A comparison of the cognitive processes underlying reading comprehension in native English and ESL speakers

2005 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauline B. Low ◽  
Linda S. Siegel
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Reading Fluency ◽  
Phonological Processing ◽  
Word Reading ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Sixth Grade ◽  
Relative Role ◽  
Syntactic Awareness

The present study examined the relative role played by three cognitive processes — phonological processing, verbal working memory, syntactic awareness — in understanding the reading comprehension performance among 884 native English (L1) speakers and 284 English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) speakers in sixth-grade (mean age: 11.43 years). The performance of both groups of speakers were comparable on measures of word reading, word reading fluency, phonological awareness, phonological decoding fluency and verbal working memory. However, the ESL speakers lagged behind L1 speakers in terms of syntactic awareness. This study also emphasizes the importance of the three cognitive processes in establishing a common model of reading comprehension across English L1 and ESL reading.

scholarly journals Tapping to Music Predicts Literacy Skills of First-Grade Children

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Csaba Kertész ◽  
Ferenc Honbolygó
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Phonological Awareness ◽  
Reading Fluency ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Word Reading ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
First Grade ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Rapid Automatized Naming ◽  
Reading Accuracy

The ability to synchronise one’s movements to the sound of a regular beat has been found to be associated with children’s language and reading abilities. Sensorimotor synchronisation or tapping performance can among other factors [e.g., working memory and rapid automatized naming (RAN)] predict phonological awareness and word reading accuracy and fluency of first graders. While tapping tasks that use a simple metronome sound are more often used, applying musical stimuli has the potential advantage of being more engaging and motivating for children. In the present study, we investigated whether tapping to a metronome beat or complex musical stimuli would predict phonological awareness and reading outcomes of Hungarian 6-7-year olds (N=37). We also measured participants’ general cognitive abilities (RAN, non-verbal intelligence and verbal working memory). Our results show that phonological awareness, spelling and reading accuracy were associated with the musical tasks while reading fluency was predicted by the metronome trials. Our findings suggest that complex musical tasks should be considered when investigating this age group, as they were, in general, more effective in predicting literacy outcomes.

Shared Predictors of Academic Achievement in Children with ADHD: A Multi-Sample Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 108705472110120
Author(s):  
Kelly D. Carrasco ◽  
Chi-Ching Chuang ◽  
Gail Tripp
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Word Reading ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
The United States ◽  
Children With Adhd ◽  
Visual Spatial ◽  
Visual Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Predictors Of Academic Achievement

Objective: To identify common and shared predictors of academic achievement across samples of children with ADHD. Method: Two clinically referred samples from New Zealand (1 n = 88, 82% boys; 2 n = 121, 79% boys) and two community samples from the United States (3 n = 111, 65% boys; 4 n = 114, 69% boys), completed similar diagnostic, cognitive and academic assessments. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses identified significant predictors of word reading, spelling, and math computation performance in each sample. Results: Entered after IQ, semantic language, age at testing, and verbal working memory emerged as consistent predictors of achievement across academic subjects and samples. Visual-spatial working memory contributed to variance in math performance only. Symptom severity explained limited variance. Conclusions: We recommend evaluations of children with ADHD incorporate assessments of working memory and language skills. Classroom/academic interventions should accommodate reduced working memory and address any identified language weaknesses.

scholarly journals Mental Lexicon, Working Memory and L2 (English) Vocabulary in Polish Students with and without Dyslexia

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-89
Author(s):  
Marta Łockiewicz ◽  
Martyna Jaskulska
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Word Reading ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Mental Lexicon ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Educational Programme ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Word Knowledge ◽  
L2 Vocabulary

