Reading Span Research Articles

Can Difficulties in Language Acquisition and Specific Learning Disabilities Be Separated Among English Learners?

This study investigated the prevalence of latent classes at risk for reading or math disabilities in elementary-age children whose first language is Spanish. To this end, children ( N = 394) in Grades 1, 2, and 3 were administered a battery of vocabulary, reading, math, and cognitive measures in both Spanish and English. Three important findings occurred. First, five latent classes emerged (average achievers, poor achievers, reading disabled, English language learners, Spanish-dominant achievers) that varied in language and achievement scores. Second, probability estimates indicated that 10% of the total sample was at risk for learning disabilities (below cutoff score), and approximately 40% of the sample reflected a language acquisition group not at risk for academic difficulties. Finally, the best model for correctly predicting the odds of latent classes differing from average achievers included English measures of short-term memory, naming speed, and the executive component of working memory. The results support the notion that statistically distinct latent classes emerge under the umbrella of children identified as English learners and that children at risk for specific learning disabilities can be separated among a heterogeneous sample of children who are acquiring English as a second language.

The effects of tablet and printed media on brain activation during a short-memory task

Abstract Electronic media have been extensively used as a replacement for printed media, and learning and teaching using electronic media have become increasingly popular. However, there is still a concern regarding the use of electronic media for learning in terms of its effectiveness. This study aimed to examine if electronic media are more effective for learning compared with printed media, and we focused on the performance of short-memory tasks and brain activity in subjects while completing the tasks. Eleven Japanese subjects in their twenties performed a reading span task (RST) using both a printed medium and tablet computer. While performing the task, their brain activity was measured using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). The average values of the RST performance scores were almost the same for printed and tablet media. However, the NIRS measurement results showed higher activity in the frontal lobe of the brain while the subjects performed the task on the tablet compared with the printed medium. The results of the questionnaire answered by the subjects indicated that they felt there was better visibility when performing the RST on the electronic medium than on the printed medium. The questionnaire results also showed that the levels of tiredness and concentration were almost the same for both media. These results suggest that the use of electronic media for learning can be more effective in terms of brain activity and visibility.

The Ukrainian theme in the Spanish language literary studies of the diaspora

The paper recounts about the first and still the only attempt to present Ukrainian literature in the Spanish language which was undertaken by Dmytro Buchynskyi, Petro Kluk, Dmytro Chyzhevskyi, and Yuriy Shevelov. They tell their Spanish readers about the key phenomena and names of Ukrainian literature and interpret the latter as reflection of the Ukrainian identity produced by combination of national spirit and European values. D. Buchynskyi and P. Kluk, who lived in Spain and wrote Spanish, focused on analysis of Spanish imagery in the works of Ivan Franko, Lesia Ukrainka, Spyrydon Cherkasenko, and Natalena Koroleva. The hermeneutics of D. Chyzhevskyi and Y. Shevelov, whose essays were translated into Spanish for the special issue of the journal Oriente Europeo dedicated to Ukraine (1957), reflect a broader European perspective. All Ukrainian emigrant intellectuals, whose essays are studied in the paper, reject models of understanding Ukrainian literature which were imposed by the official Soviet literary studies. D. Buchynskyi and P. Kluk embody this trend by emphasizing religious and humanistic values in the works of Ivan Franko and Lesia Ukrainka. D. Chyzhevskyi argues that the baroque Ukrainian literature, which was prohibited in the USSR, was a mediator in exchange of ideas, including theology, between West and East. Y. Shevelov plays a special role in undermining the Soviet version of the Ukrainian literary canon of the first half of the 20th century. He declares the Soviet regime a mortal threat to literary imagination. The researcher restores the list of writers deleted from the Ukrainian cultural memory by the Stalinist terror and provides examples of original reading of the works of Pavlo Tychyna, Mykhail Semenko, Mykola Kvyliovyi, Mykola Kulish and others. The essays about Ukrainian literature published in Spain is a dramatic episode of the cultural war of the Ukrainian diaspora against the Soviet version of the Ukrainian literary canon.

Effects of Bimodal and Bilateral Cochlear Implant Use on a Nonauditory Working Memory Task: Reading Span Tests Over 2 Years Following Cochlear Implantation.

