Morphological Awareness Training Research Articles

The Effects of Phonics Training based on Phonological and Morphological Awareness on Reading and Writing Abilities in Children with Reading Difficulties

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to find more efficient intervention methods for children with poor reading by comparing phonics intervention based on phonological awareness and with integrated phonics group including morphological awareness. Methods: 18 children with poor reading skills in elementary school were selected and classified into two experimental groups and a control group. Decoding, paragraph reading fluency, reading comprehension, dictation, and sentence reading and writing tests were administered as assessment tool. Additionally Jung (2014)’s morphological awareness ability task was utilized. Results: First, both experimental groups showed a significant increase in decoding skills. However, in terms of reading comprehension and fluency, there was a significant increase in the integrated phonics training group including morphological awareness, but there was no significant difference in the phonics training group based solely on phonological awareness. The control group did not show a significant increase in all areas. Second, both groups showed a significant improvement in the dictation skills, while the control group did not showed significant difference. Third, both experimental groups significantly increased their scores in phonological awareness tasks and morphological awareness ability tasks. Conversely, there was no significant increase observed in the control group. Conclusion: It is significant that the phonics intervention program, which integrates phonological and morphological awareness for children with poor reading skills, has an effect not only on reading and writing, but also on meta-recognition ability. This indicates that interventions, including morphological awareness training, have a broad impact on the realm of reading.

Influence of Narrow Reading and Narrow Reading Plus Morphological Awareness Training on Vocabulary Development

The present study sought to investigate the effects of narrow reading and a combination of narrow reading and morphological awareness training on intermediate Chinese college English learners’ vocabulary acquisition and retention. To these ends, 54 Chinese college English as foreign language learners (EFL) were randomly divided into three groups—a narrow reading group (NR group); a narrow reading plus morphological intervention group (NRMI group), and a control group (CR group). The two experimental groups read the same five thematically-related expository passages over 5 weeks with the NRMI group receiving extra morphological training; while the CR group read five texts on different topics over the same period of time. Linear mixed model analysis results indicated that while two treatment groups performed significantly better than the CR group on both receptive and productive vocabulary tests, the NRMI group improved the most in vocabulary learning.

The effect of dialogic reading paired with multisensory learning of Chinese characters and morphological awareness skills for L2 Chinese young learners at Hong Kong kindergartens

AbstractThis study examined how a dialogic reading (DR) program with a component of multisensory learning (MS) of Chinese characters improved early Chinese reading and writing skills in L2 Chinese‐speaking kindergarteners in Hong Kong. The DR + MS program was compared to the same DR program but focusing on morphological awareness (MA) training. A total of 118 3‐ to 4‐year‐old L2 Chinese‐speaking kindergartners were recruited for the study. These children were randomly assigned to one of three separate training groups: DR + MS, DR + MA, and DR alone as a control group: Before and after a 12‐week training session, all participating children were tested on a range of Chinese words reading and writing‐related skills. The DR + MS group demonstrated the strongest growth in Chinese word reading and writing skills. The DR + MA group showed a trend toward greater improvement in Chinese vocabulary knowledge. These results demonstrated enjoyable ways to develop Chinese early literacy skills.

Effects of Morphological Awareness Training on Reading Accuracy in Children with Dyslexia and its Transfer Effect on Phonological Awareness

Abstract We examined the effects of a morphological awareness (MA) training program on the enhancement of word and pseudo-word reading and phonological awareness in Arabic-speaking children with dyslexia. We compared two groups of children with dyslexia from Grade 3, an experimental group (n = 12; mean age = 112.4 months) with a control group (n = 13; mean age = 111.61 months). The training program focused on morphological analysis, derivational morphology and inflexional morphology. Results revealed that the experimental group outperformed controls on all post-training measures for MA, reading words and pseudo-words as well as phonological awareness. Also, the post-training measures were better achieved in the experimental group than pre-training ones, which confirm the efficacy of the morphological training program. We discuss these findings in light of the relationship between morphological awareness and word reading and phonological awareness, and the Arabic orthographic features as a morphological based language.

