Reading Skills Research Articles

Pulsed lighting for adults with Dyslexia: very limited impact, confined to individuals with severe reading deficits

The goal of this study is to evaluate the impact of pulsed lighting on the reading performance of young adults with dyslexia. A total of 42 participants were recruited, including individuals diagnosed with developmental dyslexia and adults without reported reading difficulties. The severity of each participant’s reading deficit was assessed on a continuous scale using a reading impairment score, derived from four reading tests: an isolated-word reading test, a pseudoword reading test, and two reading fluency tests. The impairment score ranged from 0 (no impairment) to 4 (severe impairment across all tests). To examine the potential effect of pulsed lighting, we measured (1) sentence reading speed, expressed as a reading accessibility index (ACC), and (2) text comprehension, expressed as a comprehension score. These measures were taken under three lighting conditions: standard lighting, pulsed lighting, and a combination of the two. Linear mixed-effects models were applied to assess the effects of lighting on ACC and comprehension, controlling for the reading impairment score. We found no effect of lighting conditions on either ACC or comprehension, except in the most impaired readers, who showed a small but significant increase of 7% in ACC. However, even with pulsed lighting, impaired readers did not reach the performance level of skilled adult readers. In conclusion, the study did not demonstrate a clear positive impact of pulsed lighting on the reading skills of adults with dyslexia.

The use of digital storytelling in the teaching of reading at a rural primary school

The myriad challenges confronting schools have stimulated proposals to adopt digital storytelling as both an innovative teaching strategy and learning resource. Due to inadequacy in reading skills of our school learners, language teachers have acceded to a proposal to use digital storytelling as a vehicle for curriculum delivery. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the perceptions of the rural primary school teachers regarding the use of digital storytelling in the teaching of reading. To do so, the researcher employed a three-cyclical process of qualitative action research which involved pre-implementation, implementation and post-implementation stages. To gather data from five language teachers, interviews were used during pre-implementation phase, observations were conducted during the implementation phase, and document analysis and interviews were employed during the post-implementation phase. Results show that the teachers’ readiness levels in terms of technological skills, beliefs and attitude improved after attending the Digital Storytelling Workshop. The notable end-product of the Digital Storytelling Workshop was three digital stories that teachers developed by teachers. In sum, teachers demonstrated an adequate degree of readiness to adopt digital storytelling after the post-implementation phase. The positive outcomes of this action research study suggest that digital storytelling should be used as an innovative strategy to teach reading.

Examining the associations between high achievement in reading and school climate: evidence from five South American countries

An emergent literature has shown that some students overcome adversities related to their low Socio-Economic Status (SES) by attaining high academic achievement. One of the aims of this literature is to identify the factors that explain the capacity of students from low SES backgrounds to attain high academic achievement. However, upon reviewing this literature, I observed that few studies have comparatively investigated the associations between the capacity of students from low SES backgrounds to attain high achievement in reading and school climate characteristics. Additionally, I found that not many studies have researched whether student SES moderates these associations. This paper contributes to fill these two gaps by estimating associations between high achievement in reading and school climate characteristics. Moreover, it examines whether student SES moderates these associations. To do this, this research estimated logit and heterogeneous choice models using representative samples of students from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Uruguay who participated in the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). The results show that high achievement in reading is positively correlated to certain teaching practices, such as perceived teacher enthusiasm during the instruction and adapting instruction to students’ needs. Conversely, it is negatively correlated to teacher feedback and teacher-directed instruction. Furthermore, the findings indicate that high achievement in reading is negatively correlated to the scarcity and low quality of educational material. Interestingly, the results show that student SES does not moderate these associations. In conclusion, these findings indicate that interventions targeting these areas of school climate may help to increase students’ probability of attaining high achievement in reading, regardless of their SES. Likewise, these results suggest that if these interventions are focused in low SES schools, they may contribute to bridge the gap in reading skills between students from low and middle or high socioeconomic backgrounds.

