Word Recognition Ability Research Articles

Chaining Strategy and Word Recognition Development among Deaf Pupils in Tanzania

Despite chaining strategy being used in teaching deaf pupils in Tanzania, still deaf graduate with poor reading skills. Thus, there was the need of finding out the reasons for this stressing situation in the country. Basing on the theory of simple view of reading which highlights that reading comprehension is determined by word recognition ability and language comprehension ability, this study explored the contribution of chaining strategy in developing word recognition ability among deaf pupils in selected special primary schools in Tanzania. The study employed mixed research approach with a convergent research design, whereby, in-depth interview, observation, questionnaire and test were employed to collect data from teachers and deaf pupils respectively. A sample of 182 respondents that included 20 teachers and 162 deaf pupils was used. Data obtained were analysed through descriptive, simple linear regression and content analysis. The study revealed that the use of chaining strategy has significant contribution in developing word recognition ability among deaf pupils in Tanzania. This is because the strategy contributed much in building up major word recognition sub-skills among deaf such as, fingerspelling ability, ability to select specific word from the group of written words, abilities to match words with their corresponding signs, and ability to identify misspelled words. In-turn the subskills contributed to word recognition ability among deaf pupils. The study recommends the government to strengthen on in-service training among teachers for deaf as it will keep teachers updated as far as sign language is concern and on how to effectively apply chaining strategy

Dampak Pemanfaatan Gawai terhadap Pemerolehan Bahasa Anak Usia 3-6 Tahun: Pendekatan Ramah Anak

This study aims to explore the impact of gadget use on language acquisition in children aged 3-6 years using a child-friendly approach. The use of gadgets is increasingly widespread among children, raising concerns about its effects on their language development. This study employs qualitative methods, including observation and interviews with children aged 3-6 years in the vicinity of Desa Lemper Rt 001/002 Pademawu, Pemekasan. The results indicate that children who excessively use gadgets tend to experience delays in vocabulary acquisition and verbal communication skills. However, with a child-friendly approach, such as the use of educational applications and proper parental supervision, negative impacts can be minimized. Children who use gadgets in a controlled manner with appropriate content show improvements in word recognition and storytelling abilities. In conclusion, gadgets do not always negatively impact children's language development if used wisely and properly supervised. It is crucial for parents and educators to understand how to positively and child-friendly utilize technology to support optimal language development. This research provides significant contributions in the effort to integrate technology into children's lives without neglecting the aspects of their language development.

Evaluating Hearing Status and Word Recognition Ability in the Hmong Population Using Four Validated Monosyllabic White Hmong Dialect Word Recognition Tests.

The study's aims were (a) to evaluate hearing status and (b) word recognition ability of Hmong speakers using four validated monosyllabic word recognition tests in the White Hmong dialect and (c) to assess the relationship between the participant's language and the average word recognition percent correct scores, adjusting for age, gender, and degree of hearing loss. Participants listened to two randomly assigned validated Hmong word lists (male/female talker) for each ear. Pure-tone air- and bone-conduction thresholds as well as word recognition ability were measured. Descriptive statistics were calculated to analyze the percent correct of word lists and classify hearing status. A nonparametric regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between the participant's language and the average word recognition percent correct scores, adjusting for age, gender, and degree of hearing loss. Forty-eight Hmong (25 females, 23 males; Mage = 44.4) participated in this study. Thirty-three participants had hearing loss in at least one ear, and 15 had hearing within normal limits bilaterally. Participants with normal, mild, or steeply sloping hearing loss reached an average word recognition score of > 94% on Hmong lists by both male and female talkers. Participants with moderate-to-severe hearing loss scored 68% on average for the male talker Hmong lists and 60% on average for the female talker Hmong lists. Gender was significantly positively associated with average word recognition percent correct on the female word lists (b = -0.224, p = .047) but not statistically significant for the male word lists (b = 7.579, p = .141). Findings provide support for the use of the four Hmong word lists in clinical settings.

