Indian students learning to read English: an analysis using the simple view of reading

The simple view of reading hypothesises that reading comprehension is predicted by decoding and language abilities. In this study, 257 fifth‐grade English‐language learners (Ells) in south‐central India were assessed on reading and language measures. Using a model of the simple view, we fit the data using path analysis to determine the extent to which it predicts reading comprehension. Results show that the effect of listening vocabulary on reading comprehension is mediated by listening comprehension, while the effect of word reading fluency on reading comprehension is mediated by passage reading fluency. The final path model explains 33.8% of the variance in reading comprehension. Results are discussed in relation to previous studies.     

Developmental considerations in learning to read

Despite the fact that much is yet to be learned about how language is acquired, it is a task most children master with little difficulty and certainly without formal instruction.Marie Cashion is an Assistant Professor at the University of New Brunswick. Ruth Eagan is also a Professor at the University of New Brunswick.     

Development of an informal learning opportunities assay

Learning that takes place outside the formal classroom, called informal learning, has been a difficult parameter to assess due to the heterogeneous nature of the subjects and everyday learning situations. To date, no instrument has been developed to effectively examine the wide variety of informal experiences a child may encounter. Central to this study was the development and field testing of such an instrument, the Informal Learning Opportunities Assay (ILOA). The ILOA was administered to a total of 2128 middle and high school students and was found to be ethnically neutral, easily scored, and flexible in design to accommodate practitioners and researchers. The instrument was found to provide a reliable assessment of informal learning opportunities.     

Exploring children's learning stories as an assessment method for research and practice

The purpose of this study was to apply and explore, in the context of an Icelandic preschool, the methods developed by the New Zealand Te Whaariki curriculum to assess children's well‐being and learning dispositions. This article describes the process of piloting learning stories as a research method, where researchers and preschool teachers cooperate in generating data. Data were generated by means of interviews, observations and documentation, following a research process in which learning stories were documented, reflected upon and analysed by the researchers and teachers, where possible in cooperation with the four‐ to five‐year‐old children. The learning stories were constructed and analysed using the five domains of learning dispositions identified in the Te Whaariki curriculum. The study asks how a collaborative approach to assessing children's well‐being and learning dispositions could be used in preschools both for professional learning and for research purposes. The findings show children as skilful communicators who are capable of finding solutions and reacting to various situations arising from the social context of the preschool. The study demonstrates that documenting children's learning stories enables researchers to focus on children's strengths and capabilities, and adds to preschool teachers' knowledge of individual children and groups.     

Civic rhythms in an informal,media-rich learning program

Increasingly, adult mentors in informal, media-rich settings, like libraries and museums, seek to integrate both learning and civic engagement opportunities for youth into designed programming. This article illustrates how youth open and sustain opportunities for civic engagement over the course of a six-month, youth-driven program – Metro: Building Blocks (MBB) – housed within a digital media learning lab in an urban public library. Analysis develops the concept of civic rhythms as a means to feel out the social and affective contours of civic engagement that emerge in MBB. To better understand the civic rhythms of MBB, analysis focuses specifically on three rhythmic elements: pulsation, reciprocation, and oscillation. The article concludes suggesting that future research develop principles for designing-in-time that assist researchers and mentors in attuning to the youth-driven rhythms that sustain informal, media-rich programs.     

The influence of home on learning to read

Large scale investigations into home variables and educational success frequently demonstrate relationships between global factors such as socio-economic status, education of parents, etc. and general educational achievement, of which attainment in reading is often taken as an index. This paper reports a small but detailed study of home influences on the early stages of learning to read within the context of the Bristol Longitudinal Language Development Research Programme. Data were derived from three sources: interviews with the parents when the children were aged 5 and 7 years; regular recordings of spontaneous conversation at home between 3 %and 5 years; assessments of reading at 5 and 7 years. Attainment in reading at age 7 was found to be strongly predicted by knowledge of literacy on entry to school, and this in turn to be predicted by parental interest in literacy and quality of verbal interaction with the child in the preschool years. The child's own pre-school interest in literacy was not found to be strongly associated with later success. The significance of these findings is discussed.     

Nature and importance of the logographic phase in learning to read

The purpose of this study was to determine the natureand role of knowledge constructed by the child at thevery beginning of his or her contact with printedwords, i.e., during the logographic phase. The resultsof four experiments conducted with 5-year-oldsprovided no supporting evidence for global processingof words. They did suggest, however, that childrenrely on the letters in words, which act as wordidentifiers. A few letters appear to suffice,particularly if they are rare or in word-initialposition. Moreover, letter order is not processed bysome children. The results as a whole indicate thatthe letters in a word serve as its identifying visualproperties as long as, for the child, the solefunction of the written language is to encode meaning.This phase appears to be crucial in learning to read,since it supplies the precursors upon which lateracquisitions are based.     