Challenges of EFL Course Retaking: Toward a Model for Remedial Reading

Course retaking brings pivotal challenges for learning institutions all over the world. This urges many academicians to investigate the reasons why students retake courses. Therefore, this article identifies the micro and macro challenges associated with retaking a reading course. It also generates a remedial reading model for English as foreign language (EFL) contexts. Data was collected from reading course specifications, course report, and focused group discussions with six experienced language instructors at the preparatory year program of a Saudi university. Using grounded theory, the qualitative data was analyzed through thematic analysis. The findings revealed a complex web of challenges associated with different stakeholders: the course retakers, language instructors, administration, and retakers’ families; all of them share the challenge of time constraints, especially after the shift from two to three semesters. At the micro level, course retakers struggle with poor foundational skills and demotivation, focusing on passing exams. They also lack exposure to English and seldom invest office hours for help. Language instructors struggle with learning materials, demotivation, and assessment. At the macro level, students’ families contribute to maximize these challenges. A gap exists between the intended learning outcomes and student levels and admission criteria. These challenges collectively hinder course retakers’ reading skills. The study generates a five-pillar bridging model that integrates learning outcomes, exam-oriented teaching strategies, simplified reading materials, technology-assisted reading, and motivational strategies to foster EFL remedial reading. The study recommends some pedagogical implications for remedial reading classes.

Music literacy shapes the specialization of a right hemispheric word reading area

This study aimed to examine differences in the brain activity of professional musicians and non-musicians, particularly in relation to neuroplastic changes that may be associated with musical training. Specifically, we investigated whether the ability to read complex musical notation might be linked to neurofunctional adaptations that could influence word reading mechanisms. The study involved 80 participants (half of which were musicians). High-density EEG recordings and swLORETA inverse solutions were employed to analyze brain activity related to word processing and orthographic analysis. The electromagnetic signals were analyzed in the temporal window corresponding to the latency of N170 component (150–190 ms). Musicians and musically naïve people (controls) were matched based on native language, sociocultural and educational status, age, and laterality preference. Behavioural data and reading proficiency tests demonstrated higher reading skills (for words, non-words and text), and faster RTs to target letters embedded in words, in musicians. Source reconstruction showed fundamental differences in word reading mechanisms between musicians and non-musicians, including a larger involvement of the right occipitotemporal cortex, in the former than the latter. In particular, musicians showed a bilateral activation of the middle occipital gyrus (BA19, Visual Word Form Area), which was strongly lateralized to the left hemisphere in controls, during word orthographic analysis. A relationship is proposed between music literacy, enhanced reading skills and the development of a right-sided reading area for notation recognition in musicians, which could serve as a potential protective factor for ‘surface’ dyslexia.

A Comparative Study Of Importance Between Phonological Awareness And Phonics For Reading Skill Development

Both Phonological awareness and Phonics contribute to developing the reading skill of a learner. But there are subtle differences between the technical forces of the two. The Paper attempts a comprehensive study of comparison between the potential of the foremost devices and reach the final point in order to establish the thesis that Phonics plays a more crucial role in developing the reading skill than Phonological awareness does. A conclusive decision has been drawn after a critical and analytical study of the two that place one over the other in importance, namely Phonics precedes the Phonological Awareness in developing the reading skill.

Implementation Takes Time: Reduction of Literacy Problems in Schools Implementing an Early-Literacy Intervention

Early-literacy interventions might prevent reading problems in the long term, but effects are rarely examined at scale. In this study, we examined whether the large-scale implementation of the Dutch early-literacy intervention Build! reduced the percentage of readers with difficulties and improved mean reading skills at the school level. Transfer effects to spelling and reading comprehension were also examined. Over the course of 6 years, schools not implementing Build! (61–126 schools, depending on the outcome measure) were compared to 72 to 145 schools that introduced Build! during the project. Per year, intervention schools were modeled as using or not using the intervention. Using difference-in-difference models, we examined changes in literacy skills from the moment the intervention was introduced. Findings indicated that there was no immediate effect of the intervention. However, after the intervention had been used for 2 years, the percentage of children with difficulties in reading, spelling, and reading comprehension started to decrease and the mean reading and spelling ability increased. Results suggest that large-scale evaluations of interventions should be continued for several years, as effects might show several years after the implementation of the intervention.

