The Role of Phonology in the Word Decoding Skills of Poor Readers: Evidence from Individuals with Prelingual Deafness or Diagnosed Dyslexia

Although the role of IQ in developmental dyslexia remains ambiguous, the dominant clinical and research approaches rely on a definition of dyslexia that requires reading skill to be significantly below the level expected given an individual’s IQ. In the study reported here, we used functional MRI (fMRI) to examine whether differences in brain activation during phonological processing that are characteristic of dyslexia were similar or dissimilar in children with poor reading ability who had high IQ scores (discrepant readers) and in children with poor reading ability who had low IQ scores (nondiscrepant readers). In two independent samples including a total of 131 children, using univariate and multivariate pattern analyses, we found that discrepant and nondiscrepant poor readers exhibited similar patterns of reduced activation in brain areas such as left parietotemporal and occipitotemporal regions. These results converge with behavioral evidence indicating that, regardless of IQ, poor readers have similar kinds of reading difficulties in relation to phonological processing.

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The role of word decoding, vocabulary knowledge and meta-cognitive knowledge in monolingual and bilingual low-achieving adolescents' reading comprehension

Journal of Research in Reading ◽

10.1111/1467-9817.12042 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 39 (3) ◽

pp. 312-329 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Roel van Steensel ◽

Ron Oostdam ◽

Amos van Gelderen ◽

Erik van Schooten

Keyword(s):

Reading Comprehension ◽

Vocabulary Knowledge ◽

Word Decoding ◽

Cognitive Knowledge

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Poor readers in adulthood: Psychosocial functioning

Development and Psychopathology ◽

10.1017/s0954579400007197 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 457-476 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Barbara Maughan ◽

Ann Hagell

Keyword(s):

Transition To Adulthood ◽

Psychosocial Functioning ◽

Early Adulthood ◽

Self Esteem ◽

Poor Readers ◽

Group Differences ◽

Reading Groups ◽

Adult Functioning ◽

Childhood Reading

AbstractSamples of poor and normal readers were followed into early adulthood to assess the implications of childhood reading difficulties for the transition to adulthood, and for early adult psychosocial functioning. Some group differences were found in patterns of early adult transitions, and, for women only, on wider measures of early adult functioning. Global self-esteem in adulthood did not differ between the childhood reading groups, and there were few marked variations in vulnerability to later psychiatric disorder. The findings are discussed in regard to differing developmental pathways for problems in adult functioning, ant the possible role of contextual changes in enabling more positive functioning for many childhood poor readers.

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Considering Reading Cognitively: A Review

South African Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1177/008124638101100201 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 55-66 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Estelle Ann Doctor

Keyword(s):

Poor Readers ◽

Phonological Encoding ◽

Skilled Readers

Several studies of reading are reviewed with particular reference to the type of code, visual or phonological, adopted by the reader to obtain meaning from printed symbols. Integrated into the review are reports of recent studies on phonological encoding in children, skilled readers, poor readers, and the deaf. The role of orthography in pre- and postlexical encoding is also reviewed and it is concluded that phonological encoding takes place and is prelexical for pronunciation tasks, but when sentences rather than single words are presented to the reader, phonological encoding, if it occurs at all, is probably postlexical.

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A Multiple Strategy Framework Supporting Vocabulary Development for Students with Reading Comprehension Deficits

Australasian Journal of Special Education ◽

10.1375/ajse.34.2.119 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 34 (2) ◽

pp. 119-132 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Gary Woolley

Keyword(s):

Language Learning ◽

Learning Strategies ◽

Story Comprehension ◽

Word Decoding ◽

Decoding Skills ◽

Learning Deficits ◽

Poor Comprehenders ◽

New Meanings ◽

Good Word ◽

Multiple Strategy

AbstractPoor comprehenders are generally students who have significant language-learning deficits. A particular problem for students with poor comprehension is that they have difficulty learning new vocabulary because they are inclined to read less, and are unable to apply new meanings to unfamiliar words. This leads to the situation where the gap widens between them and their more successful peers, resulting in more noticeable reading difficulties in later grades. They generally have good word decoding skills but have difficulty connecting meaning to unfamiliar words in context. This is often problematic because they have particular difficulties making inferences and forming a coherent mental model of what they have read. However, effective vocabulary instruction can be achieved by the incorporation of an intervention framework that balances the teaching of word-learning strategies with strategies fostering whole story integration. This article introduces a pedagogical construct based on a modified KWL framework using a combination of evidence-based visual and verbal instructional methods, in conjunction with the development of metacognitive and self-regulating strategies. The implication is that the cognitive load on working memory will be reduced and overall story comprehension will be improved when a well-constructed pedagogical framework is utilised to enhance the acquisition of new vocabulary during reading.

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Exploring the importance of vocabulary for English as an additional language learners’ reading comprehension

Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching ◽

10.14746/ssllt.2021.11.3.3 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 351-376

Author(s):

Gavin Brooks ◽

Jon Clenton ◽

Simon Fraser

Keyword(s):

Reading Comprehension ◽

Language Learners ◽

Reading Fluency ◽

English Learners ◽

Text Comprehension ◽

Vocabulary Knowledge ◽

Linguistic Knowledge ◽

Word Decoding ◽

Decoding Skills ◽

General Linguistic

This exploratory study represents an attempt to investigate the factors that may affect the reading comprehension abilities of English as an additional language (EAL) learners. For this study, we examined a participant group of 31 (25 EAL and 6 first language English) learners studying at an international school in Japan. We assessed the participants according to four factors shown to influence reading comprehension: vocabulary knowledge, word decoding skills, reading fluency, and general linguistic ability. Our results show that differences in vocabulary knowledge show more variance in reading comprehension scores than the other factors examined in this study, highlighting the importance of vocabulary knowledge for reading comprehension. However, other factors such as reading fluency and general linguistic knowledge are also shown to be moderate to strong predictors of reading comprehension. Based on these results, we suggest that EAL learners need targeted language support to enhance academic text comprehension.

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