Reading and Writing最新文献

Abstract

Evidence of sensitivity to graphotactic and morphological patterns in English spelling has been extensively examined in monolinguals. Comparatively few studies have examined bilinguals’ sensitivity to spelling regularities. The present study compared late Chinese-English bilinguals and English monolinguals on their sensitivity to systematic inflectional and derivational spelling regularities. One hundred and twenty-nine undergraduate students completed a forced-choice spelling task, in which nonword pairs were presented in a sentence context requiring a choice of the relevant grammatical form. English ability measures were administered to examine possible inter-individual differences in morphological sensitivity. The results showed that both monolingual and bilingual participants demonstrated knowledge of spelling patterns, but the groups differed in their sensitivity to inflectional and derivational spelling regularities. Specifically, bilinguals showed more consistent use of morphological spelling regularities in guiding their decision on spelling choice compared to monolinguals. The results are argued to be consistent with the predictions of statistical learning accounts of spelling acquisition.

Abstract

This study aims to explore the relations of phonological awareness and rapid naming with efficient word reading. Our work builds on the strong evidence base of associations between phonological awareness, rapid naming, orthographic knowledge, and efficient word reading. Specifically, we tested a pathway linking phonological awareness to orthographic knowledge and on to efficient word reading and a pathway linking rapid naming to orthographic knowledge and on to efficient word reading,, following on the self-teaching (Share in Cognition 55(2):151–218, 1995. https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-0277(94)00645-2) and rapid naming hypotheses (Wolf & Bowers in J Educ Psychol 91(3):415–438, 1999. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.91.3.415), respectively. Based on these two classic theories of orthographic development, we conducted a multiple-path analysis to test the mediating role of orthographic knowledge in the relation of phonological awareness and rapid naming with efficient word reading. The sample consisted of 231 monolingual Greek-speaking children; 121 (58 males) Grade 2 children (M age = 7.82 years, SD = 3.32) and 110 (51 males) Grade 5 children (M age = 10.84, years, SD = 3.54) participated in the study. After establishing the significant contribution of orthographic knowledge to efficient word reading, we found two direct pathways: one from phonological awareness in Grade 5 and one from rapid naming in Grades 2 and 5 and two indirect pathways in which phonological awareness and rapid naming contribute to efficient word reading via orthographic knowledge in both Grades. Then, we assessed whether there is a shift over one of the two theories over time, using a multi-group analysis with data from Grades 2 and 5. Indeed, we found differences between two Grades in pathways from sub-lexical orthographic knowledge to efficient word reading, from phonological awareness and rapid naming to efficient word reading, and from rapid naming to sub-lexical orthographic knowledge. Our findings revealed that both pathways, representing the main self-teaching and rapid naming hypotheses, are active and work in both Grades, reflecting the parallel support of the two classic theories of orthographic knowledge development.

Composing narrative text is complex, requiring development of knowledge of genre specific and general writing knowledge, and the ability to sequence and convey real or imagined experiences, reactions, and an effective ending. Teachers, however, typically do not receive adequate professional learning needed for effective instruction in narrative writing. We collaborated with district-level stakeholders to address the specific writing needs of their 4th grade students and developed two narrative writing strategies aligned with state curriculum and expectations. We also developed two days of practice-based professional development (PBPD) for teachers who implemented Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) instruction. The PBPD included the genre-based and general writing knowledge needed to use these new strategies. SRSD instruction also included learning to write in a timed condition, as required in the state writing test. Expert support was provided during SRSD instruction. Instruction took place during the teachers’ English language arts block a minimum of 3 times per week. This randomized controlled trial involved 16 teachers and their 4th grade classrooms randomly assigned to the SRSD instruction or control conditions. PBPD resulted in high instructional fidelity for 14 features of SRSD instruction and high social validity for SRSD instruction. Hierarchical linear modeling indicated that student outcomes were moderate to large for narrative elements (g = 0.51) and story quality (g = 0.48), and small for total words written (g = 0.35). This study adds to research on PBPD for SRSD and challenges experienced, and to effective instruction in narrative writing. We discuss issues and future research that can make a difference to teachers, students, and schools.

The deep cloze test was developed by Jensen and Elbro (Read Writ Interdiscip J 35(5):1221–1237, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-021-10230-w) to assess reading comprehension at the level of global situational understanding. In two independent studies, we examined potential contributors to students’ scores on the deep cloze reading comprehension test, as well as the predictability of students’ scores on this measure for their course achievement and integrated text understanding measured with an open-ended written comprehension assessment. Results showed that students’ language background, word recognition skills, and working memory resources explained unique portions of the variance in students’ scores on the deep cloze reading comprehension test. Further, scores on this test were positively correlated with students’ course achievement and uniquely predicted their integrated text understanding when language background, working memory, and prior topic knowledge were controlled for. Taken together, our findings support an interpretation of the deep cloze reading comprehension test as an effective and efficient measure of situation level understanding that draws on language skills, word level processes, and working memory resources and also can be used to predict students’ performance on important criterial tasks requiring deeper level understanding.

Abstract

The main aim of this study was to evaluate the Early Grade Writing Assessment for Kindergarten (EGWA-K), which is grounded in foundational literacy skills, for its validity and diagnostic accuracy in identifying children at risk of developing early learning disabilities in writing (LDW). To the best of our knowledge, no such tool exists for Spanish-speaking children. A sample of 363 Spanish kindergarten children aged 4.7 to 6.6 years was selected for this purpose. The EGWA-K protocol, comprising four tasks (i.e., phonological awareness, writing words from pictures, free writing of words, and oral narrative), was administered to the sample. Additionally, two criterion tasks based on free letter writing and teacher ratings were included for validation purposes. First, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted using parallel analysis to determine the dimensionality of the EGWA-K, which was confirmed by a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) yielding two factors (one related to transcription ability and the other to narrative competence). Additionally, measurement invariance was confirmed at the configural, metric, scalar, and residual levels by gender. The EGWA-K had an acceptable area under the ROC curve (AUC in the 0.87 range), particularly when free letter writing was utilized as the criterion measure, with adequate sensitivity (0.90) and specificity (0.71) indices. Therefore, a reliable and construct-valid screening tool such as the EGWA-K is now available for the early identification of LDW in Spanish kindergarten children.

There is growing theoretical and empirical consensus for a role of awareness of suprasegmental phonology, also known as prosody, or the rhythmic elements of speech, in reading comprehension. Here we explore a potential mechanism by which this relation functions: awareness of how punctuation reflects prosody, for instance appreciating that a period or comma often marks a pause. Children who are more aware of prosody might be better able to use punctuation as a guide to what text should sound like, which could enable understanding text meaning. We tested 151 English-speaking students in Grades 3–5 to explore whether the relation between awareness of prosody and reading comprehension is mediated by awareness of how punctuation reflects prosody. After controlling for age, punctuation knowledge, word reading, phonological awareness, vocabulary, and nonverbal ability, there were direct relations between awareness of prosody and reading comprehension, as well as indirect effects via awareness of how punctuation reflects prosody. These results suggest a role for punctuation in applying awareness of prosody to reading comprehension; we interpret this as a potential mechanism by which awareness of prosody supports reading comprehension, a finding that can both refine current models of reading comprehension and inspire the design of effective instruction.