Text reading speed in a language with a shallow orthography benefits less from comprehension as reading ability matures

2019 ◽  
Vol 90 (S1) ◽  
pp. 91-104
Author(s):  
Barbara Carretti ◽  
Enrico Toffalini ◽  
Cosmiana Saponaro ◽  
Francesco Viola ◽  
Cesare Cornoldi
2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 315-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandro Franceschini ◽  
Matteo Lulli ◽  
Sara Bertoni ◽  
Simone Gori ◽  
Alessandro Angrilli ◽  
...  

Background: Reading is a unique human skill. Several brain networks involved in this complex skill mainly involve the left hemisphere language areas. Nevertheless, nonlinguistic networks found in the right hemisphere also seem to be involved in sentence and text reading. These areas do not deal with phonological information, but are involved in verbal and nonverbal pattern information processing. The right hemisphere is responsible for global processing of a scene, which is needed for developing reading skills. Aims: Caffeine seems to affect global pattern processing specifically. Consequently, our aim was to discover if it could enhance text reading skill. Methods: In two mechanistic studies ( n=24 and n=53), we tested several reading skills, global and local perception, alerting, spatial attention and executive functions, as well as rapid automatised naming and phonological memory, using a double-blind, within-subjects, repeated-measures design in typical young adult readers. Results: A single dose of 200 mg caffeine improved global processing, without any effect on local information processing, alerting, spatial attention and executive or phonological functions. This improvement in global processing was accompanied by faster text reading speed of meaningful sentences, whereas single word/pseudoword or pseudoword text reading abilities were not affected. These effects of caffeine on reading ability were enhanced by mild sleep deprivation. Conclusions: These findings show that a small quantity of caffeine could improve global processing and text reading skills in adults.


Perception ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 26 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 11-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Trauzettel-Klosinski

The influence of different visual field defects on the reading performance was examined with potential adaptive strategies to improve the reading process in mind. By means of an SLO, the retinal fixation locus (RFL) was determined with the use of single targets and text, and eye movements scanning the text were recorded on video tape. Additionally, eye movements were monitored by an Infrared Limbus Tracker. Visual fields were assessed by the Tübingen Manual and/or automatic perimetry. Normal subjects, and patients with central scotomata, ring scotomata, and hemianopic field defects (HFD) were examined. The main pathological reading parameters were an increase of saccade frequency and regressions per line, and a decrease of reading speed. In patients with field defects involving the visual field centre, fixation behaviour is significant for regaining reading ability. In absolute central scotoma, the lost foveal function promotes eccentric fixation. The remaining problem is insufficient resolution of the RFL, which can be compensated for by magnification of the text. In patients with insufficient size of their reading visual field, due to HFD and ring scotoma, it is crucial that they learn to use a new RFL despite intact foveolar function. Preconditions for reading have been found to be: (1) sufficient resolution of the RFL, (2) a reading visual field of a minimum extent, and (3) intact basic oculomotor function. In patients with visual field defects involving the centre, a sensory-motor adaptation process is required: the use of a new RFL as the new centre of the visual field and as the new zero point for eye-movement coordinates.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiuhong Li ◽  
Weidong Li ◽  
Buyun Liu ◽  
Jinxin Zhang ◽  
Jingwen Ma ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: In Western countries, phonological processing deficit was regard as a core deficit in developmental dyslexia (DD). As Chinese is a logographic language, it’s still controversial whether and how the articulatory suppression influences reading ability and processing of Chinese children with DD. The study aimed to examine how the phonological loop influences reading ability and processing in Chinese children with DD.Methods: This study included 30 children with DD and 37 children without DD. Two types of articles (i.e., scenery prose and narrative story) and two conditions (under the conditions of articulatory-suppression and silent reading) were applied. An eye-link II High-Speed Eye Tracker was used to track a series of eye-movement parameters. The data was analyzed by the linear Mixed-Effects model. Results: Compared with children without DD, Children with DD had lower reading achievement (RA), frequency of saccades (FS) and frequency of fixations (FF), longer reading time (RT) and average fixation duration (AFD), slower reading speed (RS), shorter average saccade amplitude (ASA) and fixation distance (FD), more number of fixations (NF) and number of saccades (NS). There were significant interactions between participant group and articulatory suppression on RT and FD. We also observed interaction effects between article types and articulatory suppression on RA, AFD, ASA, and FS.Conclusion: Children DD exhibit abnormal phonological loop and eye movements while reading. The role of the articulatory suppression on reading varies with the presentation of DD and the article type.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiuhong Li ◽  
Weidong Li ◽  
Buyun Liu ◽  
Jinxin Zhang ◽  
Jingwen Ma ◽  
...  