Developing Lexical Richness among EFL Students: Effect of Morphological Awareness Training on Writing Performance

this study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of morphological awareness training program in developing lexical richness among first-year English majors at the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Translation, Misr University for Science and Technology in terms of lexical density and variation. Quasi-experimental method was adopted with its pretest-posttest control group design. A training program on morphological awareness was developed to fulfill the purpose of the study. Sixty students participated in the study; ( 30 ) in the experimental group and (30) in the control group . The results pinpointed the effectiveness of morphological awareness training program in developing lexical richness among EFL majors in favor of the posttest of lexical density and variation among the experimental group students. The study recommended training teachers on morphological awareness to help their students develop their lexical richness.

Promoting Chinese Literacy in South Asian Preschoolers and their Mothers in Hong Kong: An Intervention Study

ABSTRACTResearch Findings: This study evaluated the impact of Chinese literacy interventions on Chinese language learning of South Asian children and their mothers in Hong Kong. A total of 44 children and eight of their mothers participated in Chinese literacy interventions that consisted of two approaches – Copying and Morphological Awareness Training (CMAT) and Integrative Perceptual Approach (IPA). Children in the intervention group who underwent four weeks of CMAT followed by four weeks of IPA were compared to a control group of 29 children who only attended regular Chinese classes in their preschools. After controlling for non-verbal intelligence, ANCOVA analyses revealed that the intervention group did significantly better than the control group at posttest in (i) morphological awareness, word reading and writing when taught using CMAT; and (ii) word reading when taught using IPA. Mothers made gains on most Chinese literacy measures and children whose mothers participated in the intervention had higher gains in mean scores relative to their pretest scores on most measures than those whose mothers did not, suggesting the effectiveness of combined child and parent interventions. Practice or Policy: Findings support the development of evidence-based interventions to cater to the language learning needs of SA children and parents.

Relative effectiveness of phonological and morphological awareness training on L2 word reading in EFL children

Abstract This study investigates the relative effectiveness of phonological and morphological awareness training on Taiwanese EFL children’s English word reading, involving real and pseudo-words with morphologically simple and complex structures, through an experimental design with three groups of 60 children. One intervention group received phonological awareness training while the other received morphological awareness training. The intervention lasted 40 min per week for 12 weeks. The control group received a regular program without intervention. The three groups had similar initial English proficiency levels before the intervention. Data were collected by assessing the participants’ English word reading before and after the intervention and were analyzed by ANOVAs. Results indicated that both intervention programs significantly improved posttest word reading to a similar extent, irrespective of word type and word structure. Nevertheless, only the phonological training program yielded a significantly better effect on the posttest L2 word reading than the regular instruction. Irrespective of word structure and group, the participants as a whole performed better in posttest real word than in pseudo-word reading. However, the phonological training displayed a significant better impact on pseudo-word than on real word reading, irrespective of word structure and test-time. The findings are discussed from psycholinguistic, literacy, and cross-linguistic perspectives.

Preschool morphological training produces long-term improvements in reading comprehension.

We evaluated the effect of morphological awareness training delivered in preschool (8 months before school entry) on reading ability at the end of grade 1 and 5 years later (in Grade 6). In preschool, one group of children received morphological awareness training, while a second group received phonological awareness training. A control group followed the ordinary preschool curriculum. The comparison between each training condition and the control condition is quasi experimental, whereas the comparison between the morphological and phonological treatments is randomized at group level. In Grade 1 children in the morphological awareness training group had significantly higher scores than children in the control group on both word reading and text reading measures, but no differences were found between the experimental groups. In Grade 6 children in the morphological awareness training group had significantly higher scores compared with the control group on a latent measure of reading comprehension, whereas the children in the phonological awareness training group did not differ from the controls; although the experimental groups did not differ significantly from each other. The results suggest that early training in morphological awareness can have long-term effects on children’s literacy skills.