Purpose A growing body of evidence indicates that treatment of hearing loss by provision of hearing aids leads to improvements in auditory and visual working memory. The purpose of this study was to assess whether similar working memory benefits are observed following provision of cochlear implants (CIs). Method Fifteen adults with postlingually acquired severe bilateral sensorineural hearing loss completed the prospective longitudinal study. Participants were candidates for bilateral cochlear implantation with some aidable hearing in each ear. Implantation surgeries were carried out sequentially, approximately 1 year apart. Working memory was measured with the visual Reading Span Test (Daneman & Carpenter, 1980) at 5 time points: pre-operatively following a 6-month bilateral hearing aid trial, after 6 and 12 months of bimodal (CI plus contralateral hearing aid) listening experience following the 1st CI surgery and activation, and again after 6 and 12 months of bilateral CI listening experience following the 2nd CI surgery and activation. Results Compared to the preoperative baseline, CI listening experience yielded significant improvements in participants' ability to recall test words in the correct serial order after 12 months in the bimodal condition. Individual performance outcomes were variable, but almost all participants showed increases in task performance over the course of the study. Conclusions These results suggest that, similar to appropriate interventions with hearing aids, treatment of hearing loss with CIs can yield working memory benefits. A likely mechanism is the freeing of cognitive resources previously devoted to effortful listening.

Ugniatanie materii słownej „jak ogromnej dzieży ciasta”, czyli schulzowskie porównania w tłumaczeniu na język hiszpański

One of the markers of Bruno Schulz’s style is the simile. It plays two roles in the poetic prose of the author: on the one hand, it confronts two phenomena in a concise and conventional manner; on the other, it compares, quite unexpectedly, two events, living creatures or objects, which seem to have nothing in common. In this article I analyze excerpts of three Spanish translations in order to identify techniques used to render this trope, to verify the consequences of the omission of the linking words, and to investigate whether Spanish readers will be able to recreate the same or a similar image to the one evoked in the original.

Working Memory Role on Gender towards Language Transfer: Study of Neurolinguistics

Second language acquisition requires many aspects including how the working memory supports the system of the human input system. Working memory has a crucial identity in storing information for a short time. It is a limited complex ability required for holding and manipulating information in a brief period for learning, thinking, giving attention, counting, memorizing, comprehending, and problem-solving. The aims of this research are to predict the role of working memory capacity on males and females and to identify the language transfer in between. The subject of this research consisted of 14 Indonesian students (7 male 7 female) at International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). They are signed as postgraduate students of many different majors. Data were taken by using the reading span test of Ronnberg version. Data were analyzed by referring to Baddeley, Hitch, and Ellis. The finding of the research declares that difference gender has different working memory capacity pattern and language transfer. Gender is also a crucial factor in improving second language acquisition.

It takes two to make a thing go write: self-reported Spanish reading and writing skill and relationships with digit span and stroop task performance among Spanish-English bilinguals

ABSTRACT The current study examined self-reported first language (Spanish) language reading and writing ability and behavior and relationships with digit span and stroop task performance. A battery of assessments and questionnaires was administered to 81 sequential Spanish-English bilingual university students in the U.S., for whom the sole language of education is English. Hierarchical regression models revealed self-reported amount of Spanish used for academic writing uniquely accounted for 17% of variance in digit span forward scores, controlling for non-verbal IQ. Self-reported Spanish reading and writing ability also significantly predicted higher digit span forward scores and stroop task performance. Findings indicate that vectors of within-population difference related to L1 academic reading and writing are associated with differences in verbal short term memory and inhibition. Findings underscore the importance of considering diversity within bilingual samples and further support theories of a continuum of bilingual experience intensity, which is related to outcomes.

Relationship Between Working Memory and Speech-in-Noise Recognition in Young and Older Adult Listeners With Age-Appropriate Hearing.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between working memory (WM) capacity and speech recognition in noise in both a group of young adults and a group of older adults. Method Thirty-three older adults with a mean age of 71.0 (range: 60.4-82.7) years and 27 young adults with a mean age of 21.7 (range: 19.1-25.0) years participated in the study. All participants had age-appropriate hearing and no history of central nervous system dysfunction. WM capacity was measured using the van den Noort version of the Reading Span Test, and recognition of sentences in the presence of a stationary speech-shaped noise was measured as the speech reception threshold for 50% correct identification by using the Leuven Intelligibility Sentence Test. Results The older adults had significantly worse WM capacity scores, t(58) = 8.266, p < .001, and significantly more difficulty understanding sentences in noise than the younger adults, t(58) = -6.068, p < .001. In the group of older adults, a correlation was found (r = -.488, n = 33, p = .004) between the results of the WM capacity test (Reading Span Test) and the results of the speech-recognition-in-noise test (Leuven Intelligibility Sentence Test), meaning that the higher the WM performance was, the better was the speech recognition in noise. This correlation cannot be found in young normal-hearing listeners. Conclusions This study shows deleterious effects of age on both WM capacity and speech recognition in noise. Interestingly, only in the group of older adults was a significant relation found between WM capacity and speech recognition in noise. The current results caution against the assumption that WM necessarily supports speech-in-noise identification independently of the age and hearing status of the listener.

