Do children read words better in context or in lists? A classic study revisited.

Abstract

The present study replicated the classic Goodman (1965) study, which found that children's reading accuracy improved 60%-80% in context, in comparison with a list. In the 1st experiment, 100 children read words in context, then in lists. In the 2nd experiment, 97 children read words in lists, then in context (the testing order used in the classic study). The results showed that the poor readers and the 6- and 7-year old average readers showed statistically reliable context gains in both experiments. However, the 6-year-old good readers and the 8-year-old average readers only gained reliably with context in the 2nd experiment. The 7-year-old good readers did not gain reliably with context in either experiment. The 8-year-old good readers made no reliable context gains in the 2nd experiment but gained reliably with the list in the 1st experiment. was concluded that the classic study gave an overly optimistic impression of the benefits of context, especially with regard to good readers. The aim of this study was to reevaluate the research carried out by Goodman (1965), in which it was found that children made 60%-80% fewer errors when reading words in context, as compared with reading words in an isolated list. This study has been cited at least 85 times in the literature (see Staff, 1986). has also been reprinted in Theoretical Models and Processes of Reading (Singer & Ruddell, 1985), a standard reference in the field of reading. Such indicators suggest classic status. The reason for the popularity and durability of the study may be that it has given support to methods of teaching reading in which use of context is strongly encouraged, as in the whole language approach to teaching reading. For example, in New Zealand the use of context clues is regarded as a major factor in the reading process. Thus, when children encounter a difficult word, they are encouraged to guess what the word might be, to look at the first letter and guess, or to read through the end of a sentence and find other context clues to help them guess the word. In short, children are expected to use context clues as a major strategy in identifying words and to give only secondary attention to letter-sound analysis. In fact, contrasting strategies, such as phonics, are downplayed: It is very seldom that every letter in a word has to be identified and its related sound blended, because the reader bears in mind and uses the available syntactic cues (Department of Education, 1985b,