Reading Decoding Skills Research Articles

An Investigation of the Cross-Language Transfer of Reading Skills: Evidence from a Study in Nigerian Government Primary Schools

This paper investigates the linguistic interdependence of Grade 3 children studying in government primary schools in northern Nigeria who are learning to read in Hausa (L1) and English (L2) simultaneously. There are few studies in the African context that consider linguistic interdependence and the bidirectional influences of literacy skills in multilingual contexts. A total of 2328 Grade 3 children were tested on their Hausa and English letter sound knowledge (phonemes) and reading decoding skills (word) after participating in a two-year English structured reading intervention programme as part of their school day. In Grade 4, these children will become English immersion learners, with English becoming the medium of instruction. Carrying out bivariate correlations, we find a large and strongly positively significant correlation between L1 and L2 test scores. Concerning bidirectionality, a feedback path model illustrates that the L1 word score predicts the L2 word score and vice versa. Multi-level modelling is then used to consider the variation in test scores. Almost two thirds of the variation in the word score is attributable to the pupil level and one third to the school level. The Hausa word score is significantly predicted through Hausa sound and English word score. English word score is significantly predicted through Hausa word and English sound score. The findings have implications for language policy and classroom instruction, showing the importance of cross-language transfer between reading skills. The overall results support bidirectionality and linguistic interdependence.

Post-pandemic learning trajectories in oral reading proficiency: Results from twelve Chilean schools

By drawing data from first-to sixth-grade students of 12 Chilean schools, we examined the evolution of COVID-19 pandemic-driven losses in two components of oral reading proficiency: reading decoding skills and reading speed. Our dataset spans from 2018 to 2022, enabling us to compare students’ results after the fully remote 2020, the incomplete resumption of in-person learning in 2021 and the massive return in 2022. We used multivariate regression models corrected for sample selection bias. Reading proficiency losses were more significant and persistent in reading speed, and they were higher among socially disadvantaged students entering first grade in 2020–2022. These findings uphold that school disruption affected the reading proficiency of cohorts beginning school during the pandemic more significantly and long-lastingly.

The role of preschoolers' home literacy environment and emergent literacy skills on later reading and writing skills in primary school: A mediational model.

The importance of the quality of home literacy environment and practices (HLE&P) in the earliest years on children's reading and writing development is recognized in the literature. However, whether and to what extent this relationship between preschoolers' HLE&P on their later reading and writing skills in primary school is mediated by emergent literacy competence remains to be clarified. It may be that preschool constitutes a significant opportunity for children to develop notational awareness and phonological awareness which are emergent literacy skills that are fundamental for later reading and writing skills. Children who experience literacy-poor HLE&P with fewer opportunities to practice more complex language skills and diverse vocabulary might develop adequate reading and writing skills when their emergent literacy skills in preschool are high (notational and phonological awareness). This longitudinal study aimed to investigate the mediational role of preschoolers' emergent literacy skills in preschool (notational and phonological awareness) in the relationship between HLE&P and reading and writing skills shown by the same children in primary school using a large-scale dataset. A total of 115 children (mean-age at last year of preschool = 4.88 ± 0.36) took part in the research. In preschool, children performed emergent literacy tasks and their parents completed a home literacy questionnaire. Later, in primary school, children completed standardized assessments of spelling (orthographic accuracy and fluency in a dictation task) and reading decoding (accuracy and speed in a text reading task) skills. The results of mediational analyses showed that notational awareness totally mediates the relationship between HLE&P and reading speed (𝛽= - 0.17, p < 0.05) and writing accuracy (𝛽=0.10, p < 0.05), but not for reading accuracy in primary school. The mediational model with phonological awareness as mediator was not significant. The results are discussed in the light of the effect of preschool in contributing to filling children's home literacy gaps and disadvantages. In preschool, emergent literacy programs are essential to counterbalance the needs of preschoolers to develop adequate reading and writing skills when the family cannot provide enriched HLE&P from the early years of life.

Description and prediction of reading decoding skills in Swedish children with Developmental Language Disorder

Aim Research is lacking in terms of reading decoding skills among clinical samples of Swedish-speaking children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). Method The present cross-sectional study included a sample of 61 children (8-12 years) with DLD attending school language units, years 1 to 5. Our purpose was to study reading decoding skills and predictors for decoding, such as a phonological processing skill (nonword repetition), working memory, and a family history of literacy problems. Results The results on a combined measure of the word and nonword decoding indicated that only 18% of the children had age-adequate decoding skills. The proportion of age-adequate decoders did not change noticeably with the school year. The participants’ decoding skills showed larger deviations to test norm means with higher school years. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that the best predictors of decoding skills were measures of working memory and nonword repetition, followed by school year. These factors significantly contributed to the variance in decoding among our sample of children with DLD. A family history of literacy problems made no contribution to the variance. Conclusions: The findings emphasize the necessity of assessing and following up on literacy development in children with DLD.