Objective: The study aimed to examine how the phonological loop influences reading ability and processing in Chinese children with developmental dyslexia (DD).Methods: This study included 30 children with DD and 37 children without DD. Two types of articles (i.e., scenery prose and narrative story) and two conditions (under the conditions of articulatory-suppression and silent reading) were applied. An eye-link II High-Speed Eye Tracker was used to track a series of eye-movement parameters. The data were analyzed by the linear Mixed-Effects model.Results: Compared with children without DD, Children with DD had lower reading achievement (RA), frequency of saccades (FS) and frequency of fixations (FF), longer reading time (RT) and average fixation duration (AFD), slower reading speed (RS), shorter average saccade amplitude (ASA) and fixation distance (FD), more number of fixations (NF), and number of saccades (NS). There were significant interactions between participant group and articulatory suppression on RT and FD. We also observed interaction effects between article types and articulatory suppression on RA, AFD, ASA, and FS.Conclusion: Children DD exhibit abnormal phonological loop and eye movements while reading. The role of articulatory suppression on reading varies with the presentation of DD and the article type.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bent Sortkær ◽  
Emil Smith ◽  
David Reimer ◽  
Stefan Oehmcke ◽  
Ida Gran Andersen

AbstractThe use of various learning apps in school settings is growing and thus producing an increasing amount of usage generated data. However, this usage generated data has only to a very little extend been used for monitoring and promoting learning progress. We test if application usage generated data from a reading app holds potential for measuring reading ability, reading speed progress and for pointing out features in a school setting that promotes learning. We analyze new data from three different sources: (1) Usage generated data from a widely used reading app, (2) Data from a national reading ability test, and (3) Register data on student background and family characteristics. First, we find that reading app generated data to some degree tells the same story about reading ability as does the formal national reading ability test. Second, we find that the reading app data has the potential to monitor reading speed progress. Finally, we tested several models including machine learning models. Two of these were able to identify variables associated with reading speed progress with some degree of success and to point at certain conditions that promotes reading speed progress. We discuss the results and avenues for further research are presented.


Author(s):  
Katsunori Kotani ◽  
Takehiko Yoshimi ◽  
Takeshi Kutsumi ◽  
Ichiko Sata ◽  
Hitoshi Isahara

In this chapter, the authors examined reading evaluation methods for foreign language learners based on learners’ reading processes. The goal of this chapter is twofold. The first is to evaluate text reading, and the other is to evaluate sentence reading. First, the authors assessed a text reading test to evaluate reading proficiency based on reading process, that is, effective reading speed, which is a complex measure of reading speed and comprehension rate. Statistical analysis confirms the adequacy of our effective reading speed test. Next, they propose a reading time model for evaluating reading proficiency at the sentence level. Their reading time model predicts sentence reading time based on the linguistic properties of a sentence and a learner’s proficiency. Linguistic properties consist of lexical, syntactic and discourse properties. Learners’ proficiency is defined using their score on the Test of English for International Communications (TOEIC). Their reading time model resulted in high prediction accuracy. From these results, they conclude that the reading process-based evaluation method is a promising test for foreign language reading proficiency.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randi Starrfelt ◽  
Solja K. Klargaard ◽  
Anders Petersen ◽  
Christian Gerlach

Recent hypotheses suggest that learning to read influences the cognitive and cerebral organization of other perceptual skills, including face processing. Developmental prosopagnosia (DP) is a disorder of face recognition in the absence of acquired brain injury, and in the context of normal intelligence and general cognitive development. To shed light on the potential relationship between reading and face processing in this group (and in general), we investigated reading performance in 10 participants with DP and 20 matched controls. We find that the group of DPs perform strikingly similar to the control group on four sensitive reading tests measuring visual recognition and naming of single letters and words, word length effects, and text reading speed and comprehension. Thus, there is a clear dissociation between impaired face processing and preserved reading in this group, a finding that challenges the recently proposed hypothesis that reading acquisition and face processing abilities are intrinsically linked. Developmental prosopagnosics can learn to read as fluently as normal subjects, while they are seemingly unable to learn efficient strategies for recognizing faces.


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