Efficient Learning for the Poor: New Insights into Literacy Acquisition for Children

Reading depends on the speed of visual recognition and capacity of short-term memory. To understand a sentence, the mind must read it fast enough to capture it within the limits of the short-term memory. This means that children must attain a minimum speed of fairly accurate reading to understand a passage. Learning to read involves “tricking” the brain into perceiving groups of letters as coherent words. This is achieved most efficiently by pairing small units consistently with sounds rather than learning entire words. To link the letters with sounds, explicit and extensive practice is needed; the more complex the spelling of a language, the more practice is necessary. However, schools of low-income students often waste instructional time and lack reading resources, so students cannot get sufficient practice to automatize reading and may remain illiterate for years. Lack of reading fluency in the early grades creates inefficiencies that affect the entire educational system. Neurocognitive research on reading points to benchmarks and monitoring indicators. All students should attain reading speeds of 45–60 words per minute by the end of grade 2 and 120–150 words per minute for grades 6–8.     

中、加大学生英语课文阅读眼动过程比较研究

本研究以中国大学生与加拿大大学生为样本，探讨了二之间英语阅读眼动过程的相同点与不同点。结果表明，(1)中国大学生的阅读速度(每分钟240—250个单词)慢于加拿大大学生的阅读速度(每分钟270—290个单词)；(2)在阅读插图课方面。加拿大学生明显优于中国学生；(3)在阅读难度较大的课方面。加拿大学生也明显优于中国学生。这些区别的主要原因在于加拿大学生在阅读连贯的课时能够更多地注视每个内容词即实词。而且该词的上下特征对意义理解的影响比较小。     

Effects of a taped-words treatment on reading proficiency

In an effort to increase reading proficiency, five 9th- and 10th-grade students with behavior disorders were instructed to read along with an audio type of vocabulary words recorded at 80 words per minute. Effects of the taped-words intervention on rate of reading vocabulary words as well as generalization effects of reading passages containing some of the same vocabulary words were assessed within a multiple baseline design. Results suggested significant effects due to practice. Minimal generalization from reading word lists to reading passages was demonstrated. The results of the present study are compared with similar investigations.     

Minimum reading fluency necessary for comprehension among second‐grade students

The current study examined the relationship between oral reading fluency (ORF) and reading comprehension for students in second grade. A total of 84 participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions that involved reading a grade‐appropriate passage with either 0%, 10%, 20%, or 30% scrambled words and answering subsequent comprehension questions. The correlation coefficient between ORF and the number of comprehension questions correctly answered was r = .54. Receiver operating characteristics were then used to empirically derive a minimum ORF score necessary for comprehension, indicating that when these students read 63 words correct per minute they successfully comprehended what they read. Finally, the diagnostic accuracy of the derived criterion of 63 words read correctly per minute was tested and resulted in overall correct classification of .80. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Accuracy and Fluency in List and Context Reading of Skilled and RD Groups: Absolute and Relative Performance Levels

The purpose of this study was to examine (1) the performance levels and the magnitude of performance difference between students with reading disabilities (RD) and skilled readers when reading a typical classroom text; (2) the hypothesis that students with RD have specific difficulty using context in such a way that reading fluency is affected; and (3) whether RD subtypes may be differentiated according to performance on contextual and context‐free reading tasks. Two groups of fourth graders (85 skilled readers and 24 students with RD) completed a standardized test of reading comprehension, read aloud a folktale, and read aloud the folktale's words in a randomly sequenced list. Performance was scored as correct rate and percentage correct. Based on the number of words per idea unit in the passage, we also estimated the rate at which reader groups encountered and processed text ideas. Compared to the RD group, skilled readers read three times more correct words per minute in context, and showed higher accuracy and rates on all measures. Both context and isolated word‐reading rates were highly sensitive to impairment. We found no evidence for RD subtypes based on these measures. Results illustrate differences in reading levels between the two groups, the temporal advantage skilled readers have in linking text ideas, how word reading differs as a function of task format and performance dimension, and how limited word‐identification skills (not comprehension) produce contextual reading difficulties for students with RD.     

Print Reading in General Education Kindergarten Classrooms: What Does It Look Like for Students At‐risk for Reading Difficulties?

The purpose of this study was to examine the amount of time spent actively engaged in reading sounds, words, and connected text for students at‐risk for reading difficulties in the first formal grade of reading instruction, kindergarten. Observational data of 109 kindergarten students at high‐risk for later reading difficulties were collected during general education reading instruction across the school year. Findings revealed students read orally for just over 1 minute during their reading instruction with approximately equal time spent reading sounds, words, or connected text. Implications of these results for early reading instruction and intervention for students at‐risk for reading difficulties or disabilities are presented.     

