Dyslexia in Chinese language: An overview of research and practice

Dyslexia appears to be the most prevalent disability of students with special educational needs in many mainstream classes, affecting around 9.7% of the school population in Hong Kong. The education of these students is therefore of great concern to the community. In the present paper research into dyslexia in the Chinese language is briefly reviewed, with emphasis on the cognitive characteristics of dyslexia and its manifestations, in the hope that understanding the profiles of students with dyslexia may help to lay a solid foundation for assessment, curriculum development and intervention. Recent progress in the study of the cognitive deficits of Chinese-speaking readers with dyslexia in Hong Kong and the development of assessment and intervention framework for early identification and intervention is presented. These developments shed light on dyslexia in the Chinese language and provide grounds for further work on research and practice.     

儿童阅读障碍神经科学研究对早期教育的启示

对儿童阅读障碍的研究逐渐从心理发展和认知加工角度转向利用神经科学方法来对阅读障碍的神经机制(包括脑区定位和时间进程等)进行研究。在评析阅读障碍神经机制研究的基础上分析了儿童阅读障碍研究对早期教育的启示:应重视阅读障碍对儿童发展和学业成绩的影响;应及早发现阅读障碍并利用神经可塑性研究成果制定出相关矫治计划;利用脑成像技术可检测阅读障碍矫正效果。同时,本文对汉语阅读障碍提出预防措施。     

Becoming literate in Chinese: a comparison of native‐speaking and non‐native‐speaking children

How do native Chinese‐speaking (CS) and non‐Chinese‐speaking (NCS) children learn to read and write in Chinese? In the present study, 29 CS and 34 NCS second and third graders aged 76 to 122 months (M = 93.65) participated in an experiment where they were taught 16 new Chinese characters in one of four conditions – copy, radical, phonological and look–say. Results showed that the copying condition best facilitated writing of Chinese characters for both groups, whereas radical knowledge facilitated only CS children's writing. NCS children benefited more from the phonological condition than from the look–say condition in learning to read Chinese. These results highlight the effectiveness of copying practice for all children learning to write Chinese. However, approaches to reading and writing Chinese may differ somewhat depending on the Chinese background knowledge of the children as well. Teaching children Chinese should be geared towards the strengths of different groups for learning.     

Developing a Web 2.0-based system with user-authored content for community use and teacher education

We report on an investigation into the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of an informational and instructional Website in order to generate guidelines for instructional designers of read/write Web environments. We describe the process of design and development research, the problem addressed, the theory-based solution, and the evaluation and testing of that solution. Based on our experience, we then identify sixteen guidelines for future designers and developers of read/write Web-based learning environments. The study demonstrates how read/write Web technologies can be used to address general problems that have intrinsic societal importance; examines implementation of a read/write technology in a real-life context, thereby testing distributed cognitions learning theory; informs the design of similar environments; and provides grounded theory for the design and development of read/write Web learning environments.     

Phonological and Surface Subtypes among University Students with Dyslexia

The prevalence of phonological and surface dyslexia subtypes among Swedish university students with dyslexia (n = 40) was examined using both the regression method, developed by Castles and Coltheart, and latent profile analysis. When an academic‐level control group was used as a reference group in a regression, eight students with phonological dyslexia and 15 students with surface dyslexia were identified. In contrast, 17 students with phonological dyslexia and two students with surface dyslexia were identified when the subtypes were defined by reference to a reading‐level control group, indicating a deviant profile among the students with phonological dyslexia and delayed development among those with surface dyslexia. The latent profile analysis was based on five phonological and four orthographic tasks. Seven profiles were obtained, of which none exhibited deficits in orthographic but not in phonological skills or vice versa. Thus, the analysis further supported the phonological deficit hypothesis of dyslexia.     