Levels of phonological awareness and learning to read

The paper reports studies of segmentation performance by a Nursery group of children, who had not yet started to learn to read, and by Primary 1 and 2 groups, who were in the early stages of learning by a standard method of whole word acquisition combined with letter-sound learning. Rhyme and alliteration production tasks were applied, together with segmentation tasks requiring division of monosyllabic words or non-words of simple or complex structure into two parts, three parts, or as many parts as possible. Performance was related to the hierarchical model of the syllable which distinguishes a two-dimensional (2D) level (onset/rime), a three-dimensional (3D) level (initial consonants, vowel, terminal consonants) and many-dimensional (nD) level (phonemes). The hypothesis that phonological awareness (PA) normally develops down the hierarchy, from larger to smaller units, predicts that segmentation ability should emerge in the sequence 2D 3D nD. In practice, the reverse of this order was found. The results are discussed in relation to theories of the relationship between literacy development and the different levels of PA.     

Study to minimize learning progress differences in software learning class using PLITAZ system

This study developed a system using two-phased strategies called ??Pause Lecture, Instant Tutor-Tutee Match, and Attention Zone?? (PLITAZ). This system was used to help solve learning challenges and to minimize learning progress differences in a software learning class. During a teacher??s lecture time, students were encouraged to anonymously express their desire to pause the lecture, or to take a short break, in order to catch up with a teacher??s lecture. A simple proportion of one-third of the class was found to be a suitable pause-lecture threshold to prevent learning progress differences from becoming too great as well as to provide enough peer tutorial resources. During students?? practice time, an instant tutor-tutee match strategy extended tutorial resources, which took 60% workload from the teacher. Meanwhile, the attention zone (AZ) strategy helped the teacher to identify students with low levels of learning progress, as AZ students who needed more attention. It was found that AZ student numbers had a negative relation to overall learning achievement. Furthermore, 49% of the identified AZ students who received PLITAZ strategies experienced improved learning progress over identified non-AZ students. Overall learning progress differences were significantly minimized with the Instant Tutor-Tutee Match and Attention Zone strategies.     

Children’s concepts of language in learning to read

Conclusion To summarize, acceptance of reading as secondary to, and dependent on, the primary activities of speaking and listening does not mean that reading is simply speech in print, albeit reading is a language-based activity. Listening and speaking seem to proceed from the meaning of the discourse to analysis; whereas written language comprehension proceeds from analysis to meaning, at least for some beginning readers and some poor readers. Analysis of speech takes place at the unconscious or tacit level; conscious analysis of segments of print (sentences, phrases, words, syllables and phonemes) is often required in reading, especially at the initial stage. Good readers pass this decoding stage relatively effortlessly; poor readers may still need to deal with the mechanics of reading before these become automatic. Thus, while children should be introduced to reading through a variety of rich language experiences, there should be a parallel process of the development of subskills. This paper was presented at the 29th Annual Conference of The Orton Society in Minneapolis, November 1978.     

Exploring the uses of mobile phones to support informal learning

This paper explores how a group of undergraduate students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) use their mobile phones to perform informal learning activities related to the content of their courses outside the classroom. The paper also addresses the usefulness of informal learning activities to support students’ learning. The study adopts an exploratory case study design and uses multiple methods of data collection including questionnaires, interviews and diary entries. Main findings suggest that students performed informal learning activities mostly from home, interacting mainly with classmates. It also shows that students were in control of their informal learning activities without teachers’ input. However, it was found that students used only a limited number of applications but these were considered useful to their learning. The paper contributes to a discussion of the implications of training and instructor support to help students to take more advantage of mobile phone applications to support informal learning. Recommendations for further research are discussed.     

Teachers' attitude to and knowledge of metalinguistics in the process of learning to read

The aim of the current research was to examine pre‐service, general and special education teachers' attitudes to and knowledge of metalinguistics (awareness of language structure) in the process of learning to read. Effective teachers of reading, writing, and spelling need to understand the relationship between speech and print because these basic language processes are often deficient in cases of reading failure. Teachers also need to be knowledgeable in this area to benefit from psychologist and specialist reports. Using a questionnaire adapted from the Teacher attitudes about early reading and spelling survey and the Survey of linguistic knowledge, 93 pre‐service teachers; 209 general teachers and 38 special education teachers were surveyed. Results indicate a positive attitude to but poor knowledge of metalinguistics in the process of learning to read. Special education teachers performed significantly higher than both other groups on aspects of attitude and knowledge.