Reading Research Articles

A Review of the Influence of ‘Interactive Read Aloud’ on Standard one Pupils’ Vocabulary Growth and Critical Thinking in Public Primary Schools in Tanzania

A Review of the Influence of ‘Interactive Read Aloud’ on Standard one Pupils’ Vocabulary Growth and Critical Thinking in Public Primary Schools in Tanzania

Reading comics: The effect of expertise on eye movements

The theory of expertise suggests that there should be observable differences in the eye movement patterns between experts and non-experts. Previous studies have investigated how expertise influences eye movement patterns during cognitive tasks like reading. However, the impact of expertise on eye movements in comics, a multimodal form of text, remains unexplored. This article reports on a study that uses eye tracking to examine patterns in the ways that experts and non-experts read comics. Expert participants (14) with experience in reading comics than non-expert participants (17). When controlling for variables such as layout and text quantity, we found significant differences in visual scanning between experts and non-experts. Experts exhibited more frequent saccades and greater amplitude of saccades. Further analysis revealed distinct strategies in processing text and image content between the two groups: the interaction between expertise level and content type in specific AOI showed significant differences across multiple visual measurement metrics, including Average duration of fixations, number of fixations, and number of saccades within AOI. These findings not only support the applicability of the expertise level theory in the field of comic reading but also provide a new perspective for understanding the reading processing of multimodal texts.

Effects of Pictures on Second-Grade Children’s Oral Reading Performance

Picture books are a common staple of children’s reading diet. The role of pictures in reading acquisition remains a topic of considerable controversy, however. This study examined the effects of pictures on children’s oral reading behavior (measured by reading errors/miscues) and comprehension (measured by retelling), using a 2 (picture condition) × 2 (genre) × 3 (reading ability) mixed ANOVA design. Forty second-grade children each read and retold two narrative and two informational texts, with or without the presence of pictures. Statistical analyses revealed that pictures had a positive effect on children’s reading comprehension, but no significant effect on their oral reading behavior. There were no significant interaction effects between picture condition and text genre or between picture condition and reading ability on any outcome measures. However, a closer examination of the data via profile plots revealed more intricate patterns regarding the impact of pictures on children’s oral reading behavior and comprehension. These findings suggest that many factors associated with the reader and the text are simultaneously at work during the reading process. The implications for research and practice are further discussed.

Improving Academic Standard of Low-Performing Adolescents: A Delphi Study

The Indian educational landscape, marked by infrastructure limitations and disparities in educator quality and school types, presents an opportunity for equitable education enhancement. This study employs the Delphi method to identify effective learning strategies for teacher training and policy considerations. Initially, 57 experts provided opinions on strategies for academically low-performing adolescents. Subsequently, 25 experts ranked these strategies’ importance using a Likert scale. In an independent round, 50 new experts with teaching experience shared insights into strategies implemented for low-performing school adolescents. Of 38 proposed strategies short-listed in the first round, experts strongly recommended 21, yet educators implemented only nine. Notably, strategies supported by existing literature and strongly endorsed by experts, such as experiential learning, reading aloud, and independent thinking, remain unimplemented. This absence could impede adolescents’ knowledge and hinder academic success. Integrating evidence-based strategies into the curriculum could enhance low-performing adolescents’ academic performance, career prospects, and life satisfaction.

Toward a Cultural Sustenance View of Reading

AbstractThis article highlights a Cultural Sustenance View of Reading (CSVR), a complex reader model illuminated by vivid findings from an eight‐year collaborative classroom‐based study and extensive reviews of cognitive and sociocultural research. Within the CSVR, reading is conceptualized as being shaped by a readers' culturally and linguistically situated knowledge (ways of knowing), experiences and relationships (ways of being), and cognitive reading processes (ways of reading) which overlap and interact through the non‐linear, active process of culturally mediated cognition. In extending the CSVR, the authors hope to supplant long‐ standing false dichotomies between the cognitive and sociocultural functions within the human experience of reading. In doing so, we hope to advance ideas about how learning to read can foster cultural sustenance—with children and their lifeways centered as full and complete.