发展性阅读障碍亚类型的研究

发展性阅读障碍是关系人类健康和发展的重要课题。多年来研究者试图寻找这个群体中发生困难的真正原因,希望从根本上解决阅读落后问题和消除阅读障碍。但是研究者发现阅读障碍群体内部具有很大的变异性。文章在简介了当今具有代表性的两种流派对阅读障碍原因的解释和相应的研究证据后,着重阐述了阅读障碍的亚类型的发展历史、研究者对亚类型的划分以及不同亚类型在语言技能上、一般感知能力和生理机制方面的差异,并且阐述了亚类型研究对阅读障碍早期预测的作用,为根本消除阅读障碍提供了新的视角。     

Longitudinal Stability of Phonological and Surface Subtypes of Developmental Dyslexia

Limited evidence supports the external validity of the distinction between developmental phonological and surface dyslexia. We previously identified children ages 8 to 13 meeting criteria for these subtypes (Peterson, Pennington, & Olson, 2013) and now report on their reading and related skills approximately 5 years later. Longitudinal stability of subtype membership was fair and appeared stronger for phonological than surface dyslexia. Phonological dyslexia was associated with a pronounced phonological awareness deficit, but subgroups otherwise had similar cognitive profiles. Subtype did not inform prognosis. Results provide modest evidence for the validity of the distinction, although not for its clinical utility.     

Developmental Outcomes for Children at High Risk of Dyslexia and Children With Developmental Language Disorder

We followed children at family risk of dyslexia and children with preschool language difficulties from age 3½, comparing them with controls (N = 234). At age 8, children were classified as having dyslexia or Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) and compared at earlier time points with controls. Children with dyslexia have specific difficulties with phonology and emergent reading skills in the preschool period, whereas children with DLD, with or without dyslexia, show a wider range of impairments including significant problems with executive and motor tasks. For children with both dyslexia and DLD, difficulties with phonology are generally more severe than those observed in children with dyslexia or DLD alone. Findings confirm that poor phonology is the major cognitive risk factor for dyslexia.     

Cognitive modelling and the behaviour genetics of reading

While it is well known that reading is highly heritable, less has been understood about the bases of these genetic influences. In this paper, we review the research that we have been conducting in recent years to examine genetic and environmental influences on the particular reading processes specified in the dual‐route cognitive model of reading. We argue that a detailed understanding of the role of genetic factors in reading acquisition requires the delineation and measurement of precise phenotypes, derived from well‐articulated models of the reading process. We report evidence for independent genetic influences on the lexical and nonlexical reading processes represented in the dual‐route model, based on studies of children with particular subtypes of dyslexia, and on univariate and multivariate genetic modelling of reading performance in the normally reading population.     

Neuropsychological treatment of dyslexia: does type of treatment matter?

In this study, 123 children with a diagnosis of developmental dyslexia were assigned to different treatment groups, either variations of Bakker's intervention program based on the balance model or a control, a specific reading training group. Thorough cognitive and neuropsychological assessment allowed determination of the subtype of dyslexia according to the balance model and the neuropsychological profile with respect to reading and spelling abilities, verbal memory, and phonemic awareness. Characteristics of hemisphere-specific stimulation were systematically manipulated in an effort to shed light on the bases and mechanisms of reading improvement. It was shown that the effects of treatment vary according to type of dyslexia and that the different intervention programs have differential effects on reading-related neuropsychological functions. Since opposite effects can be produced by the same type of treatment in different dyslexia subtypes, the results of the study suggest that accurate classification of subtype on the base of reading and reading-related variables is advantageous for an optimal planning of the therapy.     

Protective Factors and Compensation in Resolving Dyslexia

ABSTRACT

Two explanations for resolving dyslexia were investigated, one assuming resolving underlying deficits and another assuming compensatory mechanisms based on cognitive strengths. Thirty-six Dutch gifted secondary-school students with either persistent (n = 18) or resolving (n = 18) dyslexia participated. Groups, matched on IQ, were assessed on dyslexia- and intelligence-related cognitive risk and protective factors. Findings for the risk factors showed support for both the resolving-deficit and compensatory-mechanism theories: Resolving and persistent groups were comparable on phoneme deletion and nonalphanumeric rapid automatized naming, but resolvers outperformed students with persistent dyslexia on spoonerisms and alphanumeric rapid automatized naming. For the protective factors, resolvers consistently showed more pronounced cognitive strengths in verbal areas relevant for literacy development, which is in line with the compensatory-mechanism theory. We conclude that, besides underlying deficits resolving to some extent, compensation is a plausible explanation for resolving literacy difficulties in gifted students.     

