role. Specifically, I propose that the greater visual discriminability of kanji words under degraded conditions, and the less important role of word order as a syntactic cue are likely to be the key factors. Relevant literature is reviewed, and directions for future research are suggested.     

The role of word recognition,oral reading fluency and listening comprehension in the simple view of reading: a study in an intermediate depth orthography

Empirical research has provided evidence for the simple view of reading across a variety of orthographies, but the role of oral reading fluency in the model is unclear. Moreover, the relative weight of listening comprehension, oral reading fluency and word recognition in reading comprehension seems to vary across orthographies and schooling years. This study aims to examine the direct effects of these three variables on reading comprehension and to test for the existence of indirect effects of word recognition and listening comprehension on reading comprehension via oral reading fluency in European Portuguese, an orthography of intermediate depth. A sample of 264 students was assessed at the end of grades 2 and 4. Structural equation modeling analyses indicated that listening comprehension, word recognition and oral reading fluency predicted reading comprehension in both grade 2 and grade 4. Moreover, the three variables measured in grade 2 predicted later reading comprehension in grade 4. Listening comprehension was always the strongest predictor. Oral reading fluency mediated the relationship between word recognition and reading comprehension, but it was not a mediator variable in the relationship between listening comprehension and reading comprehension. These findings indicate that, similarly to what has been found for other orthographies, the simple view of reading is a valid framework to account for reading comprehension variability in European Portuguese and that interventions to increase reading comprehension levels should focus on word recognition, fluency, and, especially, listening comprehension.     

The developmental relationship between bilingual morphological awareness and reading for Chinese EFL adult learners: a longitudinal study

The present research aimed to explore the developmental relationship between bilingual morphological awareness and reading for Chinese natives learning English as a foreign language (EFL learners). Pre- and post-tests were conducted with in an interval of 9 months. Morphological and reading measures in Chinese and English were administered to 139 participants. The results confirmed the intra-language correlations between morphological awareness and reading. The study also demonstrated that the contribution of English derivational awareness to English reading was higher than that of English compound awareness. Chinese compound morphology was found to explain a greater amount of variance of English reading in posttest than pretest. The results indicate the relationship between bilingual reading and morphological awareness was subjected to the similarities between the two languages in terms of morphological features as well as language proficiency.     

Spelling without phonology: A study of deaf and hearing children

To what extent does phonology play a role in spelling English words? The written responses of deaf students and groups of hearing children to five tasks were subjected to quantitative and qualitative analyses. The first three tasks were used to see if deaf students utilized phonology when they generated their own words and to compare their spelling performance with that of hearing subjects. The fourth and fifth tasks were designed to compare the spelling performance of deaf and hearing subjects when they were required to reproduce visually presented common words. Results showed that deaf students, who were chronologically much older, were not better spellers than hearing children from the fifth grade. Analysis of data revealed little evidence that the deaf students involved in the present study utilize phonology in spelling. Nor did word-specific visual memory for entire words appears to play a role in spelling by deaf students. Rote visual memory for letter patterns and sequences of letters within words, however, appears to play a role in the spelling by deaf students. It is concluded that sensitivity to the stochastic-dependent probabilities of letter sequences may aid spelling up to certain point but phonology is essential for spelling words whose structure is morphophonemically complex.

     

英汉音系结构对比以及对对外汉语教学的启示

英语是世界上使用最广的语言,几乎全球各国都在或多或少的使用或学习英语。而作为使用人口最多的语言,汉语在世界语言中的地位越来越高。随着汉语热潮的不断升温,大量留学生开始学习汉语和中国文化,因此将汉语和英语的音系结构进行对比分析,对英语母语者学习汉语会有一定的促进作用。     

The precursors of double dissociation between reading and spelling in a transparent orthography