Efectos de la intervención en conciencia morfológica sobre la lectura, escritura y comprensión: Meta-análisis

The aim is to check, through a meta-analysis, the impact of morphological awareness training on writing, reading, comprehension and vocabulary of grade schooler. 31 studies were included in the meta-analysis; they were obtained from 19 articles that meet the selection criteria. Morphological awareness instruction has a high-medium and significant effect size in studied variables of literacy. On writing, <em>g</em>=0.491, <em>SE</em>=0.078, <em>IQ</em>=0339-0643, <em>p</em>=.000, reading, <em>g</em>=0.473, <em>SE</em>=0.096, <em>IQ</em>=0284-0662, <em>p</em>=.000, comprehension, <em>g</em>=0.468, <em>SE</em>=0.123, <em>IQ</em>=0227-0708, <em>p</em>= .000 and finally vocabulary, <em>g</em>=0.501, <em>SE</em>=0.152, <em>IQ</em>=0203-0798, <em>p</em>= .001. The test of Heterogeneity <em>Q</em> is only significant on writing so other moderating variables were explored but no differences between groups were found. It shows morphological awareness training improves reading, vocabulary and comprehension of grade schooler with and without reading difficulties. Nevertheless, the results on writing are more heterogeneous.

The Effectiveness Of Morphological Awareness Training In Acquiring Vocabulary For English Foreign Language Learners

The aim of this study was primarily to investigate the effects of morphological awareness training in acquiring vocabulary of EFL’ Learners. The design of this study was quasi-experiment design. The total population of this study was 263 studentsat the first grade from SMPN 2 Singosari. The sample was 66 students consist of 33 students from class VIIE as control group and 33 students from class VIIG as experimental group. There were two independent variable, control group and experimental group. The experimental group received 5 lessons on strategies whereas the control group did not. Vocabulary Measurement test that adapted from Coxhead (2000) were used and descriptive statistics were reported. In this study the effectiveness of Morphological Awareness was investigated by using independent sample t-test.The result showed that tcounted was lower than tcritical (-18.00<2.000) with P value 0.00 (df=64). The P value was less than 0.05 which it indicated that there is significant differences between control and experimental group.The result of this study has shown that there was an effect of morphological awareness training in acquiring students’ vocabulary. Also, the findings have shown that students had motivation to practice their vocabulary ability. Morphological awareness also makes the learner more aware of the writing system.

The Effects of Morphological Awareness Training on Reading, Spelling, and Vocabulary Skills

This study was designed to examine the effects of an intervention program aimed at improving reading, spelling, and vocabulary skills through linguistically explicit instruction in morphological awareness. Sixteen children, diagnosed with language impairment, participated in this study. Instruction for the experimental group focused on increasing their knowledge of the morphological structure of words and teaching them to apply this information to reading, spelling, and vocabulary tasks. The control group was exposed to the same treatment stimuli, but no attention was given to the semantic or orthographic changes associated with the use of the affixes. Participants in the experimental group made significantly greater gains in both spelling and vocabulary skills than did the control group with large effect sizes noted on the experimental measures. The participants also demonstrated the ability to generalize this information to untaught words as well. The results suggest that linguistically explicit instruction in morphological awareness is beneficial for improving the literacy and language skills of children with language impairment.

A Comparison of Phonological Awareness, Lexical Compounding, and Homophone Training for Chinese Word Reading in Hong Kong Kindergartners

Research Findings: In this study, 88 kindergartners received special training in lexical compounding, homophone awareness, or phonological awareness or were assigned to a control condition over a period of approximately 2 months, with 20-min lessons administered twice per week. Chinese word reading improved significantly more in the lexical compounding group as compared to the other groups. Vocabulary knowledge also showed a trend toward improvement in this group (p < .08) and improved significantly in the homophone group. Although phonological awareness improved most in the phonological awareness training group, this group showed no reading or vocabulary improvements relative to the other groups. Practice or Policy: The results underscore the importance of morphological awareness training for both word reading and vocabulary knowledge in young Chinese children.

