Development Of Word Recognition Skills Research Articles

Supporting young L2 English learners with word recognition: design of early reading materials

This theoretical article presents a case for a new approach to the teaching of word recognition in English as a foreign language to young learners in Polish early years education, arguing that there is a need for greater attention to explicit instruction in alphabetic principles, selected phonics and decoding skills. Research in first language (L1) English and foreign language (L2) development of word recognition skills is outlined. Differences between the orthographies of Polish and English are highlighted. Approaches used in L1 early reading instruction are contrasted with those commonly applied in L2 settings. The need for more explicit instruction is rationalized on the basis of a brief description of impressions from 20 hours of classroom observation. The second part of the paper presents some principles for the design of materials to introduce alphabetic principles of English and elements of phonics to support word recognition, with examples. The ability to recognize words rapidly and with ease is a key skill, which, unless mastered early, could potentially have a negative impact on the whole of a child’s language education.

The Slow Development of Real-Time Processing: Spoken-Word Recognition as a Crucible for New Thinking About Language Acquisition and Language Disorders

Words are fundamental to language, linking sound, articulation, and spelling to meaning and syntax; and lexical deficits are core to communicative disorders. Work in language acquisition commonly focuses on how lexical knowledge—knowledge of words’ sound patterns and meanings—is acquired. But lexical knowledge is insufficient to account for skilled language use. Sophisticated real-time processes must decode the sound pattern of words and interpret them appropriately. We review work that bridges this gap by using sensitive real-time measures (eye tracking in the visual world paradigm) of school-age children’s processing of highly familiar words. This work reveals that the development of word recognition skills can be characterized by changes in the rate at which decisions unfold in the lexical system (the activation rate). Moreover, contrary to the standard view that these real-time skills largely develop during infancy and toddlerhood, they develop slowly, at least through adolescence. In contrast, language disorders can be linked to differences in the ultimate degree to which competing interpretations are suppressed (competition resolution), and these differences can be mechanistically linked to deficits in inhibition. These findings have implications for real-world problems such as reading difficulties and second-language acquisition. They suggest that developing accurate, flexible, and efficient processing is just as important a developmental goal as is acquiring language knowledge.

Structural connectivity predicts functional activation during lexical and sublexical reading

A critical question in neuroscience is the extent to which structural connectivity of the brain predicts localization of brain function. Recent research has suggested that anatomical connectivity can predict functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) responses in several cognitive domains, including face, object, scene, and body processing, and development of word recognition skills (Osher et al., 2016; Saygin et al., 2016). However, this technique has not yet been extended to skilled word reading. Thus, we developed a computational model that relates anatomical connectivity (measured using probabilistic tractography) of individual cortical voxels to fMRI responses of the same voxels during lexical and sublexical reading tasks. Our results showed that the model built from structural connectivity was able to accurately predict functional responses of individual subjects based on their structural connectivity alone. This finding was apparent across the cortex, as well as to specific regions of interest associated with reading, language, and spatial attention. Further, we identified the structural connectivity networks associated with different aspects of skilled reading using connectivity analyses, and showed that interconnectivity between left hemisphere language and right hemisphere attentional areas underlies both lexical and sublexical reading. This work has important implications for understanding how structural connectivity contributes to reading and suggests that there is a relationship between skilled reading and neuroanatomical brain connectivity that future research should continue to explore.

Examining the direct and indirect effects of visual–verbal paired associate learning on Chinese word reading

Associative learning, traditionally measured with paired associate learning (PAL) tasks, has been found to predict reading ability in several languages. However, it remains unclear whether it also predicts word reading in Chinese, which is known for its ambiguous print–sound correspondences, and whether its effects are direct or indirect through the effects of other reading-related skills such as phonological awareness and rapid naming. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the direct and indirect effects of visual–verbal PAL on word reading in an unselected sample of Chinese children followed from the second to the third kindergarten year. A sample of 141 second-year kindergarten children (71 girls and 70 boys; mean age=58.99months, SD=3.17) were followed for a year and were assessed at both times on measures of visual–verbal PAL, rapid naming, and phonological awareness. In the third kindergarten year, they were also assessed on word reading. The results of path analysis showed that visual–verbal PAL exerted a significant direct effect on word reading that was independent of the effects of phonological awareness and rapid naming. However, it also exerted significant indirect effects through phonological awareness. Taken together, these findings suggest that variations in cross-modal associative learning (as measured by visual–verbal PAL) place constraints on the development of word recognition skills irrespective of the characteristics of the orthography children are learning to read.