Research and clinical practitioners have mixed views whether reading and spelling difficulties should be combined or seen as separate. This study examined the following: (a) if double dissociation between reading and spelling can be identified in a transparent orthography (Finnish) and (b) the cognitive and noncognitive precursors of this phenomenon. Finnish-speaking children (n?=?1963) were assessed on reading fluency and spelling in grades 1, 2, 3, and 4. Dissociation groups in reading and spelling were formed based on stable difficulties in grades 1–4. The groups were compared in kindergarten phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, letter knowledge, home literacy environment, and task-avoidant behavior. The results indicated that the double dissociation groups could be identified even in the context of a highly transparent orthography: 41 children were unexpected poor spellers (SD), 36 were unexpected poor readers (RD), and 59 were poor in both reading and spelling (RSD). The RSD group performed poorest on all cognitive skills and showed the most task-avoidant behavior, the RD group performed poorly particularly on rapid automatized naming and letter knowledge, and the SD group had difficulties on phonological awareness and letter knowledge. Fathers’ shared book reading was less frequent in the RD and RSD groups than in the other groups. The findings suggest that there are discernible double dissociation groups with distinct cognitive profiles. This further suggests that the identification of difficulties in Finnish and the planning of teaching and remediation practices should include both reading and spelling assessments.     

The role of feedback from phonology to orthography in orthographic learning: an extension of item‐based accounts

Skilled readers were trained to recognise either the oral (n=44) or visual form (n=40) of a set of 32 novel words (oral and visual instantiation, respectively). Training involved learning the ‘meanings’ for the instantiated words and was followed by a visual lexical decision task in which the instantiated words were mixed with real English words and untrained pseudowords, and the instantiated words were to be considered as words. The phonology‐to‐orthography consistency (feedback consistency) of the instantiated words was manipulated to investigate the role of feedback from phonology in orthographic learning. Masked consonant and vowel‐preserving form primes were used in the lexical decision task as probes of orthographic learning. Feedback‐consistent instantiated words were recognised significantly faster in lexical decision than feedback‐inconsistent instantiated words, and facilitation was significantly greater from consonant‐preserving than vowel‐preserving primes for orally but not visually instantiated words. The results support the hypothesis that orthographic representations based on a consonant frame can be generated from the speech signal before encountering the printed forms, and that feedback from phonology is involved in the early stages of orthographic learning.     

Lexical-semantic reading in a shallow orthography: evidence from a girl with Williams Syndrome

The reading skills of a girl with Williams Syndrome are assessed by a timed word-naming task. To test the efficiency of lexical and nonlexical reading, we considered four marker effects: Lexicality (better reading of words than nonwords), frequency (better reading of high than low frequency words), length (better reading of short than long words), and contextuality (better reading of words with one-to-one grapheme-to-phoneme mapping than words with context-sensitive graphemes). Results suggested that this girl has failed to develop efficient orthography-to-phonology mappings and is dependent upon a lexical-semantic reading procedure in which a word’s pronunciation is activated after its meaning is obtained.     

A developmental approach to reading disability: accuracy and speed criteria of normal and deficient reading skill

The constructs of accuracy and speed were adopted as performance criteria against which to define 2 clinical samples of disabled readers. Accuracy-disabled subjects had failed to achieve reliable age-appropriate word recognition skills. Rate-disabled readers were age-appropriate in word recognition accuracy but deficient in reading speed. These disabled readers were compared to fluent normal children selected to be reading at the same level of accuracy as the rate-disabled subjects but at a significantly faster rate. All aspects of the accuracy-disabled subjects' reading systems proved deficient, and these children were less able to learn new sound-symbol associations in a task simulating initial reading acquisition. The rate-disabled subjects exhibited a basic deficit in word recognition speed, compromised accuracy when reading in context, and compromised spelling when competing visual patterns were available. A multidimensional oral language impairment was found to accompany the accuracy disability, while the rate disability appeared restricted to language in its visible form and the naming of visual representations. A visual naming speed impairment was associated with both profiles of deficient reading skill.