The effectiveness of a school-based phonics instructional material

The updated version of the national English curriculum for compulsory education was released in 2022. In this updated version, phonics was also required. Although studies about phonics were uprising again after the release of the new curriculum, most of the previous studies did not specify phonics instruction approach or obtain a larger sample size. Besides, previous studies called for a school-based phonics instructional material to enhance English as a foreign language (EFL) beginners’ word recognition ability at word level. To bridge the gap, the researchers compiled a phonics instructional material based on synthetic phonics approach in light of the new national English curriculum and bottom-up reading model. To evaluate the effectiveness of such a phonics material, a number of 366 EFL students from three strata across two schools participated in this quasi-experiment via stratified random sampling technique. They experienced a pre-test, 16 weeks of training via the phonics material, a post-test as well as a delayed retention test, which was held three months later. The results of both independent t-test and paired samples t-test have indicated that the newly compiled phonics material can improve EFL students’ word recognition ability up to 50% and that the knowledge was well-retained after a period of time as practices went on. The results have further implied that to better implement phonics instruction and to radically improve EFL students’ reading ability, the solution might be to assign time in the extra-curriculum service to teach phonics via explicit and systematic synthetic phonics instruction tailored according to the school-based phonics material.

Associations between illness perceptions, word recognition, and perceived sound quality in cochlear implant users.

Illness perceptions refer to thoughts and ideas an individual has about an illness. The aim was to understand how cochlear implant (CI) users' illness perceptions, in addition to their monosyllabic word recognition abilities, are associated with their self-perceived sound quality. Data were collected during routine CI check-up appointments. Participants completed the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (assessing their illness perceptions) and the Hearing Implant Sound Quality Index (assessing their subjective sound quality). Additionally, monosyllabic word recognition abilities were measured with the Freiburg Monosyllable Word Test. Hierarchical regression analysis were utilised to model users' sound quality ratings. Participants' age was entered first as a control variable. In the next step, monosyllabic word recognition was entered. Finally, participants' illness perceptions were entered. Fifty-five participants with unilateral CI provision. Monosyllabic word recognition was significant in the second step. When illness perceptions and monosyllabic word recognition were both included in the third step, illness perceptions, but not monosyllabic word recognition, were significant. The model explained 22% of the variance of subjective sound quality. Monosyllabic word recognition abilities and illness perceptions of CI users are important for their self-reported sound quality, but illness perceptions appear to be potentially more relevant.

The Relationship of Text Inference Abilities and Reading Comprehension in Children with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder

Objectives: Reading comprehension in school-age children is an essential ability facilitates acquisition of information from general education. Yet, even with average or above cognitive and word recognition abilities, children with High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (HF-ASD) demonstrate difficulties with reading comprehension. The purpose of the this study was to investigate that identifying the reading comprehension competence with a focus on text inference abilities (coherence processing, metalinguistic, theory of mind) in children with HF-ASD in the lower grades of elementary school.Methods: 15 HF-ASD and 15 age matched typically developing peers (TD) participated in this study. The participants performed reading comprehension tasks and text inferencing tasks (coherence processing, metalinguistic, theory of mind).Results: First, the reading comprehension accuracy of the HF-ASD group was significantly lower than the TD group. Second, the text inference accuracy of the HF-ASD group was significantly lower compared with the TD group. Third, in the TD group, there was a significant correlation between all text inference abilities (coherence processing, metalinguistic, theory of mind) and reading comprehension competence. In contrast, in the HF-ASD group, there was a positive correlation between coherence processing, metalinguistic and reading comprehension competence; however no significant relationship was found between theory of mind and reading comprehension competence. Finally, the coherence processing task predicted reading comprehension competence of children with HF-ASD by 52.2% and TD children by 42.1%.Conclusion: This study suggests that supporting connecting information within a text, local inferencing, and focusing on the coherence processing intervention is necessary for reading comprehension of children with HF-ASD in the lower grades of elementary school.