Laki niin kuin se luetaan – säädöskielen käytettävyyttä tutkimassa

The article looks at how readers understand legal text, which characteristics cause difficulties, and which facilitate understanding. The method used is protocol analysis. It examines a subject’s reading process, highlighting the features that affect reading and understanding. Subjects read test texts while verbalizing their reading experience, and their thinking aloud is recorded, transcribed, and analyzed. Subjects include lawyers, officials, and laypeople, and test materials contain extracts from the Finnish Inheritance Code, the Income Tax Act, and the Working Time Act. The results show the impact of different textual elements on comprehension and usability.

What Were the Processes and Impact of Establishing a Book Group in the Hilltop Benefice?

Abstract This project outlines and explores the impact of the establishment of a book group organized during Lent 2023 within a particular benefice, in Surrey in the UK, that had three separate church congregations. The opportunity to join the club, which would run for six sessions, was made available across all three congregations. The title for sharing was pre-selected and each week one chapter was read by group members as preparation. Sessions started with hospitality, followed by the reading aloud of the set chapter, as a group exercise, and an ensuing supported group discussion. Participants were invited to share their feedback on involvement in an online, anonymous questionnaire. This paper outlines process and findings, and highlights observations that are relevant to the wider church and can be built on in future.

Developing Linguistic Constructs of Text Readability Using Natural Language Processing

ABSTRACT Purpose Understanding what makes a text difficult to read is an important element of literacy instruction, materials development, and research into text readability. Readability formulas are often used to quantify text readability. However, readability formulas often focus on a relatively limited number of text features that inform the reading process and/or use single features to measure complex language constructs under the presumption that related features do not interact with one another. As a result, the formulas can be difficult to interpret by practitioners. Method A principal component analysis was used to combine text features from advanced natural language processing tools into theoretically-inspired language constructs related to text comprehension. Result Results indicate that text features aggregated into seven components related to informational text, syntactic constructions, noun phrase complexity, lexical ease, function word ease, narrativity, and lexical variety. These components predicted 44% of the variance in readability scores reported in a large readability corpus. Conclusion The results provide evidence that individual linguistic features related to text readability can be combined into reading components that are strong predictors of text comprehension. Practically, these components should be more easily interpretable allowing for more actionable feedback and use by practitioners.

Impact of histological remission for predicting clinical relapse in Crohn's disease: a post-hoc analysis of the prospective STORI cohort.

Achieving deep remission, encompassing clinical, endoscopic, and biological remission, is the goal in managing Crohn's disease (CD). The role of histological remission remains unclear. This study aimed to examine the impact of histological inflammation on clinical relapse risk in CD and explore the relationship between histology, endoscopic scores, and biomarkers. Patients from the prospective STORI cohort underwent ileocolonoscopy with CDEIS calculation and 2 biopsies from the most inflamed or previously inflamed areas. Histological scores (Robarts, Geboes, modified Geboes, Nancy, and IBD-DCA) were determined by two independent pathologists in a central reading process. Histological remission was defined by specific score thresholds. Clinical relapse, defined by CDAI >250 or a CDAI increase of 70 points over two weeks, was monitored for at least one year. Out of 115 patients included in STORI, 160 biopsies (44 ileal and 116 colonic) from 76 patients were analyzed. Histological remission rates were 46% (Nancy), 55% (Robarts), 61% (Geboes), and 41% (IBD-DCA). During follow-up, 35 patients (46%) experienced a clinical relapse: 37% with histological remission and 56% without, based on the Nancy score. Among the mucosal healing (MH) subgroup (45 patients), 34% with histological remission and 44% without relapsed (p=0.18). Histological scores did not predict clinical relapse. Only faecal calprotectin (FC) was a significant predictor in multivariate analysis (p=0.029). Despite correlations with endoscopy and biomarkers, histological scores did not predict clinical relapse in CD patients in remission. Thus, these scores are not recommended for clinical practice to assess relapse risk in CD.