English language teacher educators’ knowledge and skills on early grade reading instruction

This study investigated English language teacher educators' knowledge and skills on early grade reading instruction. It employed a quantitative design, particularly the descriptive comparative one, utilizing cluster random sampling method to include all (N = 43) English language teacher educators from three teacher education colleges (15 from Arba Minch, 11 from Hosana and 17 from Hawassa) in Ethiopia. The study used test and years of teaching experience as instruments to collect data. It employed descriptive statistics and One sample t-test to identify level of knowledge and skills English language teacher educators had on early grade reading, Multiple regression and Beta weights to determine the combined and relative contributions of domains of the early grade reading for English language teacher educators' knowledge and skills while Spearman's rho Correlation to examine the relationship between English language teacher educators' years of teaching experience and their knowledge and skills test score. Findings revealed that majority of English language teacher educators were at low level of knowledge and skills; they scored the skills test better than the knowledge one. Moreover, English language teacher educators in the current study had significantly low’ level of early grade reading knowledge and skills compared to participants' early grade reading knowledge and skills in the hypothesized population, indicating that there are substantial differences on early grade reading knowledge and skills between the two groups. Although early grade reading domains together significantly contributed to English language teacher educators' level of content knowledge and skills, phonemic was the most while morphology was the least contributor. However, English language teacher educators' years of teaching experience did not show any significant correlation with their early grade reading knowledge and skills. The study concluded that English language teacher educators might not fully equip the preservice English language teachers with the content knowledge and skills to teach the early grade reading.

Multimodal reading in reading-only versus reading-while-listening modes: evidence from Chinese language learners

Abstract Language educators and researchers have shown keen interest in enhancing second language (L2) learners’ reading skills, and recently, more emphasis has been placed on multimodal learning. Multimodal learning theories posit that the confluence of auditory and visual stimuli facilitates learners to establish robust referential connections, and thus integrating audio cues has emerged as a strategy to enhance reading performance. While prior research has affirmed the advantages of incorporating audio cues for fostering reading fluency and comprehension in general, the findings are inconsistent. These investigations have predominantly focused on learners of English as a second language. Considering the differences between English and Chinese, especially their relationship between written scripts and oral language, investigating the reading experiences of Chinese language learners can contribute to a fuller understanding of the effect of audio inclusion on L2 learners. This study compared reading comprehension and reading experiences in reading-only and reading-while-listening modes for intermediate-low and intermediate-high-level Chinese language learners. After learners read in two different modes, a T-test was conducted on their comprehension performance followed by a qualitative analysis of their perspectives on their reading experiences. The findings showed a significant influence of audio integration on enhancing reading comprehension among intermediate-low-level Chinese language learners engaged in multimodal Chinese reading, and these learners displayed a preference for audio inclusion. On the other hand, a lack of significance in the effects of supplementary audio cues on reading comprehension was identified for intermediate-high-level learners, who manifested a mixed attitude towards audio integration with reading. This study complements the existing understanding of multimodal reading based on alphabetic language, particularly in English. Moreover, the findings carry pertinent implications for Chinese language reading pedagogy.

New Ways for Doing Extensive Reading: Hyperlearning and Cultural Context

Extensive reading is an effective approach to learning reading. However, this approach is sometimes criticized since it is difficult to measure the improvements in learners’ reading skills. This is due to the primary objective of extensive reading being "reading for pleasure." A refreshment is needed regarding the learning process by adding some supplements to the learning activities. This paper proposes a fresh perspective on implementing an extensive reading project by incorporating the concepts of hyperlearning and cultural context-based reading. Hyperlearning is leveraging technology to improve the reading experience while also solidifying a profound value whilst the cultural context involves selecting texts that are relevant to the interests or background of the learner. By incorporating this approach into their learning experience, learners can improve their language skills while enjoying a more dynamic and personalized learning experience. In this way, learners will cultivate learning habits that are called "hyperlearners".

