Word Decoding Research Articles

Predicting dyslexia in Arabic-speaking children: Developing instruments and estimating their psychometric indices.

Dyslexia is a reading disability that is characterized by when an individual has trouble in rapid and accurate word decoding. This study developed, piloted and assessed the validity and reliability of three instruments: Rapid Automatized Scale (RANS), Arabic Reading Ability Scale (ARAS) and Phonological Awareness Scale (PAS), on a sample of 700 students (aged 8-9 years). Four groups (n=30) were formed based on the participants' results of the three instruments; Double Deficit (DD), Rapid Automatized Naming Deficit (RAND), Phonological Awareness Deficit (PAD) and No Deficit groups. Content validities of the instruments were supported using published reports; though educational experts further revised RANS. It found a significant inverse correlation between the PA test score and RAN (mistakes and time) score (r=-.44; p < .001), and a significant positive correlation between RAN mistakes and RAN time (r=.47; p < .001). Acceptable internal reliability of the RANS was demonstrated by a Cronbach's alpha test coefficient of α=.85 (>.70; acceptable). High inter-rater reliability tests were observed for the three instruments (r ≥ .86, p < .001). The three instruments can predict reading difficulties and dyslexia in Arabic-speaking populations.

Enhancing Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) Through Computer Assisted Repeated Reading (CARR)

This study was carried out to investigate the effectiveness of using the Computer Assisted Repeated Reading (CARR) technique to enhance Form One rural students’ oral reading fluency (ORF). The single subject experimental design (SSED) which emphasised on the individual participant was used to collect data. Five students participated in this 12 week study in which the CARR intervention was carried out two times a week. CARR, the adaptation of the CBM/ORF procedure was used to improve the participants’ accuracy and automaticity in word decoding. Each participant’s accuracy and automaticity in word decoding before and after intervention were charted on line graphs. Accuracy was determined by the percentage of words read correctly. The participant’s initial reading accuracy which stood at 96.7%, 94.2%, 96.6%, 97.3% and 97.1% showed that they could only read at instructional level. After the CARR intervention their reading accuracy improved and stood at 98.8%, 99.2%,97.2%,98.8% and 98.0%.This showed that they can now read the assessment texts or other texts of comparable difficulty independently. Automaticity was determined by the reading rate or words read correctly per minute (WCPM). The participant’s initial WCPM was between 104 to 143 WCPM, 85 WCPM to 127 WCPM, 99 to 128, 57 to 209 WCPM and 103 and 163 WCPM. After the CARR intervention their reading automaticity improved between 108 to 158 WCPM, 99 to 146 WCPM, 99 to 135, 52 to 120 WCPM and 114 and 167 WCPM. Based on the participants’ individual results, it can be concluded that the CARR technique was effective in improving struggling readers’ reading fluency. The results further implied that the CARR technique will ease burnt out English teachers’ workloads. CARR is user friendly and it can help teachers to help their students become better readers while helping struggling readers to become fluent.&#x0D; &#x0D; Keywords: Reading fluency, Accuracy, Automaticity, Repeated reading, Computer Assisted Repeated Reading (CARR)

Tier 2 interventions within the RtI-model for developing students’ word decoding – a systematic review and meta-analysis

This pre-registered systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to answer if K-2 students at risk (Population) for reading impairment benefited from a response to tier 2 reading intervention (Interve...

Intervention Targeting Reading and Working Memory among Struggling Readers in Primary School

Working memory is one of our core cognitive functions. It allows us to keep information in mind for shorter periods of time, allowing us to process and work with that specific information. In this randomized control trial, the effects of a training program that combine reading training and working memory training among struggling readers aged 8-9 were investigated. 30 pupils were included in the intervention group and 17 were assigned to the control group. The intervention group received a total of 60 training sessions divided into two eight-week training periods with a four-week pause in between. The results show that children in the intervention group improved significantly better than children in the control group on eight tests: Reading comprehension, Word decoding, Nonsense-word reading, Short-term memory, Working memory, Visuospatial short-term memory, Visuospatial working memory and Working memory for words. The effect was not confirmed for Sight word seeing.