The aim of our study was to examine the relationship between access to the mental lexicon, working memory and knowledge of English (L2) vocabulary. Analyses were undertaken amongst monolingual speakers of Polish (26 with dyslexia, 24 without) who studied English as a second language as part of their compulsory educational programme at school.We assumed that students with dyslexia would manifest deficits in access to the mental lexicon and verbal working memory, and would have a limited L2 vocabulary. We also assumed that better access to the mental lexicon facilitates knowledge of English (L2) vocabulary, and that this relationship is present in both the criterion and the control group. All of the students participated in both parts of the assessment, the group part (i.e., questionnaire, IQ test, two vocabulary tasks) and the individual part (i.e., psychological measures: verbal working memory, RAN, verbal fluency, and single word reading in L1 task). We found that students with dyslexia exhibited deficits in the speed of access to data from the mental lexicon. The predictive function of memory for vocabulary was more conspicuous in the control group; in the criterion group, the result might constitute a risk factor for L2 vocabulary acquisition in dyslexia, which may manifest with increased proficiency in word knowledge. Poor vocabulary knowledge renders the L2 learning experience difficult, as it impairs students’ reading comprehension, writing and conversational skills.

Roles of morphological awareness in the reading comprehension of Spanish-speaking language minority learners: Exploring partial mediation by vocabulary and reading fluency

2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 697-725 ◽  
Author(s):  
MICHAEL J. KIEFFER ◽  
GINA BIANCAROSA ◽  
JEANNETTE MANCILLA-MARTINEZ
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Reading Fluency ◽  
Word Reading ◽  
Morphological Awareness ◽  
Language Minority ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Spanish Speaking ◽  
Reading Vocabulary ◽  
Language Minority Learners ◽  
Vocabulary Word

ABSTRACTThis study investigated the direct and indirect roles of morphological awareness reading comprehension for Spanish-speaking language minority learners reading in English. Multivariate path analysis was used to investigate the unique contribution of derivational morphological awareness to reading comprehension as well as its indirect contributions via three hypothesized mediators for students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade (N = 101). Results indicated a significant unique contribution of morphological awareness, controlling for phonemic decoding, listening comprehension, reading vocabulary, word reading fluency, and passage reading fluency. Results further indicated significant indirect contributions of morphological awareness via reading vocabulary and passage fluency, but not via word reading fluency. Findings suggest that morphological awareness may play multiple important roles in second-language reading comprehension.

scholarly journals Learning to Read: the Case of Moroccan Students who Learn Spanish

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Aguilera-Jiménez ◽  
Carmen Delgado ◽  
Alfonso Luque ◽  
Francisco J. Moreno-Pérez ◽  
Isabel. R. Rodríguez-Ortiz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Reading Fluency ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
Word Reading ◽  
Immigrant Students ◽  
Learning To Read ◽  
Reading Processes ◽  
Spanish Speaking ◽  
Oral Vocabulary ◽  
L1 And L2

AbstractThe aims of this study are to assess L1 and L2 variables that influence the reading acquisition of students of Moroccan origin in the South of Spain and compare their reading ability with native Spanish-speaking children. Participants were 38 students of Moroccan origin and 37 native Spanish-speaking students from the same classes. We used an oral vocabulary test and a reading comprehension test, which taps lexical, semantic, and syntactic reading processes, and reading fluency. The results indicated that immigrant students differed from native Spanish-speaking students in word reading, reading fluency, and the use of punctuation marks, but there were no significant differences in reading comprehension. In native Spanish-speaking students, reading comprehension correlated significantly with oral vocabulary and the other reading processes, but in the students of Moroccan origin, only receptive oral vocabulary in L2 correlated with the use of punctuation marks. Being in schools with educational resources specifically aimed at helping the Moroccan pupils was associated with a higher level of word reading in immigrant students.

scholarly journals The Inferior Frontal Gyrus and Phonological Processing: An Investigation using rTMS

2004 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 289-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Nixon ◽  
Jenia Lazarova ◽  
Iona Hodinott-Hill ◽  
Patricia Gough ◽  
Richard Passingham
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Phonological Processing ◽  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Posterior Part ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Normal Operation ◽  
Matching Task ◽  
Language Areas

