Effects of reading skill and CaSe MiXiNg on nonword reading in German

Abstract

Many low‐skill readers have problems with visual word recognition. In particular, low‐skill readers show a substantial nonword reading deficit that is attributed to deficits in sub‐lexical processing. In this study, I examined whether the nonword deficits of German 14‐year‐old low‐skill readers were associated with inefficient use of multi‐letter information. In a lexical‐decision experiment, words and nonwords were presented in standard format and in MiXeD cAsE format which has been shown to be especially disrupting for sub‐lexical processing. When the stimuli were presented in standard format, low‐skill readers showed a substantial nonword reading deficit, that is they were generally slower than high‐skill readers, but had special problems with decoding nonwords. However, when stimuli were presented in MiXeD cAsE, low‐ and high‐skill readers showed equal impairments in nonword processing. This finding indicates that low‐skill readers do not use context‐sensitive multi‐letter rules during phonological assembly in normal reading.