Learning to read

This paper traces the philosophical and programmatic evolution of Pratham's accelerated reading programme ‘Read India’. It outlines the experiences that led to the development of the accelerated reading technique and the organizational contexts in which this approach has been played out.     

Learning to read

Summary Reading begins with the child’s acquisition of spoken language. Later he learns to differentiate the graphic symbols from one another and to decode these to familiar speech sounds. As he learns the code, he must progressively utilize the structural constraints which are built into it in order to attain the skilled performance which is characterized by processing of higher-order units—the spelling and morphological patterns of the language. Because of my firm conviction that good pedagogy is based on a deep understanding of the discipline to be taught and the nature of the learning process involved, I have tried to show that the psychology of reading can benefit from a program of theoretical analysis and experiment. An analysis of the reading task—its discriminatory and decoding aspects as well as the semantic and syntactical aspects—tells uswhat must be learned. An analysis of the learning process tells ushow. The consideration of formal instruction comes only after these steps, and its precepts should follow from them. This article is adapted from a paper used at a conference on Perceptual and Linguistic Aspects of Reading, sponsored by the Committee on Learning and the Educational Process of the Social Science Research Council and held at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Palo Alto, California, 31, October 1963. Reprinted by permission of the Author and Publisher from Science, V. 148, No. 3673, 21 May 1965.     

Beginning to read across languages varying in orthographic consistency: Comparing the effects of non-cognitive and cognitive predictors

We examined whether the effect that different non-cognitive and cognitive factors have on reading acquisition varies as a function of orthographic consistency. Canadian (n = 77) and Greek (n = 95) children attending kindergarten were examined on general cognitive ability, phonological sensitivity, and letter knowledge. The parents of the children responded to a questionnaire on home literacy activities and the teachers reported on children's task-focused behaviour. In Grades 1 and 2 the children's word decoding and reading fluency were assessed. Results indicated that direct teaching of letter names and sounds at home was associated with better letter knowledge in both languages. Task-focused behaviour and letter knowledge in kindergarten predicted significantly nonword decoding in Grade 1, but their effect was stronger in English than in Greek. This pattern was not replicated for reading fluency in Grade 2.     

Learning to read in Australia

Abstract

Reading scientists have learned a good deal over the past 40 years about how children learn to read, why some find this so hard, and how such children can be helped. But this science has not reached many classrooms. National governments in the USA, UK and Australia have all recently been so concerned about the incidence of poor reading ability amongst their children that they have commissioned national surveys of reading and the teaching of reading. The Australian review committee issued its report and recommendations in December 2005. The report found that in most teacher training courses around Australia very little time was devoted to material on how children learn to read and how best to teach them, and that a majority of senior staff in schools consider that beginning teachers are not adequately prepared to teach children to read. The report recommended various ways in which this problem might be solved; and it also recommended, on the basis of a review of relevant research, that the teaching of reading in Australian schools should always include in the early years extensive systematic explicit instruction in synthetic phonics. We await implementation of these recommendations.     

Learning to read: a professional learning journey

This article reports on a study that investigated a professional development initiative in Australia to address a decline in reading comprehension scores in the middle and upper years of Primary school. It describes the professional learning journey of a middle primary teacher and his literacy coach over a period of 12 months as they worked to improve the teacher’s knowledge and skills to explicitly teach reading comprehension. A series of classroom observations and interviews at the beginning, middle and end of the school year were analysed for the kinds of reading skills taught and the nature of the instruction. The data suggest that there were significant changes in the teacher’s pedagogical repertoires and practices and an observed improvement in the student’s understandings of different comprehension knowledge, skills and strategies.     

Learning to be a good orthographic reader

Recent years have brought about rapid advances in our understanding of reading and how it develops, particularly in relation to the importance of alphabetic coding skills. However, much less has been known about the transition from alphabetic decoding to the rapid and automatic orthographic recognition of words, which is the hallmark of skilled reading. The purpose of this special issue is to focus specifically on orthographic processes in reading and how they are acquired. The present paper provides an overview of the special issue, drawing attention to key themes that run through the various contributions.     

Visual and orthographic information in learning to read and the influence of phonics instruction

In the Jackson and Coltheart theory of acquisition of word reading it is claimed that, near the beginning of the partial alphabetic phase of development, children have full use of abstract letter units (ALUs). This claim and less exclusive alternatives were examined. In Experiment 1, normal progress children with on average 9 months of school reading instruction, either with or without explicit phonics, read with moderate accuracy (orthographically) familiar words in upper-case letters (e.g., AND) that are visually dissimilar from their lower-case forms. Lower-case forms were read with greater accuracy but only for familiar words, there being no letter-case effect for less familiar words. Children with explicit phonics showed less impairment in reading accuracy when words were presented in upper-case form than children without such phonics. Children with on average 22 months of instruction, in Experiment 2, read relatively unfamiliar words that required some phonological mediation. Those without explicit phonics instruction read words with digraphs in unfamiliar upper case less accurately than in lower case, while those with explicit phonics showed no such letter-case difference. The results supported the view that children do not have full use of ALUs in early alphabetic reading, both children with and without explicit phonics to some extent using letter identities specific to lower case for representation of familiar words.     