텍스트 유형에 따른 초등학생의 영어 단어 식별력 비교

This study investigated the effects of different text types on elementary school students’ word identification. Eighty-four students in the 6th grade of an elementary school were sampled for the experiment. Students were divided into two groups and treated during an 8 week period. Students were taught reading instruction using different types of reading materials: Decodable texts and high-frequency vocabulary texts. The reading materials were chosen from popular textbook series and revised based on CWF (Critical Word Factor). Texts were based on curriculum vocabulary, and matching communication functions in the textbook and the word patterns which had low learning difficulties such as CV, VC, CVC, CCVC. After the experiment, a post-test was carried out on students’ word identification abilities and the students’ reading miscue was analyzed using Reading Miscue Analysis for students’ word strategies use. The research found that students in the decodable text group made significant progress in their word identification than the high-frequency vocabulary text group. It means that the decodable texts scaffolded for using word identification strategies. It was shown that they advanced to the latter part of the word identification phase that they have sufficient knowledge about letter-sound relationships for word decoding. Based on the results, several suggestions on textbook development and reading instruction are discussed.

Decoding Ability of Students with Visual Impairment under Systematic and Explicit Phonics Instruction

This study discusses the decoding ability of students with visual impairment in a special need school under the implementation of systematic and explicit phonics instruction. The purpose of this study is to observe to what extent does the instruction help students with visual impairment in novice and mature alphabetic stage learn English word decoding.&#x0D; This qualitative study uses non-participant observation using unstructured fieldnotes and loosely-structured interview to obtain verbal data from 1 teacher and 4 students in four meetings of classroom observation. All of the students are visually impaired whom divided into two big groups. 2 of the students belong to mature alphabetic stage and the other 2 students belong to novice alphabetic stage. The classroom being observed is an English extracurricular classroom in a school specialized for students with visual impairment. Although they are divided into two groups, they study together in a same classroom at once.&#x0D; The results derived from the observation and interview are (1) Students in novice alphabetic stage, although they have not memorized all of the alphabet’s name, they still are able to gain knowledge of English word decoding, (2) Students in mature alphabetic stage, for they have memorized all of the alphabet’s name, have an easier understanding and are able to cope with the instruction better and faster, (3) this kind of instruction could gain students confidence in reading English word even though they do not memorize the alphabet’s name, (4) Once the students are able to relate between the words’ shape and how it sounds, they start to build automaticity in building their understanding of English words decoding.&#x0D; This study concluded that with appropriate materials and instruction, students with visual impairment in novice and alphabetic stage could acquire the knowledge of how to sound English words.&#x0D; Keywords: Decoding, Students with Visual Impairment, Systematic and Explicit Phonics Instruction

Technical Reading and Writing Skills and Their Relationship with Linguistic Processes in Children with a Cleft (Lip and) Palate: A Comparison with Peers

Introduction: Poor word decoding skills and writing skills can impact job opportunities and psychosocial functioning. Despite the importance of identifying possible literacy problems for the child’s future performance, there seems to be no consensus on this topic in children with a cleft of the palate with or without a cleft of the lip (CP±L). The aim of this study was to investigate reading and writing skills and their relationship with linguistic processes in Dutch-speaking children with a CP±L compared to a group of children without a CP±L. Methods: Twelve children with a CP±L and 12 children without a CP±L (age range 7–12 years) were included in the study. The 2 groups were matched based on age, gender, and socioeconomic status. An assessment battery including language, reading, and writing tests was administered to both groups. Results: No statistically significant differences in reading and writing skills were found when comparing children with and without a CP±L. Interestingly, a moderate correlation was found between the children’s reading skills and phonological awareness. Moderate correlations were also revealed between writing skills and several working memory tasks. Discussion/Conclusion: Our findings did not provide evidence for any difference in word decoding skills and writing skills between children with a CP±L and their peers. Some linguistic processes, more specifically phonological awareness and working memory, are important factors that contribute to the child’s literacy development. Identification of these linguistic skills can provide important information on the child’s future reading and writing performance. Future studies should increase sample sizes to confirm these results.

Desempenho em tarefas de leitura e escrita de alunos surdos do 1º Ciclo do Ensino Básico ao nível do Português L2

A literatura tem constatado atrasos substanciais na capacidade de leitura e escrita em crianças surdas, sendo, contudo, escassa no que se refere à língua portuguesa. O presente estudo pretendeu caraterizar uma amostra de alunos surdos portugueses (3 meninos, 4 meninas, entre os 11 e os 12 anos de idade) do ensino fundamental em termos de grau de surdez, idade de diagnóstico, tempo de utilização de próteses/implantes e idade de ingresso numa escola especializada; e avaliar a competência destes alunos relativamente ao domínio da leitura e da escrita na sua segunda língua. Os alunos foram submetidos a uma bateria composta por 6 tarefas, que avaliaram o reconhecimento de palavras, a correspondência imagem-palavra, o cumprimento de instruções escritas, a legendagem de imagens, a compreensão de uma narrativa escrita e a produção de uma narrativa escrita. Foram observadas grandes discrepâncias em todas as variáveis independentes. Quanto às dependentes, a compreensão e a produção de uma narrativa escrita foram as competências em que os alunos revelaram maiores dificuldades. As estratégias de intervenção devem centrar-se na melhoria da compreensão da leitura, concentrando-se não apenas nas habilidades de nível básico, garantindo um conhecimento adequado do vocabulário usado em uma história específica, mas também em habilidades mais complexas, escalpelizando a sua estrutura e treinando habilidades de inferência a um nível global. Os dados revelados podem constituir um importante contributo, na medida em que a identificação de áreas fortes e fracas pode permitir um ajustamento de objetivos, métodos e/ou estratégias que, efetivamente, atendam às suas reais necessidades.

