Oral language deficits in familial dyslexia: A meta-analysis and review.

Literacy is a gateway to education, and yet universal literacy remains an aspiration rather than a reality. The science of reading has, however, made significant progress in understanding the key factors that impact development. Five relevant factors can be identified. The first factor is the developmental focus of models. Here the richness and dynamic nature of development is central. Models must clearly explain change and phenomena such as bi- and multilingualism. A second factor concerns bioecological influences on development. Stronger models include understandings of the complexity of gene–environment interactions in development. A third pertinent factor concerns the precise nature of the learning task facing the beginner reader, and in particular the influence of distinct orthographies. A fourth factor concerns the coherent exposition of the cognitive processes involved in “word-level” and “text-level” reading processes. Finally, contextual effects on literacy are profound. Historical and politicoeconomic forces are often linked to wide country- and region-based differences in literacy. A detailed treatment of what is known about effective interventions for struggling readers can be built on the basis of this theorizing. Here, evidence from meta-analysis suggests that both the word-level decoding and text-level comprehension aspects of reading development can be measurably improved through evidence-based interventions. For word-level interventions studies focusing on phonics currently furnish the most secure evidence of impact. For text-level comprehension, interventions focusing on oral language development and text-based meta-cognitive strategy appear the most efficacious. Measure of treatment effects for such interventions show modest but reliable impacts on development and form the basis of ongoing efforts to optimize interventions.

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The Comprehension Problems of Children With Poor Reading Comprehension Despite Adequate Decoding: A Meta-Analysis

Review of Educational Research ◽

10.3102/0034654317749187 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 88 (3) ◽

pp. 366-400 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Mercedes Spencer ◽

Richard K. Wagner

Keyword(s):

Reading Comprehension ◽

Oral Language ◽

Listening Comprehension ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Poor Reading ◽

Syntactic Knowledge ◽

Specific Reading ◽

Oral Language Skills ◽

Comprehension Deficit ◽

Practical Implications

The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine the comprehension problems of children who have a specific reading comprehension deficit (SCD), which is characterized by poor reading comprehension despite adequate decoding. The meta-analysis included 86 studies of children with SCD who were assessed in reading comprehension and oral language (vocabulary, listening comprehension, storytelling ability, and semantic and syntactic knowledge). Results indicated that children with SCD had deficits in oral language (d = −0.78, 95% confidence interval, CI [−0.89, −0.68], but these deficits were not as severe as their deficit in reading comprehension (d = −2.78, 95% CI [−3.01, −2.54]). When compared with reading comprehension age–matched normal readers, the oral language skills of the two groups were comparable (d = 0.32, 95% CI [−0.49, 1.14]), which suggests that the oral language weaknesses of children with SCD represent a developmental delay rather than developmental deviance. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

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Interactive Book Reading in Early Education: A Tool to Stimulate Print Knowledge as Well as Oral Language

Review of Educational Research ◽

10.3102/0034654309332561 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 79 (2) ◽

pp. 979-1007 ◽

Cited By ~ 261

Author(s):

Suzanne E. Mol ◽

Adriana G. Bus ◽

Maria T. de Jong

Keyword(s):

Oral Language ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Reading Programs ◽

Book Reading ◽

Interactive Reading ◽

Print Knowledge ◽

Joint Book Reading ◽

Moderate Effect Size ◽

Oral Language Skills ◽

Alphabetic Knowledge

This meta-analysis examines to what extent interactive storybook reading stimulates two pillars of learning to read: vocabulary and print knowledge. The authors quantitatively reviewed 31 (quasi) experiments ( n = 2,049 children) in which educators were trained to encourage children to be actively involved before, during, and after joint book reading. A moderate effect size was found for oral language skills, implying that both quality of book reading in classrooms and frequency are important. Although teaching print-related skills is not part of interactive reading programs, 7% of the variance in kindergarten children’s alphabetic knowledge could be attributed to the intervention. The study also shows that findings with experimenters were simply not replicable in a natural classroom setting. Further research is needed to disentangle the processes that explain the effects of interactive reading on children’s print knowledge and the strategies that may help transfer intervention effects from researchers to children’s own teachers.

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Does oral language underpin the development of later behavior problems? A longitudinal meta-analysis.

School Psychology Quarterly ◽

10.1037/spq0000255 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 33 (3) ◽

pp. 337-349 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Jason C. Chow ◽

Erik Ekholm ◽

Heather Coleman

Keyword(s):

Behavior Problems ◽

Oral Language ◽

Meta Analysis

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Perceptual/motor profiles of reading impaired children with or without concomitant oral language deficits

Annals of Dyslexia ◽

10.1007/bf02647960 ◽

1982 ◽

Vol 32 (1) ◽

pp. 163-176 ◽

Cited By ~ 57

Author(s):

Paula Tallal ◽

Rachel E. Stark

Keyword(s):

Oral Language ◽

Language Deficits ◽

Impaired Children

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Imaging Brain Structure in Children: Differentiating Language Disability and Reading Disability

Learning Disability Quarterly ◽

10.2307/1511241 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 24 (3) ◽

pp. 158-176 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Christiana M. Leonard

Keyword(s):

Reading Disability ◽

Oral Language ◽

Language Disability ◽

Educational Practice ◽

Brain Structures ◽

Imaging Studies ◽

Language Deficits ◽

Imaging Research ◽

Disabled Readers ◽

The Brain

Children's approach to print differs. Some plunge in, others read slowly and without pleasure. After a century of study we still do not know why these differences occur. Is reading disability (RD) a neurological disorder? How do the brains of children with RD differ? How does early linguistic experience change the brain? Evidence is presented here showing that consistent threads are beginning to emerge from reading and imaging research that treats RD as a heterogeneous condition. When disabled readers with oral language deficits are separated from those with no oral language deficits, modern imaging studies reveal differences in brain structures that have implications for diagnosis and educational practice.

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