Teaching Sight-Words to Enhance Word Recognition and Reading Fluency of Students with Specific Learning Disabilities at the Primary Level

The students with specific learning disabilities receiving tailored instructions became non-readers and developed frustration during the closure due to COVID-19. The present research aims to investigate the reasons and provide intervention solutions to improve their word recognition and reading fluency. Seven students from grade three participated in the study. The participants were assessed by presenting grade-level stories from their textbooks. The time taken by them to read the story was recorded. The errors made by them were recognised, graded, and analysed. Analysis reveals that while teaching reading, the practice of sight-words and high-frequency word recognition is a major concern. The researchers prepared an intervention program using Dolch sight-words, with a list of high-frequency words with multiple rounds of instruction and practice for a period of four weeks. The results reveal that the intervention program improved word recognition ability and fluency skill. The number of errors made by students decreased, and the time required to complete the story improved. Results indicate that training in sight-words enabled students to generalise the relationship between sounds and letters and apply it to the new word while reading.

The behavioral and neurobiological relationships between executive function and reading: A review and preliminary findings.

Despite decades of prior research, the mechanisms for how skilled reading develops remain elusive. Numerous studies have identified word recognition and oral language ability as key components to explain later reading comprehension performance. However, these components alone do not fully explain differences in reading achievement. There is ongoing work exploring other candidate processes important for reading, such as the domain-general cognitive ability of executive function (EF). Here, we summarize our work on the behavioral and neurobiological connections between EF and reading and present preliminary neuroimaging findings from ongoing work. Together, these studies suggest 1) that EF plays a supportive and perhaps indirect role in reading achievement and 2) that EF-related brain regions interface with the reading and language networks. While further work is needed to dissect the specifics of how EF interacts with reading, these studies begin to reveal the complex role that EF plays in reading development.

가상현실(Virtual Reality) 기반 노인난청의 청능훈련프로그램 사례연구

Objectives In this study, a virtual reality (VR) auditory training program, which was created to provide experiences similar to reality through computer software and hardware with the development of technology according to the 4th industry, was conducted with auditory training for 6 weeks (1 session per week) for two elderly people with hearing loss, and the change in word recognition and sentence comprehension ability was investigated.
 Methods For this purpose, 6 sessions of auditory training programs using virtual reality contents (eating out, go on a trip, making phone calls, watching radio, talking in public transportation (subway), using public institutions (hospital)) were provided for 6 weeks (1 session per week). The effects of the auditory training program, word recognition and sentence comprehension tests were conducted before-and-after implementing the program.
 Results The results of the virtual reality-based auditory training program for two elderly people with hearing loss are as follows: First, presbycusis A and B showed improved scores in word recognition as auditory training sessions were repeated, and training was effective even under difficult hearing conditions with noise. Second, when the pre-test and post-test values were compared, there was no significant difference in the change in word and sentence recognition of the two presbycusis.
 Conclusions This study focused on improving listening ability by conducting a daily life-oriented virtual reality auditory training program for the elderly with hearing loss. In addition, it is meaningful in that it provides motivation for hearing ability through auditory training to the elderly who have worn hearing aids for a long time and the necessity of systematic auditory training.

Cochlear coverage with lateral wall cochlear implant electrode arrays affects post-operative speech recognition.

