Simple View Of Reading Framework Research Articles

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) in the educational sciences

Many of the analytical models commonly used in educational research often aim to maximize explained variance and identify variable importance within models. These models are useful for understanding general ideas and trends, but give limited insight into the individuals within said models. Data envelopment analysis (DEA), is a method rooted in organizational management that makes such insights possible. Unlike models alluded to above, DEA does not explain variance. Instead, it explains how efficiently an individual utilizes their inputs to produce outputs, and identifies which input is not being utilized optimally. This paper provides a history and usages of DEA from fields outside of education, and describes the math and processes behind it. This paper then extends DEA’s usage into the educational field using a study on child reading ability. Using students from the Project KIDS dataset (n = 1987), DEA is demonstrated using a simple view of reading framework, identifying individual efficiency levels in using reading-based skills to achieve reading comprehension, determining which skills are being underutilized, and classifying new subsets of readers. New subsets of readers were identified using this method, with implications for more targeted interventions.

The Simple View of Reading in Italian beginner readers: Converging evidence and open debates on the role of the main components

The Simple View of Reading (SVR) model was investigated in Italian beginner readers to address the following research questions: (a) does listening comprehension play a stronger role in reading comprehension than reading accuracy and fluency in the initial stages of literacy?; (b) what is the role of vocabulary within the SVR framework? First graders (N = 149; mean age = 6;3) were assessed at the beginning (T1; no formal instruction) and end (T2; after 6 months) of the school year. Vocabulary breadth and depth, and non-verbal reasoning were assessed at T1. Reading and listening comprehension, accuracy and fluency for non-words and words were assessed at T2. Structural equation models showed that (a) listening comprehension had a stronger relation with reading comprehension than reading accuracy and fluency at T2; (b) vocabulary breadth and depth at T1 accounted for reading comprehension through listening comprehension at T2. Findings supported the relevance of listening comprehension and vocabulary, and of interventions on these skills, for reading comprehension in beginner readers of a highly transparent orthography.

Distinct neural substrates of individual differences in components of reading comprehension in adults with or without dyslexia

Reading comprehension is a complex task that depends on multiple cognitive and linguistic processes. According to the updated Simple View of Reading framework, in adults, individual variation in reading comprehension can be largely explained by combined variance in three component abilities: (1) decoding accuracy, (2) fluency, and (3) language comprehension. Here we asked whether the neural correlates of the three components are different in adults with dyslexia as compared to typically-reading adults and whether the relative contribution of these correlates to reading comprehension is similar in the two groups. We employed a novel naturalistic fMRI reading task to identify the neural correlates of individual differences in the three components using whole-brain and literature-driven regions-of-interest approaches. Across all participants, as predicted by the Simple View framework, we found distinct patterns of associations with linguistic and domain-general regions for the three components, and that the left-hemispheric neural correlates of language comprehension in the angular and posterior temporal gyri made the largest contributions to explaining out-of-scanner reading comprehension performance. These patterns differed between the two groups. In typical adult readers, better fluency was associated with greater activation of left occipitotemporal regions, better comprehension with lesser activation in prefrontal and posterior parietal regions, and there were no significant associations with decoding. In adults with dyslexia, better fluency was associated with greater activation of bilateral inferior parietal regions, better comprehension was associated with greater activation in some prefrontal clusters and lower in others, and better decoding skills were associated with lesser activation of bilateral prefrontal and posterior parietal regions. Extending the behavioral findings of skill-level differences in the relative contribution of the three components to reading comprehension, the relative contributions of the neural correlates to reading comprehension differed based on dyslexia status. These findings reveal some of the neural correlates of individual differences in the three components and the underlying mechanisms of reading comprehension deficits in adults with dyslexia.

