Morpho-phonemic analysis boosts word reading for adult struggling readers

Susan H. Gray,John L. Locke,Linnea C. Ehri

doi:10.1007/s11145-017-9774-9

Susan H. Gray, John L. Locke + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-017-9774-9

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Abstract

A randomized control trial compared the effects of two kinds of vocabulary instruction on component reading skills of adult struggling readers. Participants seeking alternative high school diplomas received 8 h of scripted tutoring to learn forty academic vocabulary words embedded within a civics curriculum. They were matched for language background and reading levels, then randomly assigned to either morpho-phonemic analysis teaching word origins, morpheme and syllable structures, or traditional whole word study teaching multiple sentence contexts, meaningful connections, and spellings. Both groups made comparable gains in learning the target words, but the morpho-phonemic group showed greater gains in reading unfamiliar words on standardized tests of word reading, including word attack and word recognition. Findings support theories of word learning and literacy that promote explicit instruction in word analysis to increase poor readers’ linguistic awareness by revealing connections between morphological, phonological, and orthographic structures within words.

Highlights

Adult struggling readers are a heterogeneous population with vastly different reading skill levels and language learning profiles. They may have difficulties in any component of literacy, including decoding, word reading, spelling, vocabulary and reading comprehension (Alamprese, MacArthur, Price, & Knight, 2011; Ehri, 1997; Sabatini, 2002). This preliminary intervention study addresses the diverse needs of adult struggling readers by teaching analysis of complex vocabulary words to adults seeking alternative high school diplomas or General Education Diplomas (GED) with sixth grade reading skills on average
Participants’ level of reading competence falls below expectations for GED programs, which cater to students with at least 8th grade level reading skills, it is comparable to reports of prior studies in which GED students read below the 5th grade level (Perin et al, 2006)
Few randomized control studies have investigated interventions for adult struggling readers. This experiment compared the impact of morpho-phonemic and whole word vocabulary instruction on component literacy skills of adults with sixth grade level reading skills on average

Summary

Introduction

Adult struggling readers are a heterogeneous population with vastly different reading skill levels and language learning profiles They may have difficulties in any component of literacy, including decoding (word attack), word reading (word recognition), spelling, vocabulary and reading comprehension (Alamprese, MacArthur, Price, & Knight, 2011; Ehri, 1997; Sabatini, 2002). This preliminary intervention study addresses the diverse needs of adult struggling readers by teaching analysis of complex vocabulary words to adults seeking alternative high school diplomas or General Education Diplomas (GED) with sixth grade reading skills on average. In one study of GED students, up to half of them read below the fifth grade level, and about forty percent of those between 16 and 20 years old had learning disabilities or attention deficit disorders (Perin, Flugman, & Spiegel, 2006)

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