Development of First-Graders’ Word Reading Skills

Dynamic assessment (DA) of word reading measures learning potential for early reading development by documenting the amount of assistance needed to learn how to read words with unfamiliar orthography. We examined the additive value of DA for predicting first-grade decoding and word recognition development while controlling for autoregressive effects. Additionally, we examined whether predictive validity of DA would be higher for students who have poor phonological awareness skills. First-grade students (n = 105) were assessed on measures of word reading, phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, and DA in the fall and again assessed on word reading measures in the spring. A series of planned, moderated multiple regression analyses indicated that DA made a significant and unique contribution in predicting word recognition development above and beyond the autoregressor, particularly for students with poor phonological awareness skills. For these students, DA explained 3.5% of the unique variance in end-of-first-grade word recognition that was not attributable to autoregressive effect. Results suggest that DA provides an important source of individual differences in the development of word recognition skills that cannot be fully captured by merely assessing the present level of reading skills through traditional static assessment, particularly for students at risk for developing reading disabilities.

Evaluating the developmental trajectory of the episodic buffer component of working memory and its relation to word recognition in children

The creation of temporary bound representation of information from different sources is one of the key abilities attributed to the episodic buffer component of working memory. Whereas the role of working memory in word learning has received substantial attention, very little is known about the link between the development of word recognition skills and the ability to bind information in the episodic buffer of working memory and how it may develop with age. This study examined the performance of Grade 2 children (8years old), Grade 3 children (9years old), and young adults on a task designed to measure their ability to bind visual and auditory–verbal information in working memory. Children’s performance on this task significantly correlated with their word recognition skills even when chronological age, memory for individual elements, and other possible reading-related factors were taken into account. In addition, clear developmental trajectories were observed, with improvements in the ability to hold temporary bound information in working memory between Grades 2 and 3, and between the child and adult groups, that were independent from memory for the individual elements. These findings suggest that the capacity to temporarily bind novel auditory–verbal information to visual form in working memory is linked to the development of word recognition in children and improves with age.

Does Set for Variability Mediate the Influence of Vocabulary Knowledge on the Development of Word Recognition Skills?

This study investigated the hypothesis that vocabulary influences word recognition skills indirectly through set for variability, the ability to determine the correct pronunciation of approximations to spoken English words. One hundred forty children participating in a 3-year longitudinal study were administered reading and reading-related measures at four time points. Hierarchical regression and path analyses indicated that vocabulary and phonemic awareness made independent contributions to variance in set for variability; that vocabulary directly influenced future reading comprehension and indirectly influenced future decoding and word recognition through set for variability; and that set for variability influenced future reading comprehension indirectly through both decoding and word recognition, controlling for autoregressive effects.

Can solving of wordchains be explained by phonological skills alone?

The present study focussed on the determinants for effective solving of the Wordchains Test (WCT) in a normative sample of Norwegian junior high-school students. Forty voluntary participants from a rural school district in Western Norway completed the WCT along with tests of general intellectual capacity, single word and non-word reading, auditory working memory, and visual scanning. All measures correlated significantly with each other except for general non-verbal abilities were not correlated with visual scanning. A stepwise multiple regression analysis, using the WCT as the dependent variable, yielded a model that included single word reading, letter recognition, and working memory as independent variables. This model accounted for 75% of the variance in WCT performance. This finding suggests that phonological skills only have an indirect influence on WCT performance. Thus, the core deficit in dyslexia, i.e. impaired phonological skills, may be related to the development of word recognition skills, but have no direct effect on the WCT performance in a normative sample.

Early identification of reading difficulties using heterogeneous developmental trajectories.

