Reading Research Articles

Emerging Technologies for Multiphoton Writing and Reading of Polymeric Architectures for Biomedical Applications.

The rise in popularity of two-photon polymerization (TPP) as an additive manufacturing technique has impacted many areas of science and engineering, particularly those related to biomedical applications. Compared with other fabrication methods used for biomedical applications, TPP offers 3D, nanometer-scale fabrication dexterity (free-form). Moreover, the existence of turnkey commercial systems has increased accessibility. In this review, we discuss the diversity of biomedical applications that have benefited from the unique features of TPP. We also present the state of the art in approaches for patterning/writing and reading 3D TPP-fabricated structures. The reading process influences the fidelity for both in situ and ex situ characterization methods. We also review efforts to leverage machine learning to facilitate process control for TPP. Finally, we conclude with a discussion of both the current challenges and exciting opportunities for biomedical applications that lie ahead for this intriguing and emerging technology.

Studying the interplay of context and semantic content in the interpretation of adversative conjunctions with eye-tracking

The French adversative connective mais, much like its English counterpart but, takes two conjuncts and indicates that they stand in some kind of opposition. The nature of this opposition is often discussed in the existing literature of adversatives. Using an eyetracking experiment, we look at where and when this opposition appears to be manifested in a sentence reading task, using superiority comparatives sentences that appear degraded without a supportive context, as well as inferiority comparatives that do not seem to require such specific contextual information. We presented participants (n = 28) with four types of sentences, differing in the form of comparative, and in the information provided by the context. Some contexts contained a pivot property to help readers access the opposition of the two conjuncts, while others were neutral in that regard. Eye movements were recorded with a 250Hz Tobii Pro Fusion eyetracker, and mixed effect models were used to analyze the following eyetracking metrics : total fixation time and regression probability for the whole sentences, as well as first-fixation duration, first-gaze duration, regression-path duration, regressions-out and regressions-in for each individual words. Even if the helping context is shown to lower negative acceptability judgment on sentences with mais plus (Winterstein et al. 2014), we found no context effect in online reading processing, finding instead a persisting effect of the less/more dichotomy in all chosen measures, sometimes before fixation of those words, pointing towards a parafoveal effect of the aforementioned dichotomy, which merits closer look in future work.

Read Aloud as a Means of Early Childhood Language Development: A Literature Study

Read Aloud as a Means of Early Childhood Language Development: A Literature Study

The Effects of Using Augmented Reality on Phoneme and Word Reading for First Grade Students With Autism and Developmental Delays

This study was to determine the effectiveness of augmented reality on phoneme and word reading for three first-grade students with developmental delays and autism in a self-contained elementary school classroom. Effectiveness of the intervention was evaluated with a multiple probe across word sets research design. An augmented reality iPad app was used to overlay video models for the process of reading decoding over a printed sheet for each word. The printed sheet contained triggers for separate videos showing reading of each individual phoneme, blending all phonemes together slowly, reading the word aloud, and defining the word. All participants increased their ability to read phonemes and words. Our findings have implications for teachers who want to use interactive technology to teach reading skills to young students with autism and developmental delay.

Teachers’ Insights into the Efficacy of the ‘Reading Circle’ Project Using English Language Teaching Graded Readers

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2024, published by the United Nations, highlights quality education as a priority goal, emphasising its essential role in facilitating the achievement of other goals. Although there has been modest progress since 2019, several areas require further advancement, including the development of reading skills. Extensive reading plays an important role in foreign language acquisition, as it not only significantly enhances students’ vocabulary, text comprehension, reading, speaking, and writing skills, but also fosters the development of sustainable learning and self-regulated learning skills. In order to substantially increase students’ reading opportunities, the ‘Reading Circle’ (RC) project was initiated, allowing teachers and their students to read five to eight graded readers during English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes throughout the school year. During the school year 2023/2024, 45 teachers and 1328 students of Grades 3–11 participated in the 9-month project. The aim of this study was to analyse teachers’ perceptions on the efficacy of the ‘Reading Circle’ project and the most common teaching techniques. The data indicate that the most commonly used teaching techniques across all levels of language learning were the text discussions and the completion of ready-made exercises, while a significant difference across the levels emerged in the techniques of students reading aloud versus reading silently. The findings of this study reveal that teachers highly evaluated the benefits of the project and observed positive improvements in students’ reading motivation, text comprehension, and advancements in their reading and speaking skills, and the outcomes imply that the ‘Reading Circle’ project is an effective method of enhancing sustainable learning and self-regulated learning skills.