Learning a transparent orthography at five years old: reading development of children during their first year of formal reading instruction in Wales

This study compared the early reading development of five‐year‐old children who were learning to read either English (an opaque orthography) or Welsh (a shallow orthography). The children were being educated in Welsh and English‐speaking primary schools in Wales during their first year of formal reading instruction. Teaching methods in both schools emphasised phonics. The reading, letter recognition and phonological awareness skills of the children were tested at three points in the year (November 1998, March 1999 and June 1999). By March, the children who were learning to read in Welsh were performing better than the English‐speaking group at word recognition. The English‐speaking children showed some improvement in their ability to read regular words across the three test phases, but no significant improvement in their ability to read irregular words. The children learning to read in Welsh also performed better on a phoneme counting task in March and June than the English‐speaking children. Both groups performed similarly on tests of letter recognition throughout the year. The results suggest that a transparent orthography facilitates reading acquisition and phoneme awareness skills from the earliest stages of reading development onward.     

Word reading fluency: A transfer appropriate processing account of fluency transfer

Word reading fluency, as indexed by the fast and accurate identification of single words, predicts both general reading ability and reading comprehension. This study compared the effects of context training and isolated word training on subsequent measures of word reading fluency. Good and poor readers were given 12 repetitions of two sets of words; 48 new words were learned in each condition. Words were presented in a story during context training and on a computer screen during isolated word training. Target words were read in isolation at test, randomly displayed within a series containing 72 untrained words. Results show that words trained in isolation are remembered longer and read faster when presented in isolation at test compared to words trained in context. Theoretical implications are discussed in relation to transfer appropriate processing.     

Read Two Impress and the Neurological Impress Method: Effects on elementary students’ reading fluency,comprehension, and attitude

This seven-week study examined the effects of the Neurological Impress Method and Read Two Impress on reading comprehension, fluency, and students’ attitude toward reading. The 57 first-, second-, and third-grade students were randomly assigned to three conditions and were pre- and posttested on eight reading measures. Several 3 × 2 factorial analyses of variance revealed significant interaction effects on retell, comprehension questions, and the multidimensional fluency scale as well as time effects on words read correctly per minute and word recognition accuracy. Moreover, a comparison of mean difference effect sizes favored the treatment groups on all reading fluency and comprehension measures. The interventions, however, had little effect on students’ attitude toward reading. Practical implications and future research directions are also discussed.     

Improving the reading of bisyllabic words that involve context-sensitive spelling rules: focus on successes or on failures?

The effect of two training procedures on the improvement of reading accuracy in poor readers was examined in relation to their initial reading level. A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 60 poor readers. Poor readers were assigned to a control group that received no training, or one of two training conditions. One training concentrated on the words the children read correctly (successes), the other on the words they read incorrectly (failures). They repeatedly read bisyllabic Dutch words, half of the training words involving context-sensitive spelling rules (vowel degemination or consonant gemination). Some children repeatedly read their successes, others their failures. The training used a computerized flashcards format. The exposure duration of the words was varied to maintain the accuracy rate at a constant level. In general, children who received training improved their reading accuracy and reading speed of trained words, and reading accuracy of untrained words, more than the control group. Which training focus is superior, depends on the reading level of the child and the type of words used. For children with a low initial reading level, to improve reading accuracy of bisyllabic words that follow context-sensitive spelling rules, a training focus on failures was superior over a training focus on successes. For children with a high initial reading level, improvement of reading speed was largest in a training on successes. Evidently, the improvement of word reading skills depends both on the children’s level of reading competence and on the type of training.     

高职英语计时阅读训练的实施与成效

为了提高学生的阅读速度,培养其阅读的流畅性,在阅读教学中融入了15周的计时阅读训练活动.训练结果显示,在阅读生词量几乎为零的文章时,学生的阅读速度提高了30.61％,每分钟多读了30个词;阅读理解提高了25.8％.阅读生词不超过占总词量3％的文章,学生阅读速度提高了34.28％,每分钟多读了24个词.阅读理解提高了2.4％.速度和理解都获得了不同程度的提高,说明速度的提高有助于理解的增强.最重要的是,计时阅读活动提高了学生阅读的信心,扩充了其世界知识.     

Shared book reading behaviours of children with Down Syndrome before and after participation in the MultiLit reading tutor program: an exploratory study

This exploratory study compares the shared book reading behaviours of five school aged children with DS (aged 11 years 6 months to 15 years 6 months) before and after participation in an intervention which included selected components of the MultiLit Reading Tutor Program. The program was delivered 1:1 to participants each week over a 12 week period. Analysis of the average performance across the group revealed that the proportion of reading errors relative to the number of words read from preintervention to postintervention were significantly reduced. Significant improvement was also seen in shared book reading fluency following intervention. Individual case study data is also presented. Postintervention, reading errors per minute were reduced for two participants (P4 and P5). Reading dysfluencies per minute decreased for two participants (P1 and P5) while all participants improved in shared book reading fluency. Preliminary results suggest that children with DS can generalise skills taught in the MultiLit Reading Tutor Program to shared book reading, although variability regarding changes in literacy abilities postintervention was observed.     

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.     