Effects of Reverberation on the Relation Between Compression Speed and Working Memory for Speech-in-Noise Perception.

Previous study has suggested that when listening in modulated noise, individuals benefit from different wide dynamic range compression (WDRC) speeds depending on their working memory ability. Reverberation reduces the modulation depth of signals and may impact the relation between WDRC speed and working memory. The purpose of this study was to examine this relation across a range of reverberant conditions. Twenty-eight older listeners with mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing impairment were recruited in the present study. Individual working memory was measured using a Reading Span test. Sentences were combined with noise at two signal to noise ratios (2 and 5 dB SNR), and reverberation was simulated at a range of reverberation times (0.00, 0.75, 1.50, and 3.00 sec). Speech intelligibility was measured in listeners when listening to the sentences processed with simulated fast-acting and slow-acting WDRC conditions. There was a significant relation between WDRC speed and working memory with minimal or no reverberation. Consistent with previous research, this relation was such that individuals with high working memory had higher speech intelligibility with fast-acting WDRC, and individuals with low working memory performed better with slow-acting WDRC. However, at longer reverberation times, there was no relation between WDRC speed and working memory. Consistent with previous studies, results suggest that there is an advantage of tailoring WDRC speed based on an individual's working memory under anechoic conditions. However, the present results further suggest that there may not be such a benefit in reverberant listening environments due to reduction in signal modulation.

Flexible online learning: developing knowledge and understanding of the midwifery standards for practice (2018) within the graduate diploma of midwifery at The University of Notre Dame Australia

The embodiment framework posits that reading comprehension requires simulation. That is, the reader must use perceptual, action, and emotional systems to create an analogical representation of the situation described in the text. Moved by Reading teaches children to simulate by having them a) move images on a computer screen to correspond to sentences (externalizing the simulation), and then b) imagine moving the images (internal simulation). Although Moved by Reading greatly enhances comprehension, it does not always produce transfer when children read new texts without manipulation. The decoding hypothesis provides an explanation: Before children can simulate the sentences, they must be able to decode the words. In orthographically opaque languages such as English, decoding skill greatly varies across children, hence limiting transfer when reading unfamiliar texts. If true, Moved by Reading should produce successful transfer in Spanish, an orthographically transparent language in which decoding is more transparent. As predicted, monolingual Spanish-speaking children taught simulation performed better than children in a control condition on comprehension tests a) for texts in which they moved images, b) for texts in which they imagined moving images, and c) most importantly, in an untrained transfer text. Thus, the data demonstrate the effectiveness of Moved by Reading in Spanish in line with predictions from the decoding hypothesis, and the results highlight a need for studies that directly compare the effects of this training across readers with different decoding skills and languages.

A Cross-Linguistic Examination of Heterogeneous Reading Profiles of Spanish-Speaking Bilingual Students

Research with English monolinguals has identified key subskills of reading comprehension that can differentiate subgroups of readers. There remains a dearth of research examining these subskills in Spanish-speaking bilingual students, and few studies have identified subgroups of readers whose home language is Spanish. This study used latent profile analysis to identify three distinct reader profiles of Spanish-speaking bilingual students based on Spanish and English word reading and vocabulary measures and examined profile differences in Spanish and English reading comprehension. The profiles were primarily distinguished by Spanish measures and were labeled “balanced Spanish and English,” “average English/low Spanish expressive Language,” and “English dominant.” All three profiles scored significantly differently in Spanish reading comprehension. The balanced Spanish and English profile scored higher than the English-dominant profile in English reading comprehension. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Korean wh-Island Sentences: Individual Differences in Acceptability Judgments and Working Memory

While it has been claimed that scrambling in East Asian languages is not subject to <italic>wh-</italic>island effects, studies into theoretical and experimental syntax have suggested that native Korean speakers vary in their acceptance of island constructions. This study addresses the individual differences in the acceptability judgments of Korean <italic>wh-</italic>island sentences in terms of working memory. In order to determine if the varied judgments of acceptability are attributable to differences in individuals’ working memory, an acceptability judgment test on various Korean <italic>wh-</italic>island constructions, and two memory span tests—a reading span test and a digit span test—were administered to 66 adult Korean native speakers. Pearson correlation analysis and a factor analysis were then performed on the participants’ acceptability judgment ratings and memory spans. The results revealed that the individuals’ acceptability judgments for <italic>wh-</italic>island sentences were not correlated with their reading span or digit span, although the group’s mean acceptability of the constructions gradually decreased as their expected processing complexity increased. These findings indicate that differences in individuals’ working memory are not the source of the observed acceptability variation.

