A longitudinal analysis of English language learners’ word decoding and reading comprehension

This longitudinal investigation examined word decoding and reading comprehension measures from first grade through sixth grade for a sample of Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs). The sample included 261 children (average age of 7.2 years; 120 boys; 141 girls) at the initial data collection in first grade. The ELLs’ word decoding and reading comprehension scores showed quadratic growth over the course of the study. The sample’s reading comprehension, but not their word decoding, began to fall behind the normative sample starting in the third grade. Phonological awareness, rapid automatic naming (RAN), and oral language measures were used as predictors and correlated with growth rates in a manner consistent with past research.     

The effects of morphology and word length on the reading of Hebrew nominals

This article investigated the effects of twospecific Hebrew nominal word structures andword length, on the latency and accuracy ofgrade school children's reading ofwords. For this study, three-, four- and five-letterwords of the feminine nominalderivative structure and the feminine nominalinflectional structure, at three differentgrade levels, were used. The study alsodifferentiated between an additional vocalizedconsonant and the addition of a vowel letter.The participants, 150 native monolingual Hebrewspeakers in grades two, four and six, wereasked to read vocalized nouns. The paperreports and analyzes the differences in thereading of the two morphological structures andword lengths to draw conclusions about theireffects on reading performance. The resultsindicated that inflections took longer to readand elicited more correct responses thanderivations. For derivations with theprogression of grade level, latency becomesshorter and the number of correct responsesincreases. For inflections with the progressionof grade level, latency becomes longer but thenumber of correct responses increases. With theaddition of a consonant at all grade levels,latency becomes longer. For accuracy, therewere differential results for the differentword lengths in the different grades. With theaddition of a vowel letter, accuracy increasedin all the grade levels. Latency, for the twoword lengths, showed differential results inthe different grades. A hypothesis on readingdevelopment is suggested based on the language-specificcharacteristics of Hebrew morphologyand the double vowel system of Hebrew.     

The role of phonological memory,word recognition,and comprehension skills in reading development: from preschool to grade 2

We examined the relationships among phonologicalawareness, phonological memory, and development ofreading skills in a longitudinal study, by following222 Finnish preschoolers through the grade 2.The main focus was on the role of phonological memoryin word recognition and comprehension. The skillsassessed were verbal abilities, phonological memory,phonological awareness, word recognition, listeningand reading comprehension, altogether comprising themost extensive set of variables so far used in thestudy of phonological memory and reading. We proposeda structural equation model for the developmentalrelationships among the variables. This model waslargely confirmed by the data. The most significantpredictor of word recognition was phonologicalawareness. Phonological memory had only a weak effecton phonological awareness at preschool age, andvia this connection, a weak indirect effect on grade 1 word recognition. Contrary toexpectations, phonological memory also had asignificant, albeit weak effect on grade 2word recognition. Phonological memory did notdirectly affect reading comprehension. However,it was strongly related to listeningcomprehension at preschool, and via the strongeffects of both listening comprehension and wordrecognition on reading comprehension, there weresignificant indirect effects of phonological memory onreading comprehension. The results also underline thestability of development of phonological memory, wordrecognition, and comprehension from preschool to theend of grade 2.     

Use of context in the word recognition process by adults with a significant history of reading difficulties

We examined whether university students who report a significant history of reading difficulties (RD; n = 24) differed from university students with no history of reading difficulties (NRD; n = 31) in how sentence context affects word recognition. Experiment 1 found no differences in how congruent sentence primes or syntactic manipulations of the sentence primes affected the performance of the two groups. However, only the RD group displayed a significant inhibition effect when the target word was preceded by an incongruent sentence prime. Experiment 2 found that the groups differed in how meaning frequency of the target word and context strength of the sentence prime affected word recognition latencies. The results suggest that the RD participants’ performance is context-sensitive and better explained by interactive models of language processing than by modular models.     

The role of decoding in reading research and instruction

This paper introduces the special issue on decoding by discussing the role of decoding in the framework of reading research and current instructional issues. It briefly describes the contributions of the seven authors by presenting their key conceptions related to typical and atypical learners. The paper emphasizes the importance of decoding as part of the reading and language arts curriculum and provides instructional implications. Decoding is especially important to consider at this time, since instruction in reading, throughout the United States, is all but excluding systematic decoding instruction as it moves to the whole language, literature-based approaches. While many children may learn to read without difficulty using literature-based approaches, many children may fail to pick up the code.     