Words correct per minute: The variance in standardized reading scores accounted for by reading speed

The measure words correct per minute (WC/M) incorporates a measure of accurate aloud word reading and a measure of reading speed. The current article describes two studies designed to parse the variance in global reading scores accounted for by reading speed. In Study I, reading speed accounted for more than 40% of the reading composite score variance in 4th‐, 5th‐, and 10th‐grade students. In Study II, reading speed accounted for more than 30% of the reading/language arts composite score variance of fourth‐ and fifth‐grade students. Across both studies, when reading speed was combined with words read correctly and converted to WC/M the additional variance accounted for was less than 10% with one exception, fourth‐grade students' reading/language arts scores. These findings are consistent with various theories regarding reading speed, provide direction for future researchers, and may assuage those concerned that WC/M is primarily a measure of aloud, accurate word reading (i.e., word calling). © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Gliding text: a new aid to improve the reading performance of poor readers by subconscious gaze control

In support of efforts at reducing the number of dyslexics and illiterates in industrialized countries it is proposed, for the first time, to use gliding text ‐ as known in television subtitles ‐ as a method of text display to help those learning to read. Beginners, having the difficult task of precisely directing their gaze letter by letter along the line of text, experience with gliding text automatic gaze guidance as in so‐called ‘optokinetic nystagmus’. This subconscious gaze control allows beginners to pay more attention to contextual processing. First training courses have shown that exercises with gliding text are very efficient. Reading difficulties were eliminated for 21 second‐grade elementary school children in only 24 training sessions, each of 15 min duration. The mean reading speed increased from ten to 24 words per minute (WPM).     

初中聋生篇章阅读的眼动特征:教师作为研究者

研究3名初中聋生的眼动数据发现:在一般的教学环境中,聋生能有规律地逐行阅读教室投影屏幕上的篇章文本,平均阅读速度255字/分钟,每次注视1.53个字符,每个注视点持续0.36秒,注视频率2.83次/秒;语文学习成绩与聋生的篇章阅读情况存在关联,优秀生比待进生的阅读速度快、注视点总数少、注视点平均持续时间短、注视频率高、阅读理解情况好.     

Improving word reading speed: individual differences interact with a training focus on successes or failures

The effect of two training procedures on the development of reading speed in poor readers is examined. One training concentrates on the words the children read correctly (successes), the other on the words they read incorrectly (failures). Children were either informed or not informed about the training focus. A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 79 poor readers. They repeatedly read regularly spelled Dutch consonant?Cvowel?Cconsonant words, some children their successes, others their failures. The training used a computerized flashcards format. The exposure duration of the words was varied to maintain an accuracy rate at a constant level. Reading speed improved and transferred to untrained, orthographically more complex words. These transfer effects were characterized by an Aptitude-Treatment Interaction. Poor readers with a low initial reading level improved most in the training focused on successes. For poor readers with a high initial reading level, however, it appeared to be more profitable to practice with their failures. Informing students about the focus of the training positively affected training: The exposure duration needed for children informed about the focus of the training decreased more than for children who were not informed. This study suggests that neither of the two interventions is superior to the other in general. Rather, the improvement of general reading speed in a transparent orthography is closely related to both the children??s initial reading level and the type of words they practice with: common and familiar words when training their successes and uncommon and less familiar words with training their failures.     

Parameters in television captioning for deaf and hard-of-hearing adults: effects of caption rate versus text reduction on comprehension

Caption rate and text reduction are factors that appear to affect the comprehension of captions by people who are deaf or hard of hearing. These 2 factors are confounded in everyday captioning; rate (in words per minute) is slowed by text reduction. In this study, caption rate and text reduction were manipulated independently in 2 experiments to assess any differential effects and possible benefits for comprehension by deaf and hard-of-hearing adults. Volunteers for the study included adults with a range of reading levels, self-reported hearing status, and different communication and language preferences. Results indicate that caption rate (at 130, 180, 230 words per minute) and text reduction (at 84%, 92%, and 100% original text) have different effects for different adult users, depending on hearing status, age, and reading level. In particular, reading level emerges as a dominant factor: more proficient readers show better comprehension than poor readers and are better able to benefit from caption rate and, to some extent, text reduction modifications.     

The utility of reading to read with boys with ADHD‐CT administered at two different intervals post methylphenidate ingestion

This study investigated the relationship between the time of scheduling of a repeated reading intervention (Reading to Read) and measures of oral‐reading fluency with boys with Attention Deficit‐Hyperactivity Disorder, Combined Type (ADHD‐CT). Participants included 6 male students (4 fourth grade and 2 fifth grade) who were diagnosed as having ADHD‐CT, and who were treated medically with methylphenidate (Ritalin). All students mastered passages more quickly, and most students read passages more quickly, had fewer reading errors, and had higher rates of correct words per minute (CWPM) during intervention administered 45 minutes to 1 hour after ingestion of methylphenidate versus 3 to 4 hours after ingestion. Implications for academic instruction for students with ADHD‐CT who take Ritalin are discussed. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.