How the usage of the OK4R Reading Platform relates to learning efficacy, attitude, and cognitive development

Studies indicate that integrating digital tools into reading instruction significantly enhances student learning. The OK4R (Overview, Key Idea, Read, Recall, Reflect, Review) method goes beyond teaching reading techniques by fostering a cyclic process of reading and critical reflection. Through OK4R, learners develop both reading strategies and metacognitive skills for self-assessment. Although OK4R is an earlier reading strategy, its theoretical foundation has a significant impact on enhancing students’ learning abilities. This study moves beyond the traditional paper-based and lecture-driven OK4R teaching model by constructing the OK4R Reading Platform, aiming to explore the new significance and value of OK4R instruction under digital assistance. This study introduces the OK4R Reading Platform aimed at improving vocational students’ learning efficacy, attitude, and cognitive development. Using a quasi-experimental approach, 90 vocational high school students in Taipei participated, with an experimental group using the Platform and a control group receiving traditional paper-based instruction. After six weeks, including pretest, digital or traditional reading sessions, and post-test, students using the Platform showed significant gains in learning efficacy, attitude, and cognitive development. These findings highlight the potential of digital tools in enhancing vocational education’s language instruction. The research questions for this study are as follows: The impact of the OK4R Reading Platform on vocational students’ learning efficacy of popular science texts. The role of the OK4R Reading Platform in enhancing vocational students’ learning attitude, and cognitive development. A comparative analysis of the effectiveness in improving students’ learning efficacy, attitude, and cognitive development between digital-assisted teaching with the OK4R Reading Platform and traditional-print reading teaching. Students’ reactions and suggestions regarding the teaching assistance provided by the OK4R Reading Platform. Through the aforementioned questions, the research team conducted an investigation to understand “how the usage of the OK4R Reading Platform relates to learning efficacy, attitude, and cognitive development in vocational high school students.”

Visual attention matters during word recognition: A Bayesian modeling approach.

It is striking that visual attention, the process by which attentional resources are allocated in the visual field so as to locally enhance visual perception, is a pervasive component of models of eye movements in reading, but is seldom considered in models of isolated word recognition. We describe BRAID, a new Bayesian word-Recognition model with Attention, Interference and Dynamics. As most of its predecessors, BRAID incorporates three sensory, perceptual, and orthographic knowledge layers together with a lexical membership submodel. Its originality resides in also including three mechanisms that modulate letter identification within strings: an acuity gradient, lateral interference, and visual attention. We calibrated the model such that its temporal scale was consistent with behavioral data, and then explored the model's capacity to generalize to other, independent effects. We evaluated the model's capacity to account for the word length effect in lexical decision, for the optimal viewing position effect, and for the interaction of crowding and frequency effects in word recognition. We further examined how these effects were modulated by variations in the visual attention distribution. We show that visual attention modulates all three effects and that a narrow distribution of visual attention results in performance patterns that mimic those reported in impaired readers. Overall, the BRAID model could be conceived as a core building block, towards the development of integrated models of reading aloud and eye movement control, or of visual recognition of impaired readers, or any context in which visual attention does matter.