Frequency of instructional practices in rural prekindergarten classrooms and associations with child language and literacy skills

Although publicly-funded prekindergarten (pre-k) programs have been designed to promote children’s school readiness, programs have tended to support early literacy skills to a greater degree than early language skills. Given the importance of both language and literacy skills for children’s reading acquisition and academic achievement, the present study sought to understand whether different pre-k classroom instructional practices were related to gains in language and/or literacy skills. Teacher–child language exchanges, children’s engagement in domain-specific learning activities, and the use of different types of activity settings were examined in 63 pre-k classrooms for 455 children living in six rural counties in the Southeastern United States. Hierarchical linear models showed that gains in expressive language were positively associated with teacher–child language exchanges and negatively associated with large-group activities. Gains in phonemic awareness and initial-sound knowledge were positively related to sound-focused activities and small-group settings. Gains in reading decoding skills were also positively associated with small-group settings. Implications for research, teacher practice, and professional development are discussed.

Icky Mr. Fox and the Missing Friend by A. Bitskoff

Bitskoff, Aleksei. Icky Mr. Fox and the Missing Friend. IckyPen Ltd, 2017. Vers. 19.0.1. Apple App Store, https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/missing-friend/id1236379583?mt=8.&#x0D; Age range: 0-5Price: $2.79.Also available in a Lite version with ads at no cost.&#x0D; This simple, quirky digital text takes children on a journey to rescue Mr. Mole from Icky Mr. Fox and builds early digital navigation and vocabulary skills. Children experience the story read aloud, with the text displayed on the screen along with charming illustrations.&#x0D; The app features some interactive elements. Many objects on the screen are clickable and the name of the object appears in writing and is spoken aloud. Other interactive elements include the ability to make the sun rise, turn lights on and off in a room, or move characters in one direction or another. The interactions are intuitive and young children should easily be able to identify the interactive features and navigate the interface. The app somewhat replicates the experience of reading a book, moving from screen to screen with the touch of an arrow.&#x0D; The illustrations are highly appealing, with adorable characters, painterly background illustrations and harmonious colour schemes. The tone of the illustrations and sounds is gentle and pleasing, and would not stretch the tolerance of parents for annoying levels of noise. The language and storyline are simple and lack creativity, but keep the interest of a child with a certain level of suspense.&#x0D; The app enables children to follow a story in sequence, to recognize the relationship between sound and text, and encourages them to build fine motor skills and touch-screen computer skills. Children touch the screen to make text and sound appear and swipe to make characters move. Children in the higher end of the age range may build early reading or text decoding skills through seeing and hearing words. The stated age range for the app is 0-5; children aged 2-5 would benefit most. This app is fun for both adults and children and is an engaging way for children to learn digital skills. Children can find more adventures featuring Icky Mr. Fox created by the same developers.&#x0D; &#x0D; Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Merran Carr-Wiggin&#x0D; Merran Carr-Wiggin’s experience at Edmonton Public Library includes positions as a Summer Programmer, in the Children’s Department, and at the Strathcona Branch. She is a candidate in the Master of Library and Information Studies program at the University of Alberta, and her work as an actor includes theatre for young audiences.&#x0D;

Telerehabilitation in developmental dyslexia: methods of implementation and expected results.

Developmental Dyslexia is a disorder, highly frequent in the school population, for which the recommended rehabilitation procedures are not well defined. This study aimed to automatize reading decoding skills by using an innovative system for rehabilitation, based on a telerehabilitation method. It requires an intensive home-exercise with the supervision, by web, of the clinician. The study had three main aims: to diffuse knowledge on new methods for rehabilitation of reading difficulties; to verify whether an intensive and simplified exercise, targeted to the automation of reading, is suitable for different subgroups of dyslexic children; to define the treatment effects on basic cognitive functions underlying reading. Twenty-five children, grouped according to the neuropsychological and anamnestic profiles, took part to the treatment by the software Reading Trainer®. Both speed and accuracy of reading decoding increased significantly after treatment, independently from the functional neuropsychological profile or the history of oral language delay. These changes were specific to decoding and not associated with improvements in reading comprehension or spelling skills. However, there was a "cascade effect" of the treatment efficacy on those basic cognitive functions considered precursors of the ability to read, with significant improvements in rapid lexical access, phonological processing and visual attention. This study provides information on the efficacy of new tools for telerehabilitation of specific reading disorders.