Learning to read: a psycholinguistic analysis of transitional processing

In the last decade a shift in view of the reading process, from basically an‘analytic’to a‘constructivist-psycholinguistic’view, has become apparent. The basis of this shift is analysed. The question of whether the process of learning-to-read, i.e. the transition from initial reading to fluent reading, can be understood in the same light is raised. It is argued that although the process of learning-to-read can be viewed essentially as a constructive process, developmental constraints require a modified view of the róle of constituent processing strategies. Implications of this modified view are suggested for the evaluation and teaching of reading.     

Learning to read: Evidence on the distinction between decoding and comprehension skills

The paper focuses on the importance of distinguishing between decoding and comprehension skills in reading. This distinction can also be applied to the study of precursors of reading and of the first phases of reading acquisition. The reconsideration of a 15-year research program shows evidence and implications of such a dissociation. In particular, the paper reviews psychometric research concerning reading performance in first and second grade, research on precursors of reading, the effects of early programs devoted to develop reading abilities. Decoding and comprehension reading components appear at least partially separated, related to different underlying cognitive abilities, differently sensitive to enrichment programs.     

Learning to read politically: narratives of hope and narratives of despair in Push by Sapphire

The ability to shift reading position has long been recognised as a means for politically minded readers – particularly those motivated by Marxist, feminist and/or race-related agendas – to read against the grain and uncover the implicit ideologies in the text. Little research has been conducted on how inexperienced and thus less sophisticated readers learn to make strategic decisions about how they will respond to the reading position offered by the text. Reading against the grain is a highly sophisticated reading practice which cannot be mastered successfully before the reader is able to simultaneously recognise the communicative practices of the author and reject the proffered viewpoint. This paper begins by examining how the novel Push by Sapphire (1996) encourages readers to try out more than one reading position, and in doing so enables her readers to gain the prerequisite skills for future political readings.     

Context effects on heterophonic-homography resolution in learning to read hebrew

The paper examines the role of context in reading unpointed Hebrew, demonstrating the changing nature of reliance on context during the course of reading acquisition. We analyze the reading-aloud of sentences with heterographic-homographic ambiguity, aiming to shed light on the development of ambiguity resolution processes in typically developing schoolaged and adult populations. 171 Hebrew-speaking children and adolescents in seven age/schooling groups (beginning and end of second grade, third, fourth, seventh, and eleventh grade), and a group of adults, participated in the study. Using homographic garden-path and non-Garden-path sentences, we demonstrate the cumulative effect of context as well as processes of monitoring cum reanalysis. Two hypotheses are borne out in the present research: First, context effect is inherent to reading; it is present throughout all age/grade groups, becoming more efficient with age/grade level. Second, monitoring and reanalysis lag far behind context effects, appearing only as age and reading experience increase.     

Listening previewing in reading to read: Relative effects on oral reading fluency

An intervention designed to increase oral reading fluency (Reading to Read; RTR) as well as the additional component of listening previewing (PRV) was evaluated in an alternating treatments design with 3 African-American male elementary students (9, 10, and 12 years of age; 2 fourth grade and 1 third grade) who were reading 2 to 3 years below their current grade placement. Considering the relatively brief amount of time spent during intervention (4 to 9 weeks; 2 to 3 30-minute sessions per week), results evidenced substantial increases for all 3 students on correct words per minute and percent comprehension accuracy, and substantial decreases in mean number of errors. The PRV condition yielded higher correct words per minute rates and lower error rates for 2 of the students, whereas the third student's performance was superior with the regular RTR intervention without PRV. The efficacy of PRV within RTR is discussed with regard to factors related to students' attentional problems.     

浅析网络资源在俄语自主学习中的应用

21世纪是信息的社会,是网络的世界。信息的获取、传递、加工、存贮和应用将成为现代人最基本的能力和文化水平的标志。信息的最大来源是因特网。网络具有多样性、共享性、扩展性和交互性,有利于自主发现学习、协商合作学习和实践创造学习的展开。如何利用网络资源进行外语学习成为人们关注的话题。许多人上网学习外语不得法,既浪费了大量宝贵时间,又未能找到所需材料。本文就利用网络资源的意义和如何充分利用网络资源自主学习俄语展开探讨。     

Learning to read in composite (multigrade) classes in New Zealand: teachers make the difference

This study examined why students in composite, as compared to single-year, classes in New Zealand elementary schools show slightly lower reading performance. Using a multiple case study design, we compared the ranges of students’ reading abilities and the nature of teachers’ groupings, as well as other aspects of instruction, in pairs of composite and single-year classes drawn from each of nine elementary schools. Contrary to our expectations, we found little evidence of a greater range of abilities in composite than in single-year classes, little evidence of less homogeneous ability groups for reading in composite classes, and little evidence that teachers of composite classes had difficulty catering for the needs of individual students. Composite classes do not appear to contribute to lower achievement, at least as far as reading is concerned. Whether a class is composite or single-year matters less than the nature and quality of instruction in the classroom, whatever the within-class variability in achievement.     

Towards an understanding of how children read and spell irregular words: the role of nonword and orthographic processing skills

This study examined, in 180 children aged from 6 to 9 years, to what extent irregular word reading and spelling were predicted by vocabulary knowledge, reading frequency, orthographic processing and nonword reading skill. Consistent with models of reading highlighting the quasi‐regular nature of irregular words, it was found that nonword reading was a large and significant predictor of irregular word reading even when entered into a regression analysis after all of the other variables. However, irregular word spelling was equally well predicted by orthographic and nonword reading skills. The results are discussed in relation to models of word reading and reading development.