Serious conceptual and procedural problems associated with current diagnostic methods call for alternative approaches to assessing and diagnosing students with reading problems. This study presents a new analytic model to improve the classification and prediction of children's reading development. Growth mixture modeling was used to identify the presence of 10 different heterogeneous developmental patterns. In all, 411 children in kindergarten through Grade 2 from 3 elementary schools in Texas were administered measures of phonological awareness, word recognition, and rapid naming skills 4 times a year. The mean ages were 5.8 years (SD = 0.35) for the kindergartners, 6.9 years (SD = 0.39) for Grade 1, and 8.0 years (SD = 0.43) for Grade 2; the percentage of boys was 50%. The results indicate that precursor reading skills such as phonological awareness and rapid naming are highly predictive of word reading (word recognition) and that developmental profiles formed in kindergarten are directly associated with development in Grades 1 and 2. Students identified as having reading-related difficulties in kindergarten exhibited slower development of word recognition skills in subsequent years of the study.

Development of Word Recognition Skills of Adult L2 Beginning Readers

Development of Word Recognition Skills of Adult L2 Beginning Readers

Beginning readers' reading performance and reading habits

This study investigated the prospective relationships between reading performance and reading habits among Finnish children during the first and second grades of primary school. One hundred and ninety‐five children were examined twice during their first primary school year and once during the spring term of Grade 2. The results showed, first, that children's reading skills predicted their reading habits: the more competent in reading children were at the end of Grade 1, the more likely they were to engage in out‐of‐school reading one year later. Second, reading habits also predicted reading skills: the amount of out‐of‐school reading at the end of Grade 1 contributed to the development of word recognition skills.

Fostering the Development of Reading Skill through Supplemental Instruction: Results for Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Students.

This paper reports the effects of a two-year supplemental reading program for kindergarten through third grade students that focused on the development of decoding skills and reading fluency. Two hundred ninety-nine students were identified for participation and were randomly assigned to the supplemental instruction or to a no-treatment control group. Participants' reading ability was assessed in the fall, before the first year of the intervention, and again in the spring of years 1, 2, 3, and 4. At the end of the two-year intervention, students who received the supplemental instruction performed significantly better than their matched controls on measures of entry level reading skills (i.e., letter-word identification and word attack), oral reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. The benefits of the instruction were still clear two years after instruction had ended with students in the supplemental-instruction condition still showing significantly greater growth on the measure of oral reading fluency. Hispanic students benefited from the supplemental reading instruction in English as much as or more than non-Hispanic students. Results support the value of supplemental instruction focused on the development of word recognition skills for helping students at risk for reading failure.

The development of basic reading skills in children: a cross-language perspective

This chapter reviews recent empirical evidence for universal and orthography- or language-specific processes in the development of basic reading skills in school age children, suggesting that universal and orthography- or language-specific processes should be considered in tandem. The review focuses on three different aspects of reading, phonological processing, rapid naming, and morphosyntactic complexity, targeted in recent research on development of word recognition skills. Studies on L1 school children and studies of children who learn to read concurrently in their L1 and/or in a second language (L2) are examined within the context of variations in orthographic transparency. When children learn to read, characteristics of the spoken language interact with characteristics of the orthography. The chapter concludes that (a) individual differences in phonological processing skills, verbal memory, and rapid naming predict the development of reading in L1 and L2 children in various alphabetic and nonalphabetic languages; and (b) individual differences on such prerequisite skills can indicate smooth or problematic acquisition of L2 reading skills in children, regardless of oral language proficiency. However, task demands associated with learning to read in different orthographies vary and yield steeper or more moderate learning slopes. Regardless of the language and orthography combinations under study, children can develop reading strategies that help them read.

The case for orthographic knowledge

Scholes (1998) argues that phonemic awareness cannot be the driving force behind reading development, because this skill develops as a consequence of learning to read. Evidence is reviewed which supports the view that the role of phonemic awareness has been overstated, but it is clear that awareness of phonemes in spoken words does make some contribution to the development of word recognition skills. Scholes also argues that due to the irregularities of the English spelling system, a phonics approach to reading cannot work since it relies on knowing what the word is. This ignores the fact that there is a considerable amount of evidence that a phonics‐based approach is a very effective way of teaching reading. Phonics is not a branch of phonetics – children can even ‘sound out’ irregular words and still obtain the correct pronunciation. They may activate words which look and sound like the target word – i.e. activate orthographic information – and select the most appropriate word using contextual information. Although, as Scholes argues, the ultimate purpose of reading is comprehension, the unskilled reader has to learn to recognise the building blocks of the sentence, i.e. words, and failure to capitalise on the alphabetic nature of English would make it as hard to learn to read as Chinese.