The goal was to investigate the relationship between the insertion angle/cochlear coverage of cochlear implant electrode arrays and post-operative speech recognition scores in a large cohort of patients implanted with lateral wall electrode arrays. Pre- and post-operative cone beam computed tomography scans of 154 ears implanted with lateral wall electrode arrays were evaluated. Traces of lateral wall and electrode arrays were combined into a virtual reconstruction of the implanted cochlea. This reconstruction was used to measure insertion angles and proportional cochlear coverage. Word recognition scores and sentence recognition scores measured 12 months after implantation using electric-only stimulation were used to examine the relationship between cochlear coverage/insertion angle and implantation outcomes. Post-operative word recognition scores and the difference between post- and pre-operative word recognition scores were positively correlated with both cochlear coverage and insertion angle, however sentence recognition scores were not. A group-wise comparison of word recognition scores revealed that patients with cochlear coverage below 70% performed significantly worse than patients with coverage between 79%-82% (p = 0.003). Performance of patients with coverage above 82% was on average poorer than between 79%-82, although this finding was not statistically significant (p = 0.84). Dividing the cohort into groups based on insertion angle quadrants revealed that word recognition scores were highest above 450° insertion angle, sentence recognition scores were highest between 450° and 630° and the difference between pre- and post-operative word recognition scores was largest between 540° and 630°, however none of these differences reached statistical significance. The results of this study show that cochlear coverage has an effect on post-operative word recognition abilities and the benefit patients receive from their implant. Generally, higher coverage led to better outcomes, however there were results indicating that insertion past 82% cochlear coverage may not provide an additional benefit for word recognition. These findings can be useful for choosing the optimal electrode array and thereby improving cochlear implantation outcomes on a patient-individual basis.

The Influence Of Phonological Awareness On Early Literacy Development

Phonological awareness, defined as the ability to recognize and manipulate the sounds of language, has been widely recognized as a critical factor in early literacy development. This article aims to explore the influence of phonological awareness on the acquisition of reading and writing skills during the early stages of education. The research examines the relationship between phonological awareness and various aspects of literacy, including decoding, spelling, and reading comprehension. Numerous studies have demonstrated a strong correlation between phonological awareness and early literacy outcomes. Children with well-developed phonological awareness skills exhibit better phonemic awareness, word recognition, and reading comprehension abilities. Conversely, deficits in phonological awareness often manifest as difficulties in decoding words, spelling, and overall reading proficiency. The article further investigates the instructional strategies and interventions that can enhance phonological awareness in young learners. Effective techniques, such as phonemic awareness exercises, explicit instruction, and multisensory approaches, are discussed. Additionally, the article highlights the significance of early identification and intervention for children at risk of phonological awareness difficulties. Understanding the impact of phonological awareness on early literacy development is crucial for educators, parents, and policymakers. By recognizing the importance of phonological awareness and implementing appropriate instructional practices, it is possible to foster strong foundations for reading and writing skills, ultimately supporting children's overall literacy achievement.

Effects of Rime-Based Analogy Instruction on English Word Recognition Ability of Ethiopian Children

Most children in Ethiopia, especially from economically disadvantaged families, often have no exposure to English before school and learn English in government-sponsored public schools with insufficient resources, semi-qualified or unqualified non-native teachers with poor teaching methods. Assessment results have shown that Ethiopian children's reading performance is below the standards set for each grade level and that they are poorly prepared for the next level of education. The present study aimed to determine whether a systematic and explicit rime-based analogy-phonics intervention could improve English word recognition ability in Ethiopian children. The participants were 3rd grade children (N=67) at two public primary schools in Hawassa, Ethiopia. A randomized pretest-intervention-posttest-control group research design was used, with half the children (N=33) randomly assigned to the experimental group and the other half (N=34) to the control group. The intervention was conducted for 40 minutes a day, 3 days a week for 12 weeks. Pre and posttests were used to measure the word recognition ability of the children and a t-test was employed to analyze the results. After controlling for the initial variables, posttest results showed that systematic and explicit rime-based analogy-phonics instruction led to significant improvements in children's word recognition ability. The study further indicated that such instruction could also be considered as a useful intervention tool to improve English reading performance of Ethiopian primary school children and contributed to the little-known literature on the subject.

Input-related demands: vocoded sentences evoke different pupillometrics and subjective listening effort than sentences in speech-shaped noise