The Effect of Fatigue on Working Memory and Auditory Perceptual Abilities in Trained Musicians.

Purpose Many perceptual processing processes, such as cognition, vision, sensation, and audition, are affected due to fatigue. Musicians are prone to fatigue because of long working hours and demanding profession. The research on assessing working memory abilities in musicians is heterogeneous, as none of the studies has controlled the effect of fatigue. This study was thus designed to assess the effect of fatigue on working memory and auditory perception in trained instrumental musicians. Method Twenty-six trained instrumental musicians and 25 nonmusicians participated in this study. The effect of fatigue was assessed by administering the working memory and auditory perception tests in prefatigue and postfatigue conditions. The fatigue was assessed using a 100-point visual analog scale. The working memory was assessed using Operation Span, Reading Span, and Digit Span (Forward and Backward) tests (Knutson et al., 1991). Auditory perception was assessed using speech-perception-in-noise and temporal integration tests. Results Working memory and speech perception were affected due to fatigue. Musicians, despite having better working memory abilities than nonmusicians, are equally prone to fatigue-related distress. Conclusion The advantage of music training for the working memory abilities may be reduced due to fatigue; hence, measures to reduce fatigue should be employed by the musicians. Fatigue should also be treated as a variable in all future research related to assess cognitive processing in musicians.

The reactivity of think-alouds in writing research: quantitative and qualitative evidence from writing in English as a foreign language

The reactivity of think-alouds (TAs) (i.e., their effects on thinking) has remained an inevitable concern whenever their use is considered or evaluated. This paper reports findings from a study that involved 85 Chinese sophomores, who, having received some instruction in diction, and then written a narrative in English as a baseline task, completed a similar main writing task, either silently or while thinking aloud. Between-groups differences were analysed in 20 measures of writing performance. TA was found to significantly impair only two measures, lexical diversity and nondysfluencies. TA may have constrained newly developed, still unstable thoughts that were perceived as peripheral, apart from its effects on fluency. Further analyses revealed differential effects. Those with high working memory capacity (WMC), especially high reading span, were most affected in lexical diversity, while those with low WMC experienced a significant decline in organization. The participants’ reflections in a follow-up questionnaire, analyzed inductively, show their diverse feelings about the effects of TA, its processing load emerging as the likely primary reactivity-causing factor. Results suggest that, although the reactivity of TAs is small, participants’ between- and within-individual differences should be duly attended to in conducting TAs in second language writing and writing research.

English Reading Growth in Spanish-Speaking Bilingual Students: Moderating Effect of English Proficiency on Cross-Linguistic Influence.

This study examined the extent to which kindergarten Spanish reading affected English reading growth trajectories through fourth grade among nationally representative Spanish-speaking bilingual students (N=312) in the United States and whether the association varied by students'English oral proficiency. Multilevel growth curve analyses revealed that stronger early Spanish reading was related togreater English reading growth. Within the stronger Spanish reading group, students with lower English oralproficiency initially beganbehind their counterparts but caught up with and surpassed them later. Within the weaker Spanish reading group, thedifference between lower and higher English oralproficiency groups increased over time. Findings suggest that initially well-developed Spanish reading competence plays a greater role in English reading development than English oral proficiency.

Attenuated prefrontal and temporal neural activity during working memory as a potential biomarker of suicidal ideation in veterans with PTSD

