Abstract
ABSTRACTDiversity of vocabulary knowledge and quantity of language exposure prior to literacy are key predictors of reading development. However, diversity and quantity of exposure are difficult to distinguish in behavioural studies, and so the causal relations with literacy are not well known. We tested these relations by training a connectionist triangle model of reading that learned to map between semantic; phonological; and, later, orthographic forms of words. The model first learned to map between phonology and semantics, where we manipulated the quantity and diversity of this preliterate language experience. Then the model learned to read. Both diversity and quantity of exposure had unique effects on reading performance, with larger effects for written word comprehension than for reading fluency. The results further showed that quantity of preliteracy language exposure was beneficial only when this was to a varied vocabulary and could be an impediment when exposed to a limited vocabulary.
Highlights
Acquisition of reading skills is time-consuming, is effortful, and exhibits vast variation in children’s ability to learn (Seidenberg, 2017)
According to the Simple View of Reading (SVR; Gough & Tunmer, 1986), reading comprehension skills are a combination of word recognition, reflected in reading fluency (Adlof, Catts, & Little, 2006), and oral language abilities
The relative contribution of word recognition and oral language on reading comprehension varies with literacy development (Adlof et al, 2006; Foorman, Herrera, Petscher, Mitchell, & Truckenmiller, 2015; Storch & Whitehurst, 2002), supported by intervention studies that indicate that oral vocabulary has a causal relationship with reading comprehension (Clarke, Snowling, Truelove, & Hulme, 2010; Fricke, Bowyer-Crane, Haley, Hulme, & Snowling, 2013)
Summary
Acquisition of reading skills is time-consuming, is effortful, and exhibits vast variation in children’s ability to learn (Seidenberg, 2017). According to the Simple View of Reading (SVR; Gough & Tunmer, 1986), reading comprehension skills are a combination of word recognition, reflected in reading fluency (Adlof, Catts, & Little, 2006), and oral language abilities. The relative contribution of word recognition and oral language on reading comprehension varies with literacy development (Adlof et al, 2006; Foorman, Herrera, Petscher, Mitchell, & Truckenmiller, 2015; Storch & Whitehurst, 2002), supported by intervention studies that indicate that oral vocabulary has a causal relationship with reading comprehension (Clarke, Snowling, Truelove, & Hulme, 2010; Fricke, Bowyer-Crane, Haley, Hulme, & Snowling, 2013). The relationship for reading fluency is less clear (Dickinson, McCabe, Anastasopoulos, Peisner-Feinberg, & Poe, 2003; Duff, Reen, Plunkett, & Nation, 2015)
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