Development of a model to form reading literacy of primary schoolchildren involving media design technology in a booktrailing format

Problem and aim. The formation of reading literacy of primary schoolchildren is one of the priorities of the modern education system. There are new indicators emerging in materials for testing the reading literacy of schoolchildren, including an assessment of test takers' readiness for independent learning in the digital space. The purpose of the article is to scientifically substantiate the effectiveness of the model to form reading literacy of primary schoolchildren by means of media design technology in a booktrailing format. Research methods. During the analysis and selection, a number of services for media design in the booktrailing format (Liveworksheets, Story, text and graphics editors, video editing programs) were used. The experiment involved 68 students of the second grades of Lyceum No. 21 in Kirov (Russian Federation). The students were engaged in media design as part of their extracurricular activities. The methodology for assessing the quality of primary education (authors G. S. Kovaleva, L. A. Ryabinina, T. Y. Chaban) was applied at the stage of determining the level of formed reading literacy of primary schoolchildren. The χ 2 -Pearson criterion was used in statistical data processing. Results. Features of the proposed model are as follows: taking into account changes in the reading literacy assessment programs; organising materials according to the extent of the used techniques; using texts of various literary genres, a new structure and format that differ from traditional linear text presentation. The structural blocks of the model are described: organizational and methodological, forming, activity-based, intellectual and creative. 11 stages when working on a booktrailer are formulated: motivation to choose works, selection of works on a certain topic, the process of reading, determining the author's idea, writing a video presentation script, distribution of voice-over roles, etc. Statistically significant differences in qualitative changes that occurred in the pedagogical system (χ 2 = 8.488; p < 0.05) are revealed. Conclusion. Identifies possible difficulties in implementing the model: tracking changes in reading literacy assessment programs; choosing digital services; supporting high cognitive activity of students; searching for artistic expressive means.

Linguistic, Reading and Phonological Processing Factors Predicting Writing Composition in School-aged Children

Objectives: This study aimed to explore how linguistic reading, and phonological processing skills contribute to writing composition in school-aged children. Understanding the key predictors of writing performance can provide valuable insights into the complex linguistic and cognitive processes involved in writing development. Methods: A total of 115 children from 2nd to 6th grade participated, all scoring at or above 80 on a nonverbal intelligence test. Writing composition was assessed using the K-CELF-5 writing test. Linguistic measures were evaluated through receptive vocabulary REVT, sentence repetition, and sentence assembly from the K-CELF-5. Reading abilities included word decoding, passage reading fluency and reading comprehension of the KOLRA. Phonological processing skills were assessed using the tasks that evaluated phonological awareness, rapid naming, and nonword repetition from the KOLRA. Pearson correlation and multiple stepwise regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationship and predictive power of these variables on writing composition. Results: Writing composition was significantly correlated with all linguistic, reading and phonological processing variables, except nonword repetition. Stronger correlations were found with linguistic variables, while phonological awareness and word decoding showed relatively weaker correlations. The three significant predictors of writing composition were syntactic awareness, which was the strongest predictor followed by rapid naming and receptive vocabulary. Conclusion: The finding suggest that syntactic awareness, receptive vocabulary, and rapid naming all play crucial roles in writing composition for school-aged children. This highlights the importance of both linguistic knowledge and phonological efficiency, emphasizing the complexity of writing, which requires a combination of linguistic and phonological processing skills.

Health information literacy among children at Reading Community in Sumedang Regency

Children are vulnerable to diseases due to unhealthy living habits so children need correct health information for healthy living behavior. The reading community as a store and manager of knowledge has health information services for children. Three reading community in Sumedang Regency provide health-themed books and provide health-themed literacy activities. This study aims to determine health information literacy in children at reading community in Sumedang Regency. The research method used descriptive qualitative on children from three (3) reading community in Sumedang Regency, consist of Lingkaran Cahaya, Bina Kreasi Muda, and Pabukon Ngadongeng Reading community. The results showed that children from reading community already know the need for health information but children do not know the correct process in its implementation. Three of reading community have a variety of health reading such as books, comics, and magazines, they have different strategies in planning health information to children, and they are done according to the competence or interest of the users. Three reading community collect health information from reading and activity-based collaboration, they read comprehension as an evaluation process in health information literacy, and they conducted reviews of activities or discussions from reading results in the form of read aloud and think aloud. Two reading community store information in a master book and catalog and promote health information activities using social media. Three reading community are still limited in providing access to health information, but these three of reading community already have innovations in practicing health information in the form of literacy activities.