Nonsense passage reading as a diagnostic aid in the study of adult familial dyslexia

We examined Nonsense-Passage oral reading in adults, using data derived from new and previously published studies (Finucci et al 1976, Gross-Glenn et al 1985). Time-scores and error-frequency data are presented for five samples of non-dyslexic readers with a minimum of a high-school education and no childhood history of dyslexia (N=127). Considerable uniformity is demonstrated across these samples, and reading performance of non-dyslexic individuals contrasts sharply with that observed in four samples of adult familial dyslexics. Both affected and compensated-affected dyslexic subjects read the passages significantly more slowly and with more errors than did nondyslexic readers. Results are discussed in relation to the cognitive and neural processes that may underlie this specific reading difficulty in dyslexics. We have found Nonsense-Passage reading to be especially useful in family studies of inherited dyslexia as a means of quantifying oral reading deficits in adults who have learned to compensate for their children reading difficulties.     

Help for a dyslexic learner from an unlikely source: the study of Ancient Greek

This paper recounts the process by which a severely reading‐disabled adult student taught himself to read and write Ancient Greek, and in so doing, improved his ability to read and write in English. Initially, Keith's reading and writing were slow, difficult and inaccurate, accompanied by visual disturbance. However, motivated by a strong interest in Ancient Greek literature and philosophical ideas, Keith enlisted me (his Faculty's academic skills adviser) to help him learn the language. Working on transliteration focused Keith's attention on the alphabetic principle separately from meaning, while practising translation focused on the formal markers of meaning. Relieved of the stress of performing under pressures of time and others' expectations, Keith made good progress with Greek and, after 6 months, found himself reading more fluently in English, without visual disturbance. This paper seeks to contribute to our knowledge of how adults learn to read, looking at the interplay of motivation, phonological awareness, knowledge of how form conveys meaning, and the learning environment. It both draws upon, and raises questions for, the neuroscientific study of dyslexia.     

The role of orthographic analogies in reading for meaning: evidence from readers with dyslexia

The aim of this experiment was to investigate the use of orthographic analogies in conditions that involved making sense of print (picture‐word matching) and pronouncing print (reading aloud) for readers with dyslexia. An adapted version of the classic clue‐word paradigm developed by Goswami was used. Participants were 40 readers with dyslexia and 40 reading‐age‐matched comparison readers. Based on previous theory and research in this area, we predicted that readers with dyslexia would read significantly fewer analogous words than their reading‐age‐matched counterparts. In light of the supposition that word‐picture matching does not require the synthesised pronunciation of a word, we also predicted that readers with dyslexia might be less impaired at analogy use in the picture‐word matching than in the reading aloud condition. However, we found that the dyslexic group read significantly fewer analogous words at post‐test than their reading‐age‐matched peers in both conditions. Also, performance in overall word reading was better for both groups in the word‐picture matching condition. The implications of these results for theory and practice in reading development are discussed, and methodological limitations are noted.     

Influence of Verbal Working Memory Depends on Vocabulary: Oral Reading Fluency in Adolescents With Dyslexia

Most research on dyslexia to date has focused on early childhood, while comparatively little is known about the nature of dyslexia in adolescence. The current study had two objectives. The first was to investigate the relative contributions of several cognitive and linguistic factors to connected‐text oral reading fluency in a sample of adolescents with dyslexia (n = 77). The second was to test the hypothesis that the effect of verbal working memory on connected‐text oral reading fluency is moderated by word‐level skills and/or vocabulary knowledge. The results suggest that many deficits associated with childhood dyslexia remain prominent in adolescence, but the nature of the relationships between key cognitive and linguistic predictors (i.e., word‐level reading, vocabulary, verbal working memory) and reading fluency appear to be different in adolescence. For example, while word‐level skills remain a significant predictor, the strength of the effect is relatively weak. In contrast, the data support an increased role for vocabulary and verbal working memory, including an interaction between these factors. The presence of an interaction can be interpreted as evidence that the influence of verbal working memory on connected‐text oral reading fluency in adolescents with dyslexia depends on individual differences in vocabulary knowledge. These results offer support for the changing nature of dyslexia across development, and suggest that researchers should study dyslexia in adolescents on its own terms, rather than treating it as an extension of reading problems in early childhood.     