BackgroundSuicide is a significant health concern among veterans, and suicidal ideation is a common and functionally debilitating condition that frequently precedes suicidal behavior. Characterizing neurobiological substrates associated with suicidal ideation in veterans may inform evaluation of risk for this population. Associations between suicidal ideation and functional abnormalities in prefrontal, temporal, and striatal regions supporting cognitive task performance have been documented in individuals with mood and psychotic disorders, suggesting a potential role for neurocognitive vulnerabilities in this condition. To date, however, relatively little research has explored neural correlates of suicidal ideation, particularly among individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). MethodsTwenty three combat veterans diagnosed with PTSD completed an adapted Reading Span (Rspan) working memory task during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Participants were classified based on presence of current SI. We evaluated differences between these groups on neural activation in response to interference-based working memory demands within the task. Primary analyses were conducted using a voxel-wise between-group t-test. ResultsTask-based activations were observed in regions including the cingulate, middle frontal, parietal, and occipital cortex, striatum, and cerebellum. Relative to individuals without SI, individuals with SI demonstrated less activation in a large region spanning the lateral prefrontal cortex and cingulate cortex, as well as the inferior temporal cortex, in response to interference demands. ConclusionsResults are consistent with models proposing that prefrontal neural substrates involved in cognitive regulation are implicated in suicidal ideation. Involvement of temporal functioning may also exist based on current findings. Future research is needed to understand whether disturbances in prefrontal regulatory control reflect a specific profile subtype with distinct neural correlates, and how such neural patterns may be used to improve detection and treatment personalization.

Evidence for a reduction of the rightward extent of the perceptual span when reading dynamic horizontally scrolling text.

The dynamic horizontally scrolling text format produces a directional conflict in the allocation of attention for reading, with a necessity to track each word leftward (in the direction of movement) concurrently with normal rightward shifts made to progress through the text (in left-to-right orthographies such as English). The gaze-contingent window paradigm was used to compare the extent of the perceptual span in reading of scrolling and static sentences. Across two experiments, this investigation confirmed that the allocation of attentional resources to the right of fixation was compressed with scrolling text. There was no evidence for a reversal of the direction of asymmetry or a confounding shift of landing position. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

PENGARUH MENDENGARKAN MUROTTAL AL-QUR’AN TERHADAP MEMORI KERJA

It is important to optimize working memory because it transforms, synergizes and constantly updates new and old information. One way to optimize working memory is to listen to Murottal Al-Qur'an, because it has a harmonious tone which can stabilize the mind to properly process the information. This study aims to determine the effect of listening to the Al-Quran murottal on working memory. The research subjects were 24 students of Psikologi 2017, grouped equally in the control and experimental groups. An experimental intervention was administered for 15 consecutive days lasting 15 minutes and 52 seconds. Measurements in working memory use Operation Span Task, Reading Span Task and Symmetry Span Task. The design of the study used a pre-test post-test control group and the data were analyzed by t-test. The results showed a significant difference between the control group and the experimental group on the symmetry span task subtest (p = 0.044, p &lt;0.05).

The feasibility of working memory tablet tasks in predicting scholastic skills in classroom settings

SummaryCognitive assessment in natural group settings facilitates data collection but poses threats to the validity. In this study, tablet‐based working memory (WM) tasks, the counting span, and reading span were used in predicting 12‐year‐old children's (N = 837) scholastic skills and fluid intelligence in a classroom with environmental noise. WM tasks had excellent internal consistency, correlated with scholastic skills, and accounted for more of the variance in cognitive performance (grade point average, fluid intelligence, scholastic skills) compared with individually administered (n = 190) digit span task. Furthermore, the multilevel analysis revealed that compared with the classrooms with no noise, when naturally occurring speech or nonspeech types of environmental noises were present during assessment, WM scores or the reliability estimates were not lower. In contrast, when both types of noises were present, the relationships between some of the WM and achievement scores were even stronger. Thus, assessments in natural classroom contexts may promote revealing the individual differences in WM.

Visual Rhyme Judgment in Adults With Mild-to-Severe Hearing Loss.

Adults with poorer peripheral hearing have slower phonological processing speed measured using visual rhyme tasks, and it has been suggested that this is due to fading of phonological representations stored in long-term memory. Representations of both vowels and consonants are likely to be important for determining whether or not two printed words rhyme. However, it is not known whether the relation between phonological processing speed and hearing loss is specific to the lower frequency ranges which characterize vowels or higher frequency ranges that characterize consonants. We tested the visual rhyme ability of 212 adults with hearing loss. As in previous studies, we found that rhyme judgments were slower and less accurate when there was a mismatch between phonological and orthographic information. A substantial portion of the variance in the speed of making correct rhyme judgment decisions was explained by lexical access speed. Reading span, a measure of working memory, explained further variance in match but not mismatch conditions, but no additional variance was explained by auditory variables. This pattern of findings suggests possible reliance on a lexico-semantic word-matching strategy for solving the rhyme judgment task. Future work should investigate the relation between adoption of a lexico-semantic strategy during phonological processing tasks and hearing aid outcome.