Effects of Word Order Canonicity on Online Self-paced Reading Processing in Older Adults

Objectives: There is debate about whether sentence processing abilities decline with age in older adults, or if they remain relatively intact. In contrast to the numerous studies on English-speaking populations, little research has been conducted on the real-time sentence processing abilities of Korean-speakers. This study aims to explore the effects of word order canonicity on the real-time sentence processing abilities of older adults using center-embedded sentences with subject-relative clauses. Methods: A total of 42 participants, 21 young and 21 older adults, participated in a self-paced reading paradigm involving complex sentences with subject-relative clauses. Participants read the sentences and subsequently judged related statements. Additionally, reading times for each segment of the complex sentences were recorded to determine where sentence information was integrated. Results: Older adults showed significantly lower accuracy and longer response times in judgment statements compared to younger adults. The response times exhibited significantly greater differences between the two groups in noncanonical word order sentences than in canonical ones. Additionally, older adults had significantly longer online reading times in both canonical and noncanonical word orders compared to younger adults, with notable differences in the regions of the subject-relative clause and the noun phrase modified by the subject-relative clause. Conclusion: Older adults struggle more with sentence both offline and online compared to younger adults, especially with noncanonical word orders due to higher cognitive loads. Their longest reading times occurred in noun phrases modified by subject-relative clauses, supporting the role of working memory in real-time processing.

Naturalistic reading of multi-page texts elicits spatially extended modulation of oscillatory activity in the right hemisphere

The study of the cortical basis of reading has greatly benefited from the use of naturalistic paradigms that permit eye movements. However, due to the short stimulus lengths used in most naturalistic reading studies, it remains unclear how reading of texts comprising more than isolated sentences modulates cortical processing. To address this question, we used magnetoencephalography to study the spatiospectral distribution of oscillatory activity during naturalistic reading of multi-page texts. In contrast to previous results, we found abundant activity in the right hemisphere in several frequency bands, whereas reading-related modulation of neural activity in the left hemisphere was quite limited. Our results show that the role of the right hemisphere may be importantly emphasized as the reading process extends beyond single sentences.

Designing a Digital Flash Reading Test for Data-Based Decisions in Inclusive Classrooms: Duration and Word Length as Difficulty-Generating-Item Characteristics

Standardized assessment tools are essential for informed, data-driven decision-making. Reading speedily is a crucial early skill that all students should have the opportunity to develop in inclusive classrooms. To facilitate classroom-based reading diagnostics in this area of reading, we developed a flash reading test that reliably measures the performance of students with and without learning disabilities and intellectual disabilities. This test can be administered in the classroom and completed independently by students, taking only a few minutes, without requiring them to read aloud. The test is designed to provide an accurate assessment of the speed of lexical recall for all students. To evaluate the difficulty-generating-item characteristics of the new instrument, 400 primary and special school students participated in the test. The results indicate that students with low abilities and disabilities are particularly differentiated by the combination of a short display duration and short words. We provide information for test developers interested in designing similar assessments and teachers who can use this instrument to make informed decisions in the classroom.

An examination of cortical thickness relationships within the reading network of adults.