Word learning: An ERP investigation of word experience effects on recognition and word processing

Adults of varying reading comprehension skill learned a set of previously unknown rare English words (e.g., gloaming) in three different learning conditions in which the type of word knowledge was manipulated. The words were presented in one of three conditions: (1) orthography-to-meaning (no phonology); (2) orthography-to-phonology (no meaning); and (3) phonology-to-meaning (no orthography). Following learning, participants made meaning judgments on the learned words, familiar known words, and unpresented (unlearned) rare words while their ERPs were recorded. The behavioral results showed no significant effects of comprehension skill on meaning judgment performance. Contrastingly, the ERP results indicated comprehension skill differences in P600 amplitude; high-skilled readers showed stronger familiarity effects for learned words, whereas less-skilled readers did not distinguish between learned words, familiar words, and unlearned words. Evidence from the P600 and N400 illustrated superior learning of meaning when meaning information was coupled with orthography rather than phonology. These results suggest that the availability of word knowledge (orthography, phonology, and meaning) at learning affects subsequent word identification processes when the words are encountered in a new context.     

Prefixes as access units in visual word recognition: A comparison of Italian and Dutch data

Two experiments were conducted to compare morphological processing of skilled and less skilled Dutch readers. Prefixes and suffixes provide morphological information concerning meaning and/or function of the word stem. There is some empirical support for the hypothesis that these sublexical access units are functionally involved in the process of word recognition. The present study focuses on the role of prefixes as access units in visual word recognition. Adult skilled Dutch readers and elementary school children were presented a lexical decision task using polysyllabic word and nonword items. Prefix Frequency (high/low) and Prefix Quality (true/pseudo prefix ratio) were manipulated. Evidence for differential use of prefix information in adults and elementary school children was found. Characteristic difference patterns between skilled and less skilled readers are discussed. It is concluded that the information accessed by prefixes is semantically combined with the subsequent word stem (root). Characteristics of the prefix plus stem combination largely determine speed of access to the complex word item processed.     

The influence of reading unit size on the development of Stroop interference in early word decoding

The purpose of the experiments was to determine the automatic use of large or small word reading units in young readers in the absence of word decoding strategies. Picture-word Stroop interference was examined from four types of conflicting labels: (a) words containing both highly predictable grapheme–phoneme correspondence (GPC) units and highly consistent rime units (henceforth, Hi-GPC + Hi-Rime); (b) words with highly predictable GPC units and less consistent rime units (Hi-GPC + Lo-Rime); (c) words with low predictability GPC units and highly consistent rime units (Low GPC + High Rime); (d) nonwords that contained both highly predictable GPC and highly consistent rime units. Naming time for pictures containing these labels was compared against that for pictures with random letter strings or no labels. In Experiment 1, Stroop interference was examined in first, second, and third grade children to determine whether there was developmental change in the presence of rime or GPC interference. In Experiment 2, Stroop interference was examined as a function of relative reading skill in first grade children. In Experiment 3, Stroop interference in adults was compared to the use of rime or GPC pronunciation strategies for nonword reading. In all experiments, Stroop interference in picture naming was longer for pictures with highly predictable GPC unit labels than less predictable GPC unit labels. However, in Experiment 3, even though adults showed interference from predictable GPC units in the Stroop task, they always preferred rime pronunciation for ambiguous nonwords in the nonword reading task. It is argued that the current experiments provide evidence for a flexible units model. The results of this study were presented at the Cognitive Development Society meeting, November 2001, Virginia Beach, VA, and the American Educational Research Association meeting, April 2004, San Diego, California.     