Emergent bilingual preschoolers’ verbal and embodied engagement behaviors in read aloud

Shared reading is a crucial site for children’s emerging reading skills when children engage affectively, behaviorally, and cognitively in the reading process. To inform a more holistic, collective, and inclusive view of observable engagement in read aloud (RA) behaviors, authors examined EB preschoolers’ micro-moment engagement behaviors to understand how they recruit their verbal and embodied modes to attend to RAs and how these behaviors align with prior engagement typologies. A phenomenological approach was implemented to examine EB preschool students’ moment-to-moment, multimodal forms of engagement across three video recorded RAs that consisted of 258 units of analysis. Findings reveal that EB preschoolers’ attentiveness and attention divergence during RA activities were showcased across a multimodal continuum but did not necessarily indicate disengagement or inattention. Opportunities for children’s contemplation were constrained by social and behavioral expectations of their compliance, and within less dialogic RAs, these expectations undermined children’s multimodal means of textual engagement in favor of their quiet, undivided display of attention. Findings have implications for recognizing the role of young children’s multimodal expression in supporting their engagement and interactions in RA in ways that may contribute to their developing reading skills and outcomes.

Improving foreign language reading technique using neural text-to-speech technology

Introduction. The intensification and technical development of the country, the COVID-19 pandemic and the post-crisis phase have led to the active integration of digital resources into the educational process, which has led to a new stage of development of the modern Russian education system – its digitalization. At present, new digital technologies, including artificial intelligence technologies, are being developed and introduced into the teaching of foreign languages. This article considers the use of text-to-speech technology functioning via neural networks to improve the reading technique in English and German of students of linguistic and non-linguistic specialties. Reading skills in a foreign language can be improved with the help of Natural Reader and TTSFree speech synthesizers, which students can use on their own. Due to application of the new FES HVE (Federal Educational Standards of Higher Vocational Education) of 2018 the volume of classroom work with students has decreased and the volume of independent work of students and students number in educational groups have increased, according to this matter the practical use of speech synthesizers in a foreign language classes seems relevant and important. Materials and Methods. Conducting an experiment to determine the effectiveness of the use of Natural Reader and TTSFree speech synthesizers to improve reading skills of linguistic and non-linguistic specialties students, calculating the number of phonetic errors when reading a foreign text before and after using of the voice generator, summarizing and interpreting the results obtained. Results. The list of publications studied in the process of scientific research makes 40 Russian and foreign works. These materials allowed to study the application of TTS technology with the use of neural networks, as well as Natural Reader and TTSFree speech synthesizers in foreign language classes at the university, which allowed to prove in practice the effectiveness of the analyzed services to improve the reading technique in English and German. Discussion and Conclusions. On the basis of theoretical research of scientific sources, as well as studying the experience of practical application of speech synthesizers Natural Reader and TTSFree, the conclusion about the great didactic potential of TTS technology is formulated. Possible applications of speech synthesis include the creation of an authentic language environment, the automation of reading, listening and speaking skills, as well as the self-control of students with their written language, voiced by TTS technology.

Predicting Adolescent Arithmetic and Reading Dysfluency.