An explanation of reading comprehension across development using models from Cattell–Horn–Carroll theory: Support for integrative models of reading

AbstractThe purpose of this research was to investigate the cognitive abilities that explain reading comprehension across childhood and early adulthood. Drawing from the standardization sample of the Woodcock–Johnson III, analyses were conducted with large samples at age levels spanning early childhood to early adulthood: 5 to 6 (n = 639), 7 to 8 (n = 720), 9 to 13 (n = 1,995), 14 to 19 (n = 1,615), and 20 to 39 (n = 1,409). Using a model including factors representing general intelligence, Cattell–Horn–Carroll broad abilities, and reading decoding skills, results revealed significant direct effects for reading decoding skills and Crystallized Intelligence on reading comprehension across all age levels. Memory‐related abilities, processing speed, and auditory processing demonstrated indirect effects on reading comprehension through reading decoding skills. The magnitude of direct and indirect effects varied as a function of age. The results provide support for integrative models of reading that include both direct and indirect effects of cognitive abilities on reading comprehension and for consideration of developmental differences in the cognitive aptitudes predicting reading comprehension. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Discourse comprehension intervention for high-functioning students with autism spectrum disorders: preliminary findings from a school-based study

Many students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) demonstrate comprehension difficulties. In the present study, 12 high-functioning Swedish students with ASD (aged 10–15 years) took part in a naturalistic classroom-based intervention to support comprehension of connected narrative discourse. An effective approach for supporting discourse comprehension in children with ASD was assumed to include: (i) providing teachers and students with a shared and explicit set of concepts for talking and thinking about the activity of comprehension, that (ii) can structure the child's discourse comprehension under scaffolding and modelling from the teacher. In the pre-testing session, the students with ASD presented with poor discourse comprehension but receptive vocabulary and reading decoding skills close to normative performance. Post-intervention test results, following 4 weeks of training, indicated specific and significant improvements in discourse comprehension. Support for the potential of this type of teaching was also obtained from teachers and students. The teachers reported that they would continue to use the same or similar comprehension instruction for 11 out of 12 students, and for multiple reasons, and students were also mostly positive to the training. Implications for practice and further research are discussed, as are limitations of the study.

Differential Competencies Contributing to Children's Comprehension of Narrative and Expository Texts

This study examined the influences of reading decoding skills and world knowledge on third graders' comprehension of narrative and expository texts. Children read a narrative text and an expository text. Comprehension of each text was assessed with a free recall prompt, three cued recall prompts, and 12 multiple-choice questions. Tests from the Woodcock–Johnson III Tests of Achievement (Woodcock, McGrew, & Mather, 2001) were used to assess reading decoding skills and world knowledge. Comprehension was better for the narrative text than the expository text, and the effects of reader competencies depended on text genre. Comprehension of the narrative text was most influenced by reading decoding skills. In contrast, expository text comprehension was most influenced by world knowledge.

Cattell-Horn-Carroll cognitive abilities and their effects on reading decoding skills: g has indirect effects, more specific abilities have direct effects.

This study employed structural equation modeling to examine the effects of Cattell–Horn–Carroll (CHC) abilities on reading decoding skills using five age-differentiated subsamples from the standardization sample of the Woodcock–Johnson III (Woodcock, McGrew, & Mather, 2001). Using the Spearman Model including only g, strong direct effects of g on reading decoding skills were demonstrated at all ages. Using the Two-Stratum Model including g and broad abilities, direct effects of the broad abilities Long-Term Storage and Retrieval, Processing Speed, Crystallized Intelligence, Short-Term Memory, and Auditory Processing on reading decoding skills were demonstrated at select ages. Using the Three-Stratum Model including g, broad abilities, and narrow abilities, direct effects of the broad ability Processing Speed and the narrow abilities Associative Memory, Listening Ability, General Information, Memory Span, and Phonetic Coding were demonstrated at select ages. Across both the Two-Stratum Model and the Three-Stratum Model at all ages, g had very large but indirect effects. The findings suggest that school psychologists should interpret measures of some specific cognitive abilities when conducting psychoeducational assessments designed to explain reading decoding skills.