The relationship of rapid serial naming and word reading in normally developing readers: An exploratory model

Even though researchers have established that rapid serial naming (RSN), or the ability to name within a restricted category of visual stimuli quickly, is a significant predictor of word reading, the predictive nature of RSN is not well understood. To investigate the relationship of RSN and other variables thought to contribute to beginning word reading (phonological awareness, orthographic knowledge, memory span, processing speed, and articulation), a preliminary/exploratory model of word reading was developed and then tested by path analysis. Results indicated that no variable in the model could fully `explain' RSN; processing speed, but not articulation, contributed to RSN performance. RSN and orthographic knowledge were significantly related, but this relationship was due to the effects of processing speed. In terms of their unique contributions to the variance in word reading, RSN, phonological awareness, and orthographic knowledge were independent of each other. While these results pertain only to normal readers and are preliminary in nature, they may provide a basis for a clear interpretation of similar studies conducted with both normal and dyslexic readers.     

IQ vs phonological recoding skill in explaining differences between poor readers and normal readers in word recognition: Evidence from a naming task

The aim of this study was to investigate whether differences inreading performance between poor readers and normal readers could bebetter explained by phonological recoding deficiences than IQ. A sampleof 132 Spanish children was classified into four groups according to IQ(<80; 81--90; 91--109; 110--140) and into two groups based on readingskills (poor readers vs normal readers). A word naming task was alsoadministered. We manipulated the word parameters (length, positionalsyllable frequency, and word frequency) and nonword parameters (lengthand positional syllable frequency) to find out whether students withreading disabilities would have more difficulties than normal readers innaming words under conditions that require extensive phonologicalcomputation. The results demonstrated that there were differencesbetween Spanish children who were normal readers and those who were poorreaders, independent of their IQs.     

Literacy as a complex activity: deconstructing the simple view of reading

The Rose Review into the teaching of early reading recommended that the conceptual framework incorporated into the National Literacy Strategy Framework for Teaching – the Searchlights model of reading and its development – should be replaced by the Simple View of Reading. In this paper, we demonstrate how these two frameworks relate to each other, and show that nothing has been lost in this transformation from Searchlights to Simple View: on the contrary, much has been gained. That nothing has been lost is demonstrated by consideration of the underlying complexity inherent in each of the two dimensions delineated in the Simple View. That much has been gained is demonstrated by the increased understanding of each dimension that follows from careful scientific investigation of each. The better we understand what is involved in each dimension, the better placed we are to unravel and understand the essential, complex and continual interactions between each dimension which underlie skilled reading. This has clear implications for further improving the early teaching of reading.     

The effects of first language orthographic features on word recognition processing in English as a second language

This study investigated the possible effects of first language (L1) orthographic characteristics on word recognition in English as a second language (ESL). Case alternation was used to examine the impact of visually distorted words of different types on fluent ESL readers' word recognition in naming. Visual distortion of word shape (i.e., cAsE aLtErNaTiOn) was utilized because, although visually distorted words have lost word-shape cues, they preserve the cue value of words (i.e., spelling patterns). It, therefore, was hypothesized that if one is sensitive to alphabetic orthography, or if one's inner mechanism of processing an alphabetic word is efficient, then the visual disruption of word-shape cues should not affect one's sensitivity to sequences of letters in words. In other words, this study focused on the magnitude of the effect of case alternation in word recognition as an index of the sensitivity to alphabetic words. Results showed that the magnitude of the case alternation effect in a naming task was significantly larger for the ESL participants whose L1 is not alphabetic (i.e., Chinese and Japanese) than the ESL participants whose L1 is alphabetic (i.e., Iranians -- Persian as L1). This result seems to indicate that the Persian speakers, due to the facilitating influence of their L1 orthography, were less influenced by case alternation than the Chinese and Japanese speakers, whose L1 orthographies are not alphabetic. This finding suggests that the first language orthographic features affect the orthographic coding mechanisms (i.e., word recognition mechanisms) in a second language.     

Phonological codes as early sources of constraint in Chinese word identification: A review of current discoveries and theoretical accounts

A written Chinese character has a more direct connection with its meaning than a written word in English does. Moreover, because there is no unit in the writing system that encodes single phonemes, grapheme-phoneme mappings are impossible. These unique features have led some researchers to speculate that phonological processing does not occur in visual identification of Chinese words or that meaning is activated earlier than phonology. This hypothesis, however, has been challenged by more recent discoveries that suggest that phonology in Chinese, just as in English, is central to the visual recognition system. The present paper reviews the literature on phonological codes as early sources of constraint in Chinese word identification and considers the specific aspects of phonological and orthographic processing in Chinese that may differ from those in English. It emphasizes that early phonological processes and phonological mediation are two different questions in the identification-with-phonology hypothesis. Mediation and prelexical phonology, two very important concepts in the literature on phonological computation in reading English, are both misleading in Chinese.     