Behavioral and neurophysiological effects of morphological awareness training on spelling and reading

Behavioral and neurophysiological effects of a computer-aided morphological training protocol were examined in German-speaking children from Grades 3 to 9. Study 1 compared morphological awareness, reading, and spelling skills of 34 trained children with an untrained control group of 34 children matched for age, sex, and intelligence. All participants in the training group showed increases in morphological awareness, but only students from secondary school improved significantly in reading and spelling competences. In Study 2, a subsample of 8 trained children with poor spelling and reading abilities and 10 untrained children with higher language competencies underwent an electroencephalography testing involving three different language tasks. The training resulted in decreased theta-activity and increased activity in lower (7–10 Hz) and upper alpha (10–13 Hz). These findings reflect more effortful and attention-demanding processing after the training and suggest that children with poor spelling and reading abilities use the acquired morphological knowledge in terms of a compensatory strategy.

On the relationship between morphological and phonological awareness: Effects of training in kindergarten and in first-grade reading

This study examined the relationship between phonological and morphological awareness in kindergarten, and their respective influence on learning to read in first grade, through an experimental training design with three groups of children. One experimental group received phonological awareness training while the other received morphological awareness training. The control group did not receive any training. Both training sessions were efficient since the largest pre- and post-test improvements were observed in the trained domains. Reciprocal influence analysis indicated that morphological awareness improved phonological sensitivity, but not the explicit manipulation of phonemes. In addition, phonological awareness training helped children to segment morphemes, but not to derive complex words. Thus, while some processes are shared by both metalinguistic domains, each domain appears to have its own specificity and may develop independently, at least partly. Even though morphological awareness training was found to be efficient at the kindergarten level, no clear impact on reading was found at the first-grade level, while phonological training displayed a clear positive effect on reading.

The Effects of Morphological Awareness Training on the Reading and Spelling Skills of Young Dyslexics

This article reports data from a training study of morphological awareness involving 33 dyslexic students in grades 4 - 5. The dyslexic students received 36 lessons of morphological awareness training each of about a quarter of an hour. The training was oral and focused on semantic aspects of morphemes. During the training period, the experimental group gained significantly more than a similar group of untrained controls (n = 27) on one of three measures of morphological awareness. Both groups, however, made equal gains on measures of phonological awareness, phoneme discimination and picture naming. The experimental group progressed significantly more than the controls in reading comprehension and in spelling of morphologically complex words. The results of the study suggest that it is possible to develop dyslexic students' morphological awareness. Furthermore, awareness of morphemes, the smallest meaningful units of language, may support the development of meaning - oriented decoding strategies in reading and spelling.

Preventing reading failure: a follow-up study

This study examines the longitudinal effects of both pre-school phonological and morphological awareness training on subsequent reading development. Children who have received pre-school training in phonological skills or morphological skills perform better in some reading measures in grades 2 and 3 than students who have not received this training. Mothers' educational level predicts some aspects of reading development, especially the ability to identify orthographic structures. There was also a tendency for children of highly educated mothers, who entered the study with relatively well developed linguistic awareness skills, to profit most from morphological awareness training in terms of reading development. In contrast, children of less well educated mothers tended to profit most from phonological awareness training. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The role of morpheme recognition and morphological awareness in dyslexia

This paper begins by presenting theoretical arguments and empirical evidence to support the idea that morpheme analysis strategies play a part in word recognition in reading, and in dyslexia in particular. The results of two studies are presented which indicate that dyslexic adolescents use recognition of root morphemes as a compensatory strategy in reading of both single words and coherent text. Furthermore, the evidence is reviewed that the use of morpheme recognition as a strategy in reading to some extent depends on the linguistic awareness of morphemes in spoken language. Finally, results from a pilot study of the effects of morphological awareness training of dyslexic students are presented which suggest that it may be possible to improve the awareness of morphology independently of phoneme awareness, and that such a training may have positive effects on reading of coherent text and on the accurate spelling of morphologically complex words.