Cattell–Horn–Carroll cognitive ability profiles of poor comprehenders

This study examines cognitive ability profiles of children with specific age-based normative weaknesses in reading comprehension and compares those profiles to the profiles of (a) children with at least average achievement in reading comprehension, reading decoding skills, and mathematics and (b) children with low achievement across the 3 achievement areas. When compared across 9 cognitive ability composite scores derived from Cattell–Horn–Carroll theory and measured by the Woodcock–Johnson III [Woodcock, McGrew, & Mather (2001). Woodcock–Johnson. Itasca, IL: Riverside], groups differed in overall level of performance. When individual abilities were considered, the poor comprehenders scored significantly lower than the average achievement group on all nine composite scores and significantly lower than the normative population on all composite scores except Processing Speed and Long-Term Retrieval. In contrast, the poor comprehenders also scored significantly higher than the low achievement group on all composite scores except for Visual–Spatial Thinking and Phonemic Awareness. Although the poor comprehenders as a group scored lowest on composite scores measuring language- and knowledge-based abilities, review of the profiles of individual poor comprehenders revealed no consistent pattern of performance across cognitive ability composite scores.

Using Brief Assessments to Identify Effective Interventions for Individual Students

This study examined the utility of brief teaching probes as an assessment for students referred due to poor academic performance. Reading-decoding skills as assessed by students' oral reading rate on probes containing letters, words, or prose were examined. The brief assessment consisted of three phases: baseline and two instructional interventions. Each phase was presented twice during each brief assessment. Brief assessments were conducted across three levels of instructional materials for 4 students, resulting in 12 brief assessments. Ten of the 12 brief assessments identified one or both interventions as promising, based on a 20% or greater increase in reading rate over baseline. Following the assessment, an extended analysis was conducted for each student using a multiple baseline across curricular materials. In 83% of cases, interventions received the same classification as effective or ineffective across the brief assessment and extended analysis. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

Reading after closed head injury in childhood: Effects on accuracy, fluency, and comprehension

Two studies of reading decoding, reading fluency, and reading comprehension after childhood head injury are reported. Study 1 tested whether age at head injury and the type of contusional brain damage were related to reading outcomes. Fifty-five children with head injuries were tested on measures of word decoding accuracy and reading comprehension. Children who sustained head injuries in the preschool years before basic word decoding skills are acquired or in the early primary grades when decoding skills are being taught, and children with bilateral or left-sided contusions were most at risk for difficulties in acquiring basic word decoding and reading comprehension skills. In particular, children injured before 61/2 years of age were most at risk for difficulties in acquiring reading decoding skills in comparison to children injured after this age. Study 2 tested whether deficits in processing speed after head injury are also found in reading. Forty-three head-injured children were matched with controls on a pair-by-pair basis for age, grade, and word decoding accuracy. The children with head injuries were slower at naming words, particularly those with less common orthographic patterns, although the groups did not differ on speeded naming of pronounceable nonwords. Reading fluency in the head-injured group was related to reading comprehension, suggesting that slow word-level processing has negative consequences for text comprehension in these individuals. The results are discussed with respect to how head injuries affect the development of skills yet to be acquired and the further acquisition of those skills that are in a rapid phase of development at time of injury. The results are also discussed with reference to models of how head injury affects speeded processing.

Instructional Strategies for Studying Content Area Texts in the Intermediate Grades

THIS STUDY explored the efficacy of utilizing systematic instruction in teaching study skill strategies to fifth-grade students who had adequate reading (decoding) skills but demonstrated deficiencies in study skills. The method used was based on Robinson's (1941) SQ3R method, principles of task analysis, and direct instruction. Forty-five fifth-grade students with reading scores on a standardized achievement test of less than 1 year below grade level, and scores of less than 50% on two individual tests of study skills were randomly assigned to one of three samples: a treatment condition with systematic instruction in study skills, or one of two comparison conditions (independent seatwork on the same materials with feedback from teachers or no instruction). After 4 days of training, students were given a passage to study from a fifth-grade social studies text; they were then asked to retell important elements of the passage, and finally given a short answer test on important facts in the passage. Two weeks later, the testing process was repeated. Results indicated students receiving systematic instruction in study skills performed significantly higher on the factual short answer test on both occasions, F(1,42) = 47.91, p <.001. No significant differences were found on the retell measures. Several issues, including the use of free retell as measures of comprehension and the organization of textbooks, are discussed.