Relative Contribution of Reading Fluency and Vocabulary Knowledge in Predicting Korean EFL Learners’ Reading Comprehension

Despite the growing body of research evidence validating the Simple View of Reading (SVR) which highlights decoding and listening comprehension abilities as the prominent contributors of reading comprehension, there have been concerns regarding the need to augment it to consider other relevant variables. For advanced readers whose decoding skills are fully developed, an alternate code-related skill such as reading fluency needs to be considered. This is especially pertinent for second language readers whose phonics skills tend to be superior to their language abilities. Another concern has not only been with the need to consider vocabulary knowledge as an independent predictor, but also with the need to discern the contribution of both quantity and quality of vocabulary knowledge. Although there have been numerous studies showing the significant relationship between reading comprehension and both vocabulary breadth and depth, these have been rarely looked at discretely in the SVR framework. This study investigated the relative contribution of vocabulary breadth, vocabulary depth, and reading fluency to secondary Korean EFL learners’ reading comprehension within an augmented SVR model. The findings indicated that although all of the considered predictors were significantly related to their reading comprehension, only listening comprehension and vocabulary depth demonstrated significant unique contribution.

Reading Fluency and Listening Comprehension Abilities as Predictors of Reading Comprehension

This study aimed to examine whether overall English proficiency influences the relative predictive power of reading fluency and listening comprehension abilities in explaining the reading comprehension of Korean EFL learners within the simple view of reading framework, when the age factor is controlled for. One hundred sixteen eleventh-grade Korean high school students consisting of two highly distinct groups in general English proficiency―55 Most Highly Capable Students (MHCS) and 61 Capable Students (CS)―were tested on measures of reading fluency, vocabulary knowledge, listening comprehension, and reading comprehension. The findings indicated that reading fluency and listening comprehension abilities were significantly related to the reading comprehension of both MHCS and CS groups. However, the results from a series of hierarchical regression analyses revealed that while listening comprehension was a stronger predictor of reading comprehension of the MHCS group, it was reading fluency that explained more variance in comprehension of the CS group. Implications for reading instructions are discussed.

The relative contributions of speechreading and vocabulary to deaf and hearing children's reading ability

BackgroundVocabulary knowledge and speechreading are important for deaf children's reading development but it is unknown whether they are independent predictors of reading ability. AimsThis study investigated the relationships between reading, speechreading and vocabulary in a large cohort of deaf and hearing children aged 5 to 14 years. Methods and procedures86 severely and profoundly deaf children and 91 hearing children participated in this study. All children completed assessments of reading comprehension, word reading accuracy, speechreading and vocabulary. Outcomes and resultsRegression analyses showed that vocabulary and speechreading accounted for unique variance in both reading accuracy and comprehension for deaf children. For hearing children, vocabulary was an independent predictor of both reading accuracy and comprehension skills but speechreading only accounted for unique variance in reading accuracy. Conclusions and implicationsSpeechreading and vocabulary are important for reading development in deaf children. The results are interpreted within the Simple View of Reading framework and the theoretical implications for deaf children's reading are discussed.

Unique Contribution of Vocabulary Depth to Korean EFL Learners’ Reading Comprehension

This study aimed to examine the role played by the depth of vocabulary knowledge in the reading comprehension process of Korean EFL learners within the framework of the Simple View of Reading (SVR) (Gough & Tunmer, 1986). In addition to the two major SVR components, decoding and linguistic comprehension of English words, vocabulary depth, was added to the model to see whether it exerted any additional influence on the reading comprehension of Korean high school EFL learners. A total of 207 11th grade high school students in South Korea participated in this study by taking vocabulary breadth, vocabulary depth (analogy, antonym, and synonym), listening comprehension, decoding, and reading comprehension tests. The results were analyzed through structural equation modeling. The findings indicated that when vocabulary depth was considered in the SVR framework, it accounted for a unique and independent variance occurring in reading comprehension while controlling for oral language and decoding skills. In addition, direct effects of vocabulary depth on L2 reading comprehension and decoding abilities were observed, with a strong positive correlation between vocabulary depth and oral comprehension abilities. This study discusses the pedagogical implications for promoting depth of vocabulary knowledge in the Korean English-learning context.