古代名家竞书《千字文》的文化现象解读

《千字文》是一本简单的蒙学读物,但古代很多书法家都竞相书写《千字文》。历史上有的书法家甚至用毕生的精力来创作一部能流传千古的《千字文》书法作品,这种文化现象可以称之为中国书法史上的"千字文"现象。历代大家竞书《千字文》基本上是在继承前人书法艺术的基础上"守正出新",促进了传统书法艺术的传播,同时也促进了《千字文》的传播,提高了《千字文》的知名度,使得文与书法有机地结合。     

The Universal and the unique in dyslexia: A cross-linguistic investigation of reading and reading fluency in Hebrew-and English-speaking children with reading disorders

Cross-linguistic studies provide a unique tool for the identification of universal processes in oral and written language, both in development and in breakdown (Annual Review of psychology, 52, 369–396). Examining the differential strengths and weaknesses of children with dyslexia in contrasting orthographies can help illumine both the more universal aspects of reading disabilities, as well as their individual language-specific attributes. The aim of this study, was to investigate the shared and distinctive characteristics of readers with dyslexia on reading and reading fluency across Hebrew and English orthographies. Differences between 60 Hebrew and English-speaking children with dyslexia on a battery of cognitive, linguistic, and reading measures will be discussed along with theoretical implications.     

How do teachers in Ireland and England conceptualise dyslexia?

This paper presents the findings of a comparative study using data from questionnaire surveys carried out in England (n=57) and Ireland (n=72). The researchers examine how teachers and teaching assistants who are currently teaching pupils with dyslexia in primary schools describe dyslexia and what may have influenced their conceptualisation. The paper examines teachers' responses both in terms of how they view their pupils presenting difficulties in the classroom, and how far they link these to underlying differences in cognitive processing. The researchers suggest ways in which this might influence their teaching in terms of methodology. Findings have been mapped to the Morton and Frith causal modelling framework. The implications of these findings for the training and support of teachers are discussed in the light of recent national initiatives to improve the teaching of dyslexic pupils in both countries.     

The right and wrong places to look for the cognitive locus of reading disability

A coherent conception of dyslexia has been difficult to arrive at because research findings have continually created logical paradoxes for the psychometric definition of reading disability. One such paradox is that cognitive research has undermined the assumption of specificity in the definition of dyslexia. The assumption of specificity is the underlying premise that the cognitive problems characteristic of the dyslexic child are reasonably specific to the reading task and do not implicate broader domains of cognitive functioning. This paper demonstrates how to develop hypotheses about the cognitive deficits of dyslexic children that do not undermine the assumption of specificity. Phonological awareness is explored as one candidate process. It is argued that in order to avoid the pitfalls surrounding the assumption of specificity three things are important: 1) We must understand the operation of Matthew effects in education (rich-get-richer and poor-get-poorer effects); 2) Strict psychometric criteria must be used to define dyslexia; 3) We must continually be aware that dyslexia does not demarcate a discrete category, separate from other groups of poor readers, but represents the outcome of the application of an arbitrary criterion in a continuous distribution.     

Preschool predictors of dyslexia status in Chinese first graders with high or low familial risk

The present 4-year longitudinal study examined preschool predictors of Grade 1 dyslexia status in a Chinese population in Hong Kong where children started learning to read at the age of three. Seventy-five and 39 Chinese children with high and low familial risk respectively were tested on Chinese word reading, oral language skills, morphological awareness, phonological skills, rapid naming, and print-related skills from age 4 to 6 and a standardized dyslexia test at age 7. Results showed that children of the high risk group performed significantly worse than the low risk group in Chinese literacy, phonological awareness, and orthographic skills at age 7. All the children with dyslexia had word reading difficulties in at least one preschool year. Results of the logistic regression showed that preschool verbal production, syllable deletion, and letter naming were the best predictors of dyslexia outcome at age 7. As in alphabetic languages, preschool oral language skills like verbal production, phonological skills, and print-related skills are the most significant predictors of children’s later reading difficulties.