Intensive Phonological Training With Articulation—An Intervention Study to Boost Pupils' Word Decoding in Grade 1

The aim of this study is to examine how a structured intensive training period with a phonological multisensory reading training method, at the end of Grade 1, can develop pupils' ability to connect phonemes with the corresponding graphemes as well as their ability to decode. A total of 38 pupils in Grade 1 from four elementary schools participated in this randomized controlled trial (RCT) study. Of the 38 pupils 19 were randomly assigned to be part of the intervention group, the other 19 were included in the control group. The intervention involved 30 minutes of intensive training on a total of 20 sessions. The control group participated in regular reading lessons in the classroom. The study included pre- and posttesting of phonological awareness, letter knowledge, and decoding. The result shows that intensive phonological awareness training with articulation, during 20 sessions spread over 4–5 weeks, stimulates pupils' decoding ability in a positive direction.

Reading Risk in Children With Speech Sound Disorder: Prevalence, Persistence, and Predictors.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which school-age children with speech sound disorder (SSD) exhibit concomitant reading difficulties and examine the extent to which phonological processing and speech production abilities are associated with increased likelihood of reading risks. Method Data were obtained from 120 kindergarten, first-grade, and second-grade children who were in receipt of school-based speech therapy services. Children were categorized as being "at risk" for reading difficulties if standardized scores on a word decoding measure were 1 SD or more from the mean. The selected predictors of reading risk included children's rapid automatized naming ability, phonological awareness (PA), and accuracy of speech sound production. Results Descriptive results indicated that just over 25% of children receiving school-based speech therapy for an SSD exhibited concomitant deficits in word decoding and that those exhibiting risk at the beginning of the school year were likely to continue to be at risk at the end of the school year. Results from a hierarchical logistic regression suggested that, after accounting for children's age, general language abilities, and socioeconomic status, both PA and speech sound production abilities were significantly associated with the likelihood of being classified as at risk. Conclusions School-age children with SSD are at increased risk for reading difficulties that are likely to persist throughout an academic year. The severity of phonological deficits, reflected by PA and speech output, may be important indicators of subsequent reading problems.

Crosslinguistic Sharing of Morphological Awareness in Biliteracy Development: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis of Correlation Coefficients

AbstractThis study examined the crosslinguistic sharing of morphological awareness (MA) in biliteracy development. The analysis included 34 correlational studies with 41 independent samples (N = 4,104). Correlational coefficients were meta‐analyzed, yielding four main findings: (a) the correlation between first language (L1) and second language (L2) MA was small (r = .30); (b) the interlingual correlations between L1 MA and L2 word decoding and between L1 MA and L2 reading comprehension were both small (r = .35, .39, respectively); (c) the intralingual correlations between L2 MA and L2 word decoding and between L2 MA and L2 reading comprehension were both moderate (r = .46, .52, respectively); and (d) MA measurement type and age were significant moderators. Our review suggests that there is a need for future research to align the definition and measurement of MA.

Impact of Classroom-Based Fluency Instruction on Grade One Students in an Urban Elementary School

The present exploratory study examined the effect of the implementation of a reading fluency instruction protocol on the reading performance of early first grade students in an urban school. Previous research has tended to examine the effects of fluency instruction after students have achieved some degree of competency in word recognition, usually toward the end of first grade and beyond. The fluency instruction provided in this study included repeated and assisted reading and was delivered daily over a ten-week period in the first semester of the school year by classroom teachers. The reading performance of students in the fluency instruction group (n = 51) was compared with a comparable group of first grade students (n = 27) who did not receive the fluency instruction, though the total number of minutes devoted to daily reading instruction and home reading was equal between groups. Descriptive analyses of pre- and post-testing data suggest that the first grade students receiving the fluency instruction made substantive, but not statistically significant, gains in reading achievement over the comparison group of students not receiving fluency instruction. The results suggest that dedicated and systematic fluency instruction may be appropriate for students before high levels of word decoding are achieved and that fluency instruction may be an effective instructional protocol as early as the beginning of first grade. Given the acknowledged limitations, including small sample size, further research into fluency instruction in early first grade is recommended.