Objectives The Framework for Effortful Listening (FUEL) suggests five input-related demands can alter listening effort: source, transmission, listener, message and context factors. We hypothesised that vocoded sentences represented a source factor degradation and sentences in speech-shaped noise represented a transmission factor degradation. We used pupillometry and a subjective scale to examine our hypothesis. Design Participants listened to vocoded sentences and sentences in speech-shaped noise at several difficulty levels designed to produce similar word recognition abilities; they also listened to unprocessed sentences. Within-participant pupillometrics and subjective listening effort were analysed. Post-hoc analyses were performed to examine if word recognition accuracy differentially influenced pupil responses. Study samples Twenty young adults with normal hearing. Results Baseline pupil diameter was significantly smaller, peak pupil dilation was significantly larger, peak pupil dilation latency was significantly shorter, and subjective listening effort was significantly greater for the vocoded sentences than the sentences-in-noise. Word recognition ability also affected pupillometrics, but only for the vocoded sentences. Conclusions Our findings suggest that source factor degradations result in greater listening effort than transmission factor degradations. Future research should address how clinical interventions tailored towards different input-related demands may lead to reduced listening effort and improve patient outcomes.

Unravelling the Covert Role of Subcortex in Lexical Decision of Pseudowords

A pseudoword is one that could exist in a language in that all of its sounds and combinations are permitted, but it has no meaning whatsoever. The subcortex is the part of the brain that lies directly below the cerebral cortex. Structural and functional alterations to the subcortical structures will have an impact on the person’s semantic and phonological processing, which will eventually slow down their capacity to distinguish words and pseudowords. Aim of our study was to analyse the impact of subcortical lesions on participants’ abilities to recognize pseudowords through a lexical decisionmaking task. Participants included 20 people with subcortical lesions (experimental group) between the ages of 40 and 60 years, and 20 neurotypical adults (control group) between the ages of 41 and 50 and 51 and 60 years. The participants were shown the list of 20 selected words and pseudo words one by one in Malayalam language with varying syllable lengths (2 syllable, 3 syllable, 4 syllable and, 5 syllable lengths) using DMDX software in Auto mode. The lexical decision task was given to the subjects, and the software automatically recorded the reaction time and average task completion time in milliseconds. On analysis of visual pseudo word recognition abilities based on reaction time and task completion time, experimental group were significantly affected than control group. The mean reaction time and task completion time increased gradually on analysis of the impact with increasing pseudoword complexity in experimental group. This study substantiates that in addition to functional cortical structures, normal subcortical structure functioning plays an inevitable role in pseudoword recognition. The results will be helpful in developing intervention techniques to enhance cognitive-linguistic processing.

Associations between early pre-reading and phonological skills in the light of auditory word recognition and lexical ability

The association between pre-reading skills and phonological production skills has been shown at school age, but less is known about how these skills interact at an earlier age when they are just developing. The focus was to investigate whether a connection between pre-reading skills (letter naming, rapid automatised naming; RAN) and phonological production skills of children at 3;6 could be found. In addition, the possible effects of the following skills were considered in the analysis: auditory word recognition and lexical ability at 3;6; and early expressive lexicon size at 2;0, adding a longitudinal aspect to the study. The participants were Finnish-speaking children (n = 66). The results show a significant connection between letter naming skills and phonological measures (paradigmatic and phonotactic skills) at 3;6, whereas no association was found between RAN and phonological production skills. Phonological production skills were significantly correlated with all the variables: pre-reading, lexical and auditory word recognition. The pre-reading measure correlated only with phonological production skills and lexical ability that was measured concurrently at 3;6. The findings propose a central role for the phonological production skill in terms of pre-reading skills, auditory word recognition and previous and concurrent lexical ability.

Native language experience with tones influences both phonetic and lexical processes when acquiring a second tonal language

Second language acquisition of lexical tones requires that a learner form appropriate tone categories and bind those categories to lexical representations for fluent word recognition. Research has shown that second language (L2) learners with no previous tone language experience can become highly accurate at identification of tones in isolation, but, even at advanced levels, have difficulty using tones to differentiate real words from nonwords. The present research considers the same skills in L2 learners who do have previous tone experience. Using largely the same tasks and stimuli previously used with English speakers in Pelzl, Lau, Guo, & DeKeyser (2021a) (“PLGD21”), we examined the tone identification and (tone) word recognition abilities of thirty-three Vietnamese speakers who had achieved advanced L2 proficiency in Mandarin. Results indicate that Vietnamese speakers experience different tone identification difficulties than English speakers, presumably due to interference from their native language tone categories. However, unlike English speakers in previous studies, Vietnamese speakers did not display differences in lexical decision accuracy for vowel and tone nonwords. These results provide evidence of the complexities of cross-linguistic influence, illustrating that the influence of native language tones can be illuminated by considering perception and acquisition at multiple levels.