Text processing in English-Persian bilingual children: A bilingual view on the Simple Model of Reading

The aim of the work reported in this paper was to investigate whether a simple view of reading framework could be used as a basis of determining predictors of literacy levels amongst children learning to read and write in Persian as well as English. The data presented in this paper focussed on the relative contribution of language-based skills in predicting reading comprehension performance of English-Persian speaking children. Concentration on the influence of language skills is critical given the potential for greater difficulty to be experienced by second language learners in linguistic rather than decoding components underlying reading comprehension. A sample of English-Persian bilingual school-children attending mainstream English-language schools in New Zealand and Australia were given measures of text reading comprehension in the two languages (English and Persian). The children were also given measures of listening comprehension and vocabulary, as well as measures of decoding in both languages. The results indicated cross-language effects (specifically in listening comprehension) in addition to language specific effects (i.e. in vocabulary) over-and-above the influence of word decoding. These findings are considered in light of their implications for supporting reading comprehension development in English-Persian language learners, as well as theories of literacy acquisition across orthographies. Conclusions should inform procedures for the identification (for example, by educational psychologists and/or special teachers) of children with literacy learning difficulties across such different language contexts.

The Simple View of Reading

This study examined whether the simple view of reading framework is consistently applicable among high school Korean EFL learners. In addition, it was investigated whether an oral reading fluency component is an efficient predictor for reading comprehension on top of decoding skills and linguistic comprehension skills. Thirty tenth-grade students in Korean high school were selected as participants in this research, and their decoding skills, listening comprehension, oral reading fluency, and reading comprehension in English were assessed. The data demonstrated that decoding was not an important component in predicting English reading proficiency, which does not support the original version of the simple view of reading. Instead, it was revealed that oral reading fluency had a strong predictive power of reading comprehension. Furthermore, it was found that the model should be modified as an additive model (listening comprehension + fluency) instead of a productive one. The result is discussed with respect to reading comprehension, taking into account learners’ grade level and EFL learners’ English education circumstances.

Evidence for the early emergence of the simple view of reading in a transparent orthography

The main aim of the present study was to empirically test the emergence of the Simple View of Reading (SVR) in a transparent orthography, and specifically in Greek. To do so, we examined whether the constituent components of the SVR could be identified in young, Greek-speaking children even before the beginning of formal reading instruction. Our investigation focused on Kindergarten children and examined the dissociation of decoding-related and language comprehension skills using Exploratory Factor Analysis. All children were administered a battery of decoding-related and comprehension measures. The analysis demonstrated that comprehension and decoding-related measures loaded as distinct factors in young Greek-speaking children and that the two factors were weakly correlated. The present findings provide important support for the validity of the SVR framework as a model of reading skills acquisition in a language with a transparent orthography, such as Greek.

Toward modeling reading comprehension and reading fluency in English language learners

This study investigated the adequacy of an expanded simple view of reading (SVR) framework for English language learners (ELLs), using mediation modeling approach. The proposed expanded SVR included reading fluency as an outcome and phonological awareness and naming speed as predictors. To test the fit of the proposed mediation model, longitudinal data from 308 ELLs from different linguistic backgrounds were analyzed using structural equation modeling. We examined the mediating role of Grade 2 word-level reading skills in the association between Grade 1 phonological awareness, naming speed, and listening comprehension and Grade 3 reading comprehension and reading fluency. The results indicated that word-level reading skills fully mediated the association between phonological awareness, reading comprehension and reading fluency. Word-level reading skills partially mediated the association between naming speed and reading fluency. Listening comprehension contributed directly to reading comprehension and reading fluency. It appears that reading development in ELLs is better understood when reading fluency is added to the SVR framework as an outcome and naming speed as a building block of SVR. Theoretical aspects of the mediation model in relation to ELL reading development are also addressed.

The Component Structure of Preliteracy Skills

The simple view of reading (SVR) provides a conceptual framework for describing the processes involved when readers comprehend text. Strong evidence for the SVR comes from factor-analytic studies showing dissociations between decoding and comprehension skills. The aim of the present study is to investigate whether predecoding and comprehension components exist in Canadian English-speaking prereaders with the use of principal components analysis. All children ( N = 36) were administered a battery of prereading measures designed to assess predecoding skills and listening comprehension. Principal components analysis demonstrates that listening comprehension and predecoding measures loaded as distinct components. The findings provide support for the SVR framework and suggest that such structures do not simply reflect instruction. Implications for school psychologists working in early intervention are discussed.