Orthographic knowledge as a predictor of reading and spelling in isiXhosa third graders

Background: Research acknowledges the importance of phonological processing and orthographic processing for reading and spelling in both consistently and inconsistently written languages. While the focus has tended to be on the role of phonological processing in languages with consistent orthographies, the role of orthographic processing, specifically orthographic knowledge has yet to be as extensively explored.Aim: To address this gap, this article explores the unique contributions of phonological awareness (PA) and orthographic knowledge for reading and spelling in the consistently written language of isiXhosa. In addition, we investigate the multi-dimensional character of orthographic knowledge by establishing whether letter-sound knowledge is a sub-component of orthographic knowledge, alongside word-specific and general orthographic knowledge.Setting: A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted with 182 isiXhosa third graders.Methods: Participants completed word-specific and general orthographic knowledge tasks, which were specifically designed for the study, along with tasks of oral reading fluency, spelling accuracy, PA, rapid automatised naming and letter-sound knowledge.Results: Using confirmatory factor analyses along with regression analyses, the findings provide support for the multi-dimensional character of orthographic knowledge inclusive of word-specific orthographic knowledge, general orthographic knowledge and letter-sound knowledge. Further, it was revealed that for this sample of isiXhosa third graders, orthographic knowledge was more influential to reading and spelling performance over and above PA, providing evidence for the importance of orthographic skill for both reading and spelling in isiXhosa.Conclusion: The present study adds to a growing understanding of the multi-dimensional nature of orthographic knowledge and provides evidence for the importance of orthographic knowledge for reading and spelling in isiXhosa.Contribution: The findings support the need for phonics instruction that incorporates activities which build learners’ orthographic knowledge and other writing-related skills. Further, continuous exposure to books and reading will also strengthen learners’ orthographic knowledge.

Academic reading: fear and trembling or being and belonging?

At the University of the West of England (UWE) Bristol, we are in the second year of a project to promote and improve reading skills. One part of our work has focused on embedding collaborative reading techniques within subjects to improve confidence in tackling texts, promote reading as a social practice, and boost belonging within disciplines and cohorts. Our poster presentation reviews the literature on student emotions towards reading, and how these influence their practices. We use this visual representation when liaising with academic colleagues to co-create and facilitate collaborative reading activities. Considerations of the role of student ‘affect’ foreground the motivational dimensions of the reading experience; we look at both pre-existing psychological and emotional barriers to engagement, and incentives and enablers that encourage confident reading and enjoyment of academic texts. We consider how the research literature accords with and further informs our empirical experience of running practical reading workshops. It is hoped that activities such as reading circles and textmapping relieve the individual from sole accountability for comprehension, bringing reading ‘out from the dark’. Deconstructing the process of reading through collaborative roles contributes towards the co-construction of understanding and knowledge, activating fresh insights. Discussion of reading through this shared approach potentially helps to develop student confidence, to nurture feelings of belonging, and to enhance cohort identity. However, we are mindful of the real-world impacts and outcomes of reading strategies for the diverse body of students that we encounter in higher education, with their wealth of difference in cognitive abilities, backgrounds, and cultural experiences. Through this literature review, it is intended that learning from work already published will contribute towards evolving best practice in channelling agency and easing anxiety in academic reading for all students.

KEMAMPUAN MEMBACA NYARING TEKS CERITA BUGIS SISWA KELAS V SDN 85 WANUA BARU KABUPATEN MAROS

This research is a descriptive quantitative study that aims to describe the ability to read aloud Bugis story texts of fifth grade students of SDN 85 Wanua Baru, Maros Regency. The population of this study were all fifth grade students of SDN 85 Wanua Baru, Maros Regency in the 2023/2024 school year, totaling 15 students. The withdrawal of samples in this study was carried out by means of total sampling because the population was less than one hundred. The data collection techniques used in this study were oral test techniques and recording techniques. The data obtained were analyzed using quantitative descriptive analysis. There are four aspects of assessment used in this study, namely aspects of fluency, aspects of the use of intonation, aspects of pronunciation, and aspects of voice volume. Based on the results of the data analysis obtained, it shows that the ability to read aloud Bugis story text of fifth grade students of SDN 85 Wanua Baru Maros Regency, namely (1) the fluency aspect of students who scored above 70, namely 10 people with a percentage of 60% declared unable, (2) the aspect of using intonation of students who scored above 70, namely 8 people with a percentage of 53% declared unable, (3) the aspect of pronunciation of students who scored above 70, namely 3 people with a percentage of 20% declared unable, and (4) the aspect of voice volume of students who scored above 70, namely 12 people with a percentage of 80% declared able

Low-cost portable sensor for rapid and sensitive detection of Pb2+ ions using capacitance sensing integrated with microfluidic enrichment.