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) offers a powerful new technique for investigating the distinct contributions of the cortical language areas. We have used this method to examine the role of the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) in phonological processing and verbal working memory. Functional neuroimaging studies have implicated the posterior part of the left IFG in both phonological decision making and subvocal rehearsal mechanisms, but imaging is a correlational method and it is therefore necessary to determine whether this region is essential for such processes. In this paper we present the results of two experiments in which rTMS was applied over the frontal operculum while subjects performed a delayed phonological matching task. We compared the effects of disrupting this area either during the delay (memory) phase or at the response (decision) phase of the task. Delivered at a time when subjects were required to remember the sound of a visually presented word, rTMS impaired the accuracy with which they subsequently performed the task. However, when delivered later in the trial, as the subjects compared the remembered word with a given pseudoword, rTMS did not impair accuracy. Performance by the same subjects on a control task that required the processing of nonverbal visual stimuli was unaffected by the rTMS. Similarly, performance on both tasks was unaffected by rTMS delivered over a more anterior site (pars triangularis). We conclude that the opercular region of the IFG is necessary for the normal operation of phonologically based working memory mechanisms. Furthermore, this study shows that rTMS can shed further light on the precise role of cortical language areas in humans.

scholarly journals The Devil in the Details Can Be Hard to Spot: Malapropisms and Children With Hearing Loss

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Joanna H. Lowenstein ◽  
Susan Nittrouer
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Phonological Awareness ◽  
Hearing Aids ◽  
Phonological Processing ◽  
Speech Signal ◽  
Word Reading ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Academic Competence ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Children With Hearing Loss

Purpose Better auditory prostheses and earlier interventions have led to remarkable improvements in spoken language abilities for children with hearing loss (HL), but these children often still struggle academically. This study tested a hypothesis for why this may be, proposing that the language of school becomes increasingly disconnected from everyday discourse, requiring greater reliance on bottom-up phonological structure, and children with HL have difficulty recovering that structure from the speech signal. Participants One hundred nineteen fourth graders participated: 48 with normal hearing (NH), 19 with moderate losses who used hearing aids (HAs), and 52 with severe-to-profound losses who used cochlear implants (CIs). Method Three analyses were conducted. #1: Sentences with malapropisms were created, and children's abilities to recognize them were assessed. #2: Factors contributing to those abilities were evaluated, including phonological awareness, phonological processing, vocabulary, verbal working memory, and oral narratives. #3: Teachers' ratings of students' academic competence were obtained, and factors accounting for those ratings were evaluated, including the five listed above, along with word reading and reading comprehension. Results #1: Children with HAs and CIs performed more poorly on malapropism recognition than children with NH, but similarly to each other. #2: All children with HL demonstrated large phonological deficits, but they were especially large for children with CIs. Phonological awareness explained the most variance in malapropism recognition for children with CIs. Vocabulary knowledge explained malapropism recognition for children with NH or HAs, but other factors also contributed. #3: Teachers rated academic competence for children with CIs more poorly than for children with NH or HAs, and variance in those ratings for children with CIs were primarily explained by malapropism scores. Conclusion Children with HL have difficulty recognizing acoustic–phonetic detail in the speech signal, and that constrains their abilities to follow conversations in academic settings, especially if HL is severe enough to require CIs. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.13133018

scholarly journals Cognitive Skills Involved in Reading Comprehension of Adolescents with Low Educational Opportunities

Languages ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 34
Author(s):  
Valeria Abusamra ◽  
Micaela Difalcis ◽  
Gisela Martínez ◽  
Daniel Low ◽  
Jesica Formoso
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Text Comprehension ◽  
Word Reading ◽  
Educational Opportunities ◽  
School Students ◽  
Effective Interventions ◽  
Comprehension Skills ◽  
Reading Comprehension Skills

Reading comprehension is a fundamental resource for educational and social development. It is a skill that brings into play a diverse and complex set of processes and cognitive functions based on building a mental representation of a given text. We set out to study how different domain-general and linguistic abilities explain text comprehension in a population of secondary school students with low educational opportunities. The sample consisted of 45 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 15 from two secondary schools in the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Each participant was evaluated both in-group and individually for three sessions during school hours. A text comprehension screening test and a battery of tasks that measure different underlying cognitive processes were administered. Using multiple linear regression, we found that vocabulary, non-word reading, and verbal inhibition are the skills that best explain reading comprehension skills. Understanding how much different domain-general and linguistic subprocesses are associated with text comprehension is key to designing effective interventions that are also grounded in theory.

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