Much brain imaging work has underscored the functional connections among the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG; articulation), supramarginal gyrus (SMG; letter-sound correspondence), superior temporal gyrus (STG; sound) and fusiform gyrus (FFG; print) during basic reading processes. This reading network supports and coordinates the complex processes that contribute to successful reading. In line with the Hebbian notion that 'neurons that fire together, wire together' we examined cortical thickness among these regions and the extent to which these regions showed structural relationships in average and impaired readers. Structural high resolution brain scans from 87 adult participants including average (N = 56; 51 right-handed; females = 29; mean age = 20.5; SD = 2.14) and impaired (N = 31; 27 right-handed; females = 24; mean age = 23.1; SD = 4.23) readers were collated. Cortical thickness measurements of the left and right IFG, SMG, STG, and FFG were extracted. Average readers had significantly greater cortical thickness in the right IFG and right SMG compared to impaired readers. Within each group, similarly strong relationships between the left and right structures were observed. Average readers had a significantly stronger connection between the left IFG-FFG compared to impaired readers (p = 0.012). In contrast, the impaired readers had a significantly stronger connection between the left STG-FFG compared to average readers (p = 0.027). In conclusion, the findings suggest that structural relationships within the reading network may contribute to variations in reading proficiency, with average readers exhibiting distinct patterns of cortical thickness and relationships compared to impaired readers. Further exploration of these structural differences could offer valuable insights into the neural mechanisms underlying reading abilities and disabilities.

Effects of Digital Reading With On‐Screen Distractions: An Eye‐Tracking Study

ABSTRACTBackgroundDuring digital reading on internet‐connected devices, students may be exposed to a variety of on‐screen distractions. Learning by reading can therefore become a fragmented experience with potentially negative consequences for reading processes and outcomes.ObjectivesThis study investigated the effects of on‐screen distractions, as advertisements and social media notifications, during reading on text processing, perception of cognitive load and text comprehension.MethodsUniversity students (N = 54) participated in a within‐participant design. They read two digital science expository texts, one with and the other without distractions. Participants' eye movements were recorded during reading. Process variables were the first‐pass fixation time on text areas and the fixation time on distractions. Working memory was taken into account as possible moderator of outcome variables, while controlling for prior knowledge and text topic.ResultsParticipants spent very short time fixating the distractions. From linear mixed models the main effect of distractions did not emerge for the immediate text processing. Perception of cognitive load and text comprehension were not affected by distractions either. Among individual differences, prior knowledge contributed to text comprehension. Text topic contributed to the perception of cognitive load.TakeawaysThe study suggests that simple, static and very usual on‐screen distractions during reading do not seem particularly harmful for university students' processing and comprehension of expository texts. Findings indicate the importance of students' top‐down attentional control over on‐screen distractions not to impair their own comprehension of complex content.

Differential weighting of information during aloud and silent reading: Evidence from representational similarity analysis of fMRI data

Abstract Single word reading depends on multiple types of information processing: readers must process low-level visual properties of the stimulus, form orthographic and phonological representations of the word, and retrieve semantic content from memory. Reading aloud introduces an additional type of processing wherein readers must execute an appropriate sequence of articulatory movements necessary to produce the word. To date, cognitive and neural differences between aloud and silent reading have mainly been ascribed to articulatory processes. However, it remains unclear whether articulatory information is used to discriminate unique words, at the neural level, during aloud reading. Moreover, very little work has investigated how other types of information processing might differ between the two tasks. The current work used representational similarity analysis (RSA) to interrogate fMRI data collected while participants read single words aloud or silently. RSA was implemented using a whole-brain searchlight procedure to characterize correspondence between neural data and each of five models representing a discrete type of information. Both conditions elicited decodability of visual, orthographic, phonological, and articulatory information, though to different degrees. Compared with reading silently, reading aloud elicited greater decodability of visual, phonological, and articulatory information. By contrast, silent reading elicited greater decodability of orthographic information in right anterior temporal lobe. These results support an adaptive view of reading whereby information is weighted according to its task relevance, in a manner that best suits the reader’s goals.