Predictive Model for Dyslexia from Fixations and Saccadic Eye Movement Events

BackgroundDyslexia is a disorder characterized by difficulty in reading such as poor speech and sound recognition. They have less capability to relate letters and form words and exhibit poor reading comprehension. Eye-tracking methodologies play a major role in analyzing human cognitive processing. Dyslexia is not a visual impairment disorder but it's a difficulty in phonological processing and word decoding. These difficulties are reflected in their eye movement patterns during reading. ObjectiveThe disruptive eye movement helps us to use eye-tracking methodologies for identifying dyslexics. MethodsIn this paper, a small set of eye movement features have been proposed that contribute more to distinguish between dyslexics and non-dyslexics by machine learning models. Features related to eye movement events such as fixations and saccades are detected using statistical measures, dispersion threshold identification (I-DT) and velocity threshold identification (I-VT) algorithms. These features were further analyzed using various machine learning algorithms such as Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) based SVM Hybrid Kernel (Hybrid SVM – PSO), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Random Forest classifier (RF), Logistic Regression (LR) and K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) for classification of dyslexics and non-dyslexics. ResultsThe accuracy achieved using the Hybrid SVM –PSO model is 95.6 %. The best set of features that gave high accuracy are average no of fixations, average fixation gaze duration, average saccadic movement duration, total number of saccadic movements, and average number of fixations. ConclusionIt is observed that eye movement features detected using velocity-based algorithms performed better than those detected by dispersion-based algorithms and statistical measures.

Processing and Memory of Central and Peripheral Ideas in Reading Comprehension by Poor Comprehenders

ABSTRACT This study was designed to examine the ability of poor comprehenders to identify, attend, and remember central and peripheral ideas during and after reading. To address these goals, good and poor comprehenders, matched on reading (word decoding) skills and non-verbal intelligence, read three expository texts, while their eye-movements were monitored during reading. Latencies and frequency of (re)reading central and peripheral ideas were measured to assess attention allocation during reading. After reading the three texts, participants were asked to recall, recognize, and rate the centrality level of text ideas, in order to assess the extent to which they store, retrieve and identify central and peripheral ideas, respectively. Findings indicated that poor comprehenders identified, (re)read and recognized central (as compared to peripheral) ideas to the same extent as good comprehenders, whereas their recall of central ideas was significantly lower than good comprehenders. This specific retrieval deficit is further illuminated in the context of their poor integration skills.

Orthographic Learning In L1 And L2 Alphabets: The Impact of Phonological Inconsistency Across Cyrillic and Roman Scripts

The acquisition of new orthographic representations has been systematically found as a fast and accurate process in monolingual readers. The present study aims to extended this research to biliterate and bialphabetic population, addressing the impact of phonological inconsistencies across the native (L1) and second (L2) alphabet. Naming latencies were collected from 50 Russian-English biliterates through a reading-aloud task, in which familiar and novel words were repeatedly presented across 10 blocks. The stimuli were equally divided in three script conditions: Cyrillic, Roman (in both cases, using script-specific graphemes) and ambiguous (using graphemes common to L1 and L2 alphabets, and thus phonologically inconsistent). Linear mixed-effects modelling revealed differences in the process of orthographic learning depending on the script. Thus, although naming latencies for novel and familiar words in the ambiguous condition were matched along the training, this effect was much faster in conditions of phonological consistency. Nonetheless, post-training outcomes of learning revealed similar recall and recognition performance in familiar and trained words regardless of the script. Overall, our results indicate that phonological inconsistency interferes with the decoding of novel words but does not prevent the efficient achievement of orthographic representations in biliterates.

Does the Inclusion of a Genome-Wide Polygenic Score Improve Early Risk Prediction for Later Language and Literacy Delay?