新时期马克思主义政治经济学的基本范式和内容的创新

随着我国经济建设的不断发展,新时期政治经济学的研究主题发生了历史性变迁,需要从改革的经济学演进到发展的经济学。与此相适应,需要按照科学发展观的要求,对政治经济学的研究范式和内容进行调整。要在教学中贯彻政治经济学新研究范式和研究内容的思想,需要对政治经济学课程现行的教学内容、教学手段和教学方法进行相应的改革。     

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.     

Influence of word meaning on the acquisition of a reading vocabulary in second-grade children

The acquisition of a reading vocabulary for abstract and concrete words was examined in 62 second-grade children. Words had been learned as part of a basal reader program or as part of outside reading. Word recognition speed and reading accuracy were examined for abstract and concrete words using lexical decision and word naming tasks. The size of the concreteness effect was similar for both processing tasks. In neither task did concreteness influence reaction times, but abstract words were read with less accuracy than concrete words in both tasks. Further, these concreteness effects in reading accuracy were larger for words that were part of a basal reading program than for words acquired during free reading. We conclude that word meaning influences the entry of words at a time when children are developing a sizeable reading vocabulary.     

Investigating effects of reading medium and reading purpose on behavioral engagement and textual integration in a multiple text context

The study addressed to what extent behavioral engagement and textual integration may differ when undergraduate readers work with identical printed versus digital texts in preparation for an exam versus for pleasure. We expected that working with printed texts would lead to greater engagement and better integration than working with digital texts, but that reading purpose would moderate this effect of reading medium because those reading in preparation for an exam would display greater engagement and better integration regardless of reading medium. Results showed interaction effects of reading medium with reading purpose on the behavioral engagement indicators of reading time and the length of the post-reading written products. For reading time, the interaction involved that students used longer time when reading digital and mixed texts for an exam, compared to reading for pleasure, whereas there were no difference between exam and pleasure oriented reading when reading printed texts. For the length of the written responses, students produced more text when reading printed texts for an exam than when reading printed texts for pleasure, whereas there were no differences in text production between reading for an exam and reading for pleasure when reading digital or mixed texts. Finally, there was an indirect effect of reading purpose on textual integration via text production when students read printed texts: students who read printed texts in preparation for an exam produced longer written responses compared to those who read for pleasure and, in turn, gained a more integrated understanding of the issue in question. These results are discussed in terms of the implications they offer and the avenues they suggest for future research.     

Orthographic processing is a key predictor of reading fluency in good and poor readers in a transparent orthography

We used structural equation modeling to investigate sources of individual differences in oral reading fluency in a transparent orthography, Russian. Phonological processing, orthographic processing, and rapid automatized naming were used as independent variables, each derived from a combination of two scores: phonological awareness and pseudoword repetition, spelling and orthographic choice, and rapid serial naming of letters and digits, respectively. The contribution of these to oral text-reading fluency was evaluated as a direct relationship and via two mediators, decoding accuracy and unitized reading, measured with a single-word oral reading test. The participants were “good” and “poor” readers, i.e., those with reading skills above the 90th and below the 10th percentiles (n = 1344, grades 2–6, St. Petersburg, Russia). In both groups, orthographic processing skills significantly contributed to fluency and unitized reading, but not to decoding accuracy. Phonological processing skills did not contribute directly to reading fluency in either group, while contributing to decoding accuracy and, to a lesser extent, to unitized reading. With respect to the roles of decoding accuracy and unitized reading, the results for good and poor readers diverged: in good readers, unitized reading, but not decoding accuracy, was significantly related to reading fluency. For poor readers, decoding accuracy (measured as pseudoword decoding) was related to reading fluency, but unitized reading was not. These results underscore the importance of orthographic skills for reading fluency even in an orthography with consistent phonology-to-orthography correspondences. They also point to a qualitative difference in the reading strategies of good and poor readers.