Semantic Processing and the Development of Word-Recognition Skills: Evidence from Children with Reading Comprehension Difficulties

Children with specific reading comprehension difficulties were compared with control children on tests of language skill. The two groups performed at a similar level on tests requiring predominantly phonological skills, but the poor comprehenders performed less well on tests tapping semantic ability. Although the two groups were matched for decoding ability (as assessed by nonword reading), the poor comprehenders were worse at reading words with irregular spelling patterns and low-frequency words. These results show that despite having adequate phonological decoding skills, poor comprehenders have problems reading words that are typically read with support from semantics. These findings are related to connectionist models of reading development in which phonological and semantic processes interact.

Development of Reading Efficiency in First and Second Language

Efficiency in basic reading processes can be discussed in terms of accuracy and speed. In this longitudinal study, the development of accurate and fast reading processes was studied in a group of 66 children learning to read simultaneously in English, their first language (L1), and Hebrew, their second language (L2). Children's speed and accuracy were compared in Grade 1 and Grade 2 on parallel L1 and L2 tasks of letter naming, reading isolated words and the same words in text. Results indicated that corresponding accuracy and speed across the two languages are highly correlated. Despite differences in language familiarity and different orthographies, accuracy and speed rates of isolated word reading in L1 and L2 were highly similar. Yet, in L1, children were more efficient (faster and more accurate) in reading text than isolated words, but in early stages of L2 reading acquisition, text reading was not more efficient than the reading of isolated words. In terms of efficiency components in L2 language, accuracy distinguished good from poor L2 readers, but speed did not. It is concluded that (a) steps associated with the development of L1 reading efficiency (i.e., accuracy attained before speed) are applicable to the development of word recognition skills in L2, but they do not emerge concurrently in both languages and (b) specific linguistic features such as orthographic depth and morphosyntactic complexity may interact with more global L2 proficiency effects in determining the course of L2 reading skills development.

Beginning to read in Turkish: A phonologically transparent orthography

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to investigate early literacy acquisition in a phonologically transparent orthography with regular letter-sound correspondences. It was considered that Turkish, with its systematic phonological and orthographic structure, would make different demands on the beginning reader than the languages used in many of the previous studies of literacy acquisition. First grade children were assessed using tests of phonological awareness, letter recognition, word and pseudoword recognition, spelling, syntactic awareness, and listening comprehension at the beginning of the school year. The impact of these factors on the development of word recognition, spelling, and reading comprehension was examined. The results strongly suggest that a phonologically transparent orthography fosters the early development of word recognition skills, and that phonological awareness contributes to word recognition in the early stages of reading acquisition. Once the children's word recognition performance is high, listening comprehension ability distinguishes the different levels of reading comprehension among children. These patterns of results were interpreted as reflecting the phonological and orthographic characteristics of the Turkish language and orthography.

Reading Acquisition Processes

The components of reading, W.A. Hoover and W.E. Tunmer a theory of knowledge sources and procedures for reading acquisition, G.B. Thompson and C.M. Fletcher-Finn the effects of type of instruction on processes of reading instruction, G.B. Thompson and R.S. Johnston the case against context, T. Nicholson reading without context, T. Nicholson language-related factors as sources of individual differences in the development of word recognition skills, W.E. Tunmer and W.A. Hoover appendix - reading instruction for the initial years in New Zealand schools, G.B. Thompson.

Connectionism and learning to read: Steps towards a psychologically plausible model

We consider the prospects and need for a psychologically plausible connectionist model of the development of word recognition skills. We present an outline of the Seidenberg and McClelland (1989) distributed, developmental model of word recognition and naming. We emphasize certain incompatibilities between this model and the assumptions underlying it and psychological evidence from studies of children learning to read. In particular, we emphasize the importance of phonological skills as precursors and facilitators of learning to read. We argue that it may be possible to develop a connectionist model of the development of word recognition skills which, by having a built in knowledge of phonology, will be more consistent with evidence from studies of both normal and dyslexic children.