Peekbank: An open, large-scale repository for developmental eye-tracking data of children's word recognition.

The ability to rapidly recognize words and link them to referents is central to children's early language development. This ability, often called word recognition in the developmental literature, is typically studied in the looking-while-listening paradigm, which measures infants' fixation on a target object (vs. a distractor) after hearing a target label. We present a large-scale, open database of infant and toddler eye-tracking data from looking-while-listening tasks. The goal of this effort is to address theoretical and methodological challenges in measuring vocabulary development. We first present how we created the database, its features and structure, and associated tools for processing and accessing infant eye-tracking datasets. Using these tools, we then work through two illustrative examples to show how researchers can use Peekbank to interrogate theoretical and methodological questions about children's developing word recognition ability.

Effect of Phonological Priming on Word Recognition abilities in typical aging population

Effect of Phonological Priming on Word Recognition abilities in typical aging population

Changes in Speech Recognition Scores and Sound Quality According to Gain Adjustment in High Frequency Bands

Purpose: In this study, changes before and after adjustment in high frequency bands were assessed for aided threshold, psychoacoustic evaluation, word recognition scores (WRSs) in noise and sound quality to aid in electroacoustic adjustment, and to improve the satisfaction of hearing aids.Methods: The subjects were 16 sensorineural hearing impaired (25 ears) with 63.4 years old of mean age, 60.8% WRS and 46.6 months of aided experience. For the experiment, hearing aid gain of high-frequency bands adjusted to preferred gain was increased to a higher level. Aided threshold, Korean version of international outcome inventory for hearing aids (K-IOI-HA), Korean version of profile of hearing aid benefit-quick version (K-PHAB-Q), WRSs in noise for 10 dB and 5 dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and sound quality were subsequently evaluated after two weeks and the results were quantitatively compared before and after gain adjustment in high-frequency bands.Results: This study results in as follows; first, improvement in aided threshold for frequencies above 2.0 kHz was shown. Second, K-IOI-HA and K-PHAB-Q in easy communication and localization categories resulted in significant enhancements. Third, WRS in 5 dB and 10 dB SNR was improved. Fourth, improvements were shown for occlusion and clarity of the sentence in the evaluation of sound quality, but significant results were not shown for sharpness and loudness of noise conditions.Conclusion: With sensorineural hearing loss, a sufficient gain in high frequency bands provides improved satisfaction to hearing aids and enhanced word recognition ability in various listening environments.

Auditory Word Recognition Ability in Babble Noise and Phonological Development in Children at 3;6 Years of Age

ABSTRACT Background noise challenges auditory recognition of speech and may reveal the underlying deficits in auditory word recognition skills. Previous studies have reported an association between children’s auditory skills and various linguistic skills, including phonology, although in some languages only. However, language-specific features influence these connections. This study describes the associations between auditory word recognition ability and phonological skills in a representative group of 3;6-year-old children in less studied language, Finnish (N = 65). Auditory recognition was assessed using a closed-set word recognition task presented in multi-talker babble noise (+13 dB) and the phonological skills using Finnish Phonology Test. A significant, moderate correlation was found between Finnish-speaking children’s auditory word recognition and phonological skills. The late-developing phoneme /r/ challenged word recognition. The sibilant /s/ was noted to be the most noise resistant consonant, and the phoneme pair /r/ and /l/ created the most mutual confusion. The accuracy of phonological representations may be a moderating factor for both auditory recognition and phonological skills. Children with strong phonological skills may recognize spoken words more accurately in noisy everyday situations than children with weaker phonological skills. This should be taken into consideration in children’s daily environments, such as daycare centers and preschools.