The long-term negative consequences of learning difficulties have been acknowledged. Nonetheless, research is still scarce regarding the prediction of adolescent difficulties in reading and arithmetic skills. The present study examines at which age phase and with what kind of constellation of parent- and child-related factors can adolescent difficulties in arithmetic and/or reading fluency be successfully predicted. A sample of Finnish children (N = 941) was followed from the onset of kindergarten (at age 6) through adolescence (ages 13-16). Children's cognitive skills were assessed in kindergarten, and arithmetic and reading fluency were examined in Grades 2, 4, 6, 7, and 9. Parents' self-report data were collected on their own learning difficulties and educational level. Scoring below the 16th percentile in both Grades 7 and 9 was set as the criterion for dysfluency either in reading (N = 87, 9.2%) or arithmetic (N = 84, 8.9%). Adolescent dysfluency in both domains was moderately predicted by parental measures and kindergarten cognitive skills. Although adding school-age fluency measures clearly increased both the predictability and specificity of models up to Grade 4 for both skills, knowledge of letters' names, counting, and visuospatial skills remained unique predictors of dysfluency in adolescence.

An Investigation of Cooperative Learning Strategies in Improving Students' Comprehension Skills in the Context of English as a Foreign Language (EFL)

The objective of this study was to enhance the reading comprehension abilities of EFL students by implementing cooperative learning strategies. The study aimed to address the following primary research question: What is the influence of cooperative learning on enhancing the reading comprehension skills of EFL students? The study included a total of 70 students from the first and second levels of the Department of English and Literature at the Ar Rass campus of Qassim University in Saudi Arabia. We conducted the study over a three-week period in two classes: the control group consisted of 35 female students (N = 35), while the experimental group also included 35 female students (N = 35). The experimental group received instruction through cooperative learning strategies, whereas the control group received instruction through a standard teacher-centered strategy. To address the fact-finding investigation of the study, we employed a pre- and post-test tool to assess reading comprehension skills. This test specifically aimed to identify the levels of literal and inferential comprehension. We employed the t-test to determine the statistical divergence between the average scores of the two groups. This study demonstrated the beneficial influence of cooperative learning approaches on the enhancement of reading comprehension skills among first- and second-level students in the Department of English and Literature. We strongly recommend cooperative learning practices to improve the reading skills of EFL learners.

Kompetencje akademickie studentów neofilologii. Postrzeganie problematyzacji w artykule naukowym

The aim of the article is to summarize current trends in research on advanced skills in reading and writing academic texts and to analyze the ways in which a research paper may be explored by students of modern language studies at master’s degree level. The cited examples of strategies for reconstructing the logic of a research paper refer to the perception and expression of knowledge from a specialized field in verbal interactions, after completing a task which combines reading a selected research paper and using its content in their own text. The main aspect of the analysis is problematization, construed as the principal (structural and logical) axis of an academic text.

Stimulation of Auditory Perception in Children Using Maria Montessori’s Developmental Materials

Auditory perception is an important area of a child’s cognitive development because it determines the development of speech and influences writing and reading skills. Irena Polewczyk defines it as “active reception of auditory stimuli scattered around a person, based on the ability to differentiate speech sounds and their analysis, synthesis and interpretation in accordance with the knowledge, memory and experience that a person has” (Polewczyk, 2017, p. 149). The human body is adapted to receive impressions from the outside world; it segregates, processes and interprets them in the mind. In this way, a person acquires experiences that determine the development of subsequent, more and more precise skills. In the process of developing auditory perception, an important role is played by the child’s immediate environment, which, through appropriate interactions, influences the process of shaping auditory functions. The aim of this article is to present theoretical assumptions regarding the development of auditory perception and the possibilities of stimulating auditory development through the use of Maria Montessori’s teaching aids. The first part of the article describes the development of auditory perception in children. Then, theoretical assumptions regarding Montessori development aids and the possibility of using them in developing auditory skills are presented.