The counternarrative in early Pynchon: Race and power in “The Secret Integration”

AbstractThe issue of race and power in “The Secret Integration” requires re‐examination. Politically oriented readers have characterized the plot as forms of alignment with racism and segregation, whereas readers focusing on the esthetics and development of the authorship have to some degree recognized the role of the counternarrative in this early short story. What is at stake in the debate is the function of Pynchon's textual strategies of ambiguity and unreliable narration, and the significance of the text in relation to the wider authorship. This essay maintains that the story signals counternarratives to systemic racism and power on the plot, discourse, and thematic level. Pynchon's text not only makes resistance to racist and segregationist worldviews a prominent feature of the discourse and the reading process but also locates tension between openness and narrow‐mindedness among the main characters, at the thematic and plot levels. This essay demonstrates how “The Secret Integration” moves from modes of non‐conformism so prevalent in Pynchon's early short stories to a mode of counterhistory of fundamental importance to the later work.

TRANSLANGUAGING IN ENGLISH-NEPALI BILINGUAL SPACE IN UNIVERSITY-LEVEL ENGLISH READING INSTRUCTION

Framed within pedagogical translanguaging, this qualitative case study explored university teachers’ translanguaging practices in the bilingual space in English reading instruction. Data were gathered through class observations and semi-structured interviews with four teachers instructing English reading courses in the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) program at a university in Nepal. Analysis reveals teachers’ heteroglossic awareness that inspired them to embed the translanguaging strategy in reading instruction despite the university's monolingual orientation. Perceived as the irreducible fabric of bi/multilingual classrooms, English-Nepali translanguaging was integrated into reading lessons for different purposes, such as, to orient students to texts, enhance students’ access to text content and language, and optimize reader-text interaction and collaborative meaning construction. The study highlights how teachers can leverage students’ bi/multilingual resources to compensate for and complement their emergent meaning-making and meaning-sharing processes in English reading. These findings imply that idealized monolingual instructional practices commonly promoted through conventional approaches and methods are to be revisited and the role of learners’ prior and emergent linguistic repertoires is to be repositioned in EFL contexts. The study sees the need for further exploration of the translanguaging praxis in EFL contexts to institutionally validate the deployment of bi/multilingual resources for learning enhancement.

Targeting Phonology or Semantics to Improve Reading Aloud Response Times and Accuracy: A Case Series Investigation of Stroke Survivors With Aphasia.

Acquired reading deficits, or alexia, affect a significant proportion of individuals with aphasia. We sought to improve treatment for alexia by targeting specific cognitive information-processing components critical to reading (i.e., phonology or semantics). To target either phonological or semantic processing, we administered two anomia treatments, phonomotor treatment (PMT) and semantic feature analysis, modified to include a focus on reading throughout the therapy. Chronic left-hemisphere stroke survivors (N = 5) completed one or two 60-hr treatment rounds. Based on predictions from a computational reading model, three participants received the treatment recommended for their specific reading challenges (e.g., PMT for phonological deficits), while two participants had the nonrecommended treatment first, followed by the recommended model-matched treatment. Changes in reading aloud accuracy and response times (RTs) from before to after treatment were examined as a function of matching treatment to the deficit profile, type of treatment, therapy round, and word characteristics. Participants' reading aloud accuracy improved after treatment relative to baseline with higher accuracy for high-frequency words and shorter words. After the first treatment round, participants' accuracy and RT improved, irrespective of whether treatment was matched to the deficit profile. Furthermore, participants who completed the second treatment round continued achieving accuracy gains. Following treatment, participants demonstrated enhanced reading efficiency and generalized improvements on the selected sections of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test. While larger studies are needed to test for the effects of matching treatment type to the deficit profile, we conclude that treatments targeting specific information-processing components can effectively improve reading. Doubling the treatment dose offers small but significant gains. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.26517319.

Acceptability of artificial intelligence in breast screening: focus groups with the screening-eligible population in England

IntroductionPreliminary studies of artificial intelligence (AI) tools developed to support breast screening demonstrate the potential to reduce radiologist burden and improve cancer detection which could lead to improved breast cancer...