Lead ion (Pb2+) pollution is a critical global issue due to its ability to accumulate in the human body, resulting in severe health problems. Despite extensive research efforts devoted to the detection of Pb2+ contamination, practical, rapid, and field-deployable sensors for Pb2+ is yet to be developed to effectively safeguard the environment and public health. Herein, a label-free affinity-based sensing device is developed based on printed circuit board (PCB) for low-cost, easy-to-use, and real-time on-site detection of Pb2+ ions. The sensors are prepared by forming a self-assembled monolayer of glutathione (GSH) on the surface of gold-plated PCB electrodes, which serves as a molecular probe to recognize Pb2+. Rapid and sensitive detection is achieved by using capacitance sensing integrated with microfluidic enrichment. The sensor's interfacial capacitance is used to indicate specific binding, while the capacitance reading process simultaneously induces alternating current electrothermal (ACET) acceleration of analyte's travel towards the probes. Thus, the enrichment and detection are integrated into a single step, making pre-concentration unnecessary and shortening the assay time to 30s. This Pb2+ sensor has demonstrated one of the lowest limits of detection reported so far (1.85 fM) with a linear range of 0.01-10pM. To evaluate the sensor's specificity, non-target metal ions are tested, all showing negligible responses. Testing of tap water sample also yields reasonable results, validating the sensor's robustness. The above-mentioned features, together with a commercial portable readout, make this sensor well-suited for point-of-use Pb2+ detection at low cost.

Metalinguistic and Reading Skills in a Sample of Colombian Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Objective: This study aimed to examine metalinguistic skills and reading processes in children diagnosed with ADHD, compared to a matched control group. Method: An explanatory experimental design was employed, involving a sample of 194 children from Manizales, comprising 97 children diagnosed with ADHD and 97 controls. The study utilized tasks from the Children’s Neuropsychological Assessment (CNA) protocol to assess metalinguistic and reading abilities. Results: Children with ADHD exhibited significantly lower performance across all metalinguistic and reading tasks compared to the control group, except for spelling and silent reading comprehension tasks. Conclusions: These findings corroborate previous research conducted in Manizales, underscoring the specific challenges in metalinguistic and reading domains among children with ADHD. Future research should explore the influence of working memory on phonological awareness and its implications for metalinguistic skills and reading development.

Analysis Of Dhikr Toward Peace Of Mind: Islam In Psychological Approach

Increasingly Modern Era Of Human Life, There Are Various Kinds Of Problems In Life, Dissatisfaction With Life, And Insatiable Desires. This Makes Humans Neglect Their Faith And Distance Themselves From Allah, The Creator. The Dissatisfaction Experienced By Humans Causes Various Kinds Of Psychological Turmoil That Can Have A Negative Impact On The Life Process. The Method Used In Writing This Article Is The Theoretical Study Method, Retrieving Information Through The Process Of Reading, Recording, Collecting Information From Various Sources Such As Books, Journals, And Several Other References Which Are Then Used As References And Reviewing Theoretical Studies. In Islam, The Turmoil Experienced By Humans That Causes Anxiety, Discomfort, And Unease Can Be Handled With Efforts That Have Been Contained In The Qur'an Based On The Words Of Allah And Hadith, Namely By Means Of Dhikr. Through Dhikr, Humans Can Remember Allah, So That It Will Not Focus Too Much On Worldly Life Which Has No Limit To Achieving Satisfaction. Dhikr Can Be Used As A Therapy For The Human Psyche. So That Through This Dhikr Can Create Humans Who Have Faith And Are Close To Allah. Through This Dhikr, Peace Of Mind Can Be Created So That Humans Can Increase Their Faith And Return To Allah's Guidance.

I Have Decided to Read Out Loud for the Rest of My Life! Cognitive Health and the StrongerMemory Program

The StrongerMemory program aims to improve cognitive health in older adults through three daily brain exercises stimulating the prefrontal cortex: reading aloud, writing, and math activities. The brain’s prefrontal cortex governs memory retrieval, decision-making, concentration, planning, insight, and judgment. This paper reports on focus groups conducted to understand participants’ perspectives of the StrongerMemory program and their continuation of the exercises post-study. Thirty older adults, mostly female, white, married, and holding advanced degrees, participated. Rigorous data analysis involving coding, memoing, and constant comparative analysis generated 132 codes leading to the emergence of five themes: motivating, appreciating, taxing, committing, and enhancing. Social work practitioners can gain valuable insights from this study to enhance the creation and implementation of accessible and meaningful brain health interventions for older adults.