Purpose The ability to identify children early in development who are at substantial risk for language/literacy difficulties would have great benefit both for the children and for the educational and therapeutic institutions that serve them. Information that is relatively easily available prior to the age of 3 years, such as late talking, family history of language/literacy difficulties, and socioeconomic status, have some but very limited predictive power. Here, we examine whether the inclusion of a DNA-based genome-wide polygenic score that has been shown to capture children's genetic propensity for educational attainment (EA3) adds enough prediction to yield a clinically useful score. Method Data are longitudinal scores of 1,420 children from the Twins Early Development Study, who were assessed at ages 2 and 3 years on language and nonverbal ability and at 12 years of age on oral language, word decoding, and reading comprehension. Five risk factors were examined: expressive vocabulary, nonverbal ability (these two from parent report), family history, mothers' education, and EA3. Analyses were conducted both for continuous and categorically defined measures of risk and outcome. Results Language and literacy abilities at 12 years of age were significantly but modestly predicted by the risk factors, with a small but significant added prediction from EA3. Indices of diagnostic validity for poor outcomes, such as sensitivity and area under the curve statistics, were poor in all cases. Conclusions We conclude that, at present, clinically useful prediction from toddlerhood remains an unattained goal. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12170331.

The contribution of morphological awareness to reading comprehension in Arabic-speaking second graders

We examined the longitudinal contribution of awareness of inflections and derivations to reading comprehension in Arabic, a morphologically rich language, among 734 second graders. Morphological awareness, phonological awareness, word decoding and reading comprehension tasks were delivered at the beginning and at the end of the school year. Results indicated that readers improved in morphological awareness and reading comprehension over the course of the year. More importantly, in general, morphological awareness at the beginning of the year predicted reading comprehension at the end of the year. Moreover, inflectional awareness at the beginning of the year predicted reading comprehension at the end of the year among readers with low levels of morphological awareness, whereas both inflectional and derivational awareness predicted reading comprehension in high morphological awareness readers, beyond the contribution of word decoding. The results highlight the importance of testing awareness of inflections and derivations separately, and the differential role of inflectional and derivational awareness to Arabic reading comprehension in young readers with different levels of morphological awareness.

Data Processing and Artificial Neural Network under Big Data

The origin of characters is that human beings can't remember all things, so they must be recorded to convey and inherit. Character is essentially a kind of coding for things. As a kind of text, numbers are concise, easy to understand, and convenient to write and verify. Understanding sentences is a decoding process. With the development of computer science, the question arises: can a computer understand language and apply it to life? For example, the translation is actually the decoding and recoding of words.&#x0D; In previous studies, researchers focused on exploring whether computers can think and calculate like human brains. This needs to follow the grammar rules, word by word correspondence analysis. But this method is effective for short sentences and simple sentences, and it is very difficult to apply it to long and difficult sentences. At the same time, with the development of language, the different meanings and contexts of words also have a great impact on the decoding.&#x0D; With the development of civilization, the decoding analysis of regular sentences is gradually replaced by statistics, because the semantic analysis of sentences is largely affected by the context. Therefore, the mathematical model is applied to decoding analysis.

Intensive computer-based phonics training in the educational setting of children with Down syndrome: An explorative study.

Children with Down syndrome (DS) using intensive computer-based phonics (GraphoGame, GG) were studied. The children's independence and improvement in phonological processing, letter knowledge, word decoding, and reading strategies were investigated. Seventeen children (5-16 years) with DS participated in a crossover design through 8 weeks (one period), with three test sessions separated by 4 weeks. Children were randomly assigned to GG intervention or regular schooling (RS). All children completed one period and eight children completed two periods. A majority gradually became independent in managing GG. At the group level, very little benefit was found from working with GG. At the individual level, several children with mild to severe intellectual disabilities showed increased decoding of trained words. After one period of GG and RS, an increase in alphabetically decoded words was found. The finding suggests that when individual challenges are considered, computer-based phonics may be beneficial for children with DS in their educational setting.

Latent profile analysis of students\u2019 reading development and the relation of cognitive variables to reading profiles

Previous studies have showed that early problems with word decoding can lead to poor performance in text reading and comprehension and suggest that poor readers often struggle with reading deficits throughout their school years. Therefore, early detection of those children who are at risk for slow reading development and/or who belong to the lowest reading profiles is essential in order to organize proper support. The present study explores the heterogeneity and prevalence of latent reading profiles among 769 Finnish- and German-reading students during their first and second school years in three countries (Finland, Germany, and Italy) using latent profile analysis. The results identified three latent profiles among Finnish readers, one of which (sentence-level reading) was identified as developing slowly. Among German-reading students, four latent profiles were discovered, two of which were identified as developing slowly. The results of ordinal logistic regression modeling show that rapid automatic naming (RAN) was significantly related to poorer reading profiles among Finnish- and German-reading students, and that the poorer results in letter-sound connection testing among the German-reading group was also significantly related to poorer reading profiles. Although the educational systems have some differences between Germany and German-speaking areas of Italy, no significant country effect was detected. In addition, a child’s age and spoken language did not significantly affect the student’s reading profile.