The Early Reading and Music partnership

There is broad agreement, in relation to the high gravitas of ‘the big six’ in teaching early reading, the pillars of effective reading instruction (Moats, 1999; NRP, 2000; Konza, 2014). Notwithstanding, there exists a body of evidence that indicates the arts, in particular music, enhance and motivate other learning, helping young children to become readers. This suggests the explicit teaching of early reading and music together can yield powerful learning for students, the conflation of which improves and accelerates both reading and music mastery. This research investigates whether participation in music instruction has beneficial effects on young children’s learning and acquisition of early reading skills; specifically, if a link exists between early reading and music acquisition. There are three parts to this research: a) literature review; b) email surveys/ semi structured interviews; c) classroom observations. Results suggest that music serves as a natural bridge to literacy, strengthening auditory processing, and scaffolding learning phonemes and graphemes. Music aids memory because the beat, melody and harmony carry semantic content, clarifying meaning. Children learn with less effort and remember information more easily when rhyme and rhythm are present. Nursery rhymes, poems and action songs engage children through playing with language, suggesting that a transdisciplinary pedagogical approach is a potential solution to challenges currently faced in education in relation to disengagement from traditional schooling and declining reading levels. An early reading and music partnership is an approach to learning that may benefit young learners along the road to becoming readers.

A new neuropsychological tool for simultaneous reading and executive functions assessment: initial psychometric properties.

The development of reading and complex executive functions is fundamental for achieving social, academic, and professional success. So far, there is no single neuropsychological instrument that comprehensively assesses the domains of inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, working memory, and reading comprehension. To assess executive functions related to reading, the "Assessment of Reading and Executive Functions" (AREF) was developed. In this study, we show initial evidence of validity and reliability for four subtests - Graphophonological-Semantic Flexibility, Inhibitory Control, Flexibility, and Working Memory. A total of 93 students from 4th to 9th grade, aged 8-14, in public (n = 61) and private (n = 32) schools were evaluated. Tasks from the AREF instrument, as well as measures of reading comprehension, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, working memory, and intelligence, were administered. Correlations between AREF scores and the other measures were performed to assess external construct validity. Performance differences between school groups on AREF subtests were analyzed using ANOVA, t-test, and Mann-Whitney tests, and the internal consistency of the instrument's tasks was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The scores of the AREF subtests demonstrated significant positive correlations with reading measures (ranging from 0.339 to 0.367) and executive functions (ranging from 0.209 to 0.396). Significant differences were found in the performance of some AREF tasks when comparing individuals from public and private schools, as well as between 4th and 5th graders compared to students in higher grades. The internal consistency of the tasks was low for Graphophonological-Semantic Flexibility (Cronbach's α = 0.566), moderate for Inhibitory Control and Flexibility (Cronbach's α = 0.768), and high for Working Memory (Cronbach's α = 0.881). The results provide initial evidence of construct validity and reliability for the AREF subtests. It is expected that this new neuropsychological test will contribute to the assessment of reading skills and executive functions, assisting in guiding clinical and educational interventions for individuals with and without neurodevelopmental disorders.

Диагностика сформированности смыслового чтения при работе учеников средней школы с учебными математическими текстами

Learning is working with a variety of educational texts based on reading, understanding, evaluating and interpreting information. To identify the result of reading an educational mathematical text and the quality of understanding the meaning of the text space created by educational materials, it is necessary to diagnose reading, namely, the level of semantic reading. In the modern study of reading, the PISA international monitoring, the concept of reading literacy, its components and levels are defined. The success of understanding more complex educational mathematical texts will depend on the level of reader literacy. If the levels of reading literacy have evaluation criteria and diagnostic apparatus, then how to assess the level of semantic reading? The article examines the relationship between the levels of reading literacy and text comprehension, models for assessing the semantic complexity of the text and semantic reading skills, various level structures for diagnosing the understanding of a mathematical educational text. Based on the studied scientific material, the complexity of the educational mathematical text "Triangle" was assessed according to criteria such as the number of words, simple words, scientific terms and their complexity, the number of mentions of scientific terms in each paragraph. Diagnostic material has also been created to check the understanding of this text, each task of which is aimed at determining the understanding of each information block and assessing the degree of development of semantic reading.

Enhancing Reading Skills through Scaffolding Strategies in Eighth-Grade EFL Students

Enhancing Reading Skills through Scaffolding Strategies in Eighth-Grade EFL Students