The impact of interword spacing on inference processing during text reading: Evidence from eye movements

ABSTRACT Removing interword spacing has been shown to disrupt lower-level oculomotor processes and word identification during text reading. However, the impact of these disruptions on higher-level processes remains unclear. To examine the influence of spacing on inferential processing, we monitored eye movements while participants read spaced and unspaced passages that were strongly or weakly constrained toward an inference. Removing spaces disrupted reading fluency, as evidenced by longer reading times, longer fixation durations, reduced skipping, and shorter saccades. We also observed the effects of inferential constraint for spaced passages as characterized by longer reading times, more regressions, and longer regression-path durations for weakly than strongly constrained passages. However, these constraint effects were absent for unspaced passages, suggesting that removing spaces disrupts inferential processing. Our results are consistent with models of reading and discourse processing that assume that higher-level reading processes depend on the quality of lexical representations developed at earlier, word-level reading stages.

Reading aloud compared with positive expiratory pressure after abdominal surgery. a randomized controlled trial

Reading aloud compared with positive expiratory pressure after abdominal surgery. a randomized controlled trial

Progress Toward Estimating the Minimal Clinically Important Difference of Intelligibility: A Crowdsourced Perceptual Experiment.

The purpose of the current study was to estimate the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) of sentence intelligibility in control speakers and in speakers with dysarthria due to multiple sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson's disease (PD). Sixteen control speakers, 16 speakers with MS, and 16 speakers with PD were audio-recorded reading aloud sentences in habitual, clear, fast, loud, and slow speaking conditions. Two hundred forty nonexpert crowdsourced listeners heard paired conditions of the same sentence content from a speaker and indicated if one condition was more understandable than another. Listeners then used the Global Ratings of Change (GROC) Scale to indicate how much more understandable that condition was than the other. Listener ratings were compared with objective intelligibility scores obtained previously via orthographic transcriptions from nonexpert listeners. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and average magnitude of intelligibility difference per level of the GROC Scale were evaluated to determine the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of potential cutoff scores in intelligibility for establishing thresholds of important change. MCIDs derived from the ROC curves were invalid. However, the average magnitude of intelligibility difference derived valid and useful thresholds. The MCID of intelligibility was determined to be about 7% for a small amount of difference and about 15% for a large amount of difference. This work demonstrates the feasibility of the novel experimental paradigm for collecting crowdsourced perceptual data to estimate MCIDs. Results provide empirical evidence that clinical tools for the perception of intelligibility by nonexpert listeners could consist of three categories, which emerged from the data ("no difference," "a little bit of difference," "a lot of difference"). The current work is a critical step toward development of a universal language with which to evaluate changes in intelligibility as a result of neurological injury, disease progression, and speech-language therapy.

Cost and benefit of parafoveal information during reading acquisition as revealed by finger movement patterns

Contrary to expert readers, children learning to read have limited ability to preprocess letters in parafoveal vision. Parafoveal letters induce crowding cost: the features of neighboring letters interfere with target letter identification. We longitudinally studied the weight of parafoveal cost and benefit in two group of children (N = 42), during their first school year (Group 1) and at the end of second school year (Groupe 2). Using a novel digit-tracking method, a blurred text was presented and rendered unblurred by touching the screen, allowing the user to discover a window of visible text as the finger moved along it. We compared two conditions: (1) a large window, where crowding was enhanced by the presence of parafoveal information; (2) a small window, where crowding was suppressed by blurred parafoveal information. Finger kinematics were simultaneously recorded. We found that at the beginning of first-grade, digital fixations - brief slowing or stopping of the finger on a specific point - are significantly longer in the large compared to the small window condition, as parafoveal crowding increases text processing difficulty. This effect diminishes and disappears at the end of second-grade as reading performance improves. In the large window condition, longer digital saccades - rapid movements of the finger changing position - appear by the end of first grade suggesting that parafoveal exposure become more beneficial than harmful when children acquire basic reading skills. Our results show that in beginning readers, crowding has a cognitive cost that interfere with the speed of the learning reading process. Our findings are relevant to the field of education by showing that visual crowding in first grade should not be underestimated.