Learning to Read across Languages and Writing Systems

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Writing Systems ◽  
Learning To Read

Learning to Read and Spell Words in Different Writing Systems

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Pollatsek ◽  
Rebecca Treiman ◽  
Markéta Caravolas ◽  
Anna Samara
Keyword(s):  
Writing Systems ◽  
Learning To Read

scholarly journals Common and distinct cognitive bases for reading in English–Cantonese bilinguals

2008 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
GIGI LUK ◽  
ELLEN BIALYSTOK
Keyword(s):  
Phonological Awareness ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Word Identification ◽  
Early Reading ◽  
Reading Performance ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Writing Systems ◽  
Cognitive Measures ◽  
Learning To Read ◽  
The Relationship

ABSTRACTThe study explores the relationship between phonological awareness and early reading for bilingual children learning to read in two languages that use different writing systems. Participants were 57 Cantonese–English bilingual 6-year-olds who were learning to read in both languages. The children completed cognitive measures, phonological awareness tasks, and word identification tests in both languages. Once cognitive abilities had been controlled, there was no correlation in word identification ability performance across languages, but the correspondence in phonological awareness measures remained strong. This pattern was confirmed by a principal components analysis and hierarchical regression that demonstrated a different role for each phonological awareness factor in reading performance in each language. The results indicate that phonological awareness depends on a set of cognitive abilities that is applied generally across languages and that early reading depends on a common set of cognitive abilities in conjunction with skills specific to different writing systems.

Orthographic Learning

2022 ◽  
pp. 136-160
Author(s):  
Daniel R. Espinas ◽  
Min Wang ◽  
Yixun Li
Keyword(s):  
Mental Representations ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Writing System ◽  
Writing Systems ◽  
Learning To Read ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
Developmental Course ◽  
And Function ◽  
Orthographic Learning

This chapter discusses orthographic learning, i.e., how children learn the relation between their spoken language and writing system. The process is discussed for children learning to read and write in one language, as well as for multilingual children acquiring literacy in more than one language. In both cases, the developmental course is mapped from children's first insights into the form and function of their writing systems to the development of word-specific mental representations that code for multiple linguistic forms (i.e., sound, spelling, and meaning). The chapter concludes with instructional recommendations for supporting children's orthographic learning throughout development.

How Psychological Science Informs the Teaching of Reading

2001 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Rayner ◽  
Barbara R. Foorman ◽  
Charles A. Perfetti ◽  
David Pesetsky ◽  
Mark S. Seidenberg
Keyword(s):  
Whole Language ◽  
Developmental Psychology ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Teaching Reading ◽  
Writing Systems ◽  
Alphabetic Principle ◽  
Phonics Instruction ◽  
Primary Methods ◽  
Learning To Read ◽  
New Words

This monograph discusses research, theory, and practice relevant to how children learn to read English. After an initial overview of writing systems, the discussion summarizes research from developmental psychology on children's language competency when they enter school and on the nature of early reading development. Subsequent sections review theories of learning to read, the characteristics of children who do not learn to read (i.e., who have developmental dyslexia), research from cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience on skilled reading, and connectionist models of learning to read. The implications of the research findings for learning to read and teaching reading are discussed. Next, the primary methods used to teach reading (phonics and whole language) are summarized. The final section reviews laboratory and classroom studies on teaching reading. From these different sources of evidence, two inescapable conclusions emerge: (a) Mastering the alphabetic principle (that written symbols are associated with phonemes) is essential to becoming proficient in the skill of reading, and (b) methods that teach this principle directly are more effective than those that do not (especially for children who are at risk in some way for having difficulty learning to read). Using whole-language activities to supplement phonics instruction does help make reading fun and meaningful for children, but ultimately, phonics instruction is critically important because it helps beginning readers understand the alphabetic principle and learn new words. Thus, elementary-school teachers who make the alphabetic principle explicit are most effective in helping their students become skilled, independent readers.

scholarly journals The universality of symbolic representation for reading in Asian and alphabetic languages

2007 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
ELLEN BIALYSTOK ◽  
GIGI LUK
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Structural Similarity ◽  
Symbolic Representation ◽  
Writing Systems ◽  
Learning To Read ◽  
Symbolic Function ◽  
Skilled Reading ◽  
Word Task ◽  
Asian Languages

Neuroimaging studies of reading have identified unique patterns of activation for individuals reading in alphabetic and Asian languages, suggesting the involvement of different processes in each. The present study investigates the extent to which a cognitive prerequisite for reading, the understanding of the symbolic function of print, is common to children learning to read in these two different systems. Four-year-old children in Hong Kong learning to read in Cantonese and children in Canada learning to read in English are compared for their understanding of this concept by means of the moving word task. Children in both settings performed the same on the task, indicating similar levels of progress in spite of experience with very different writing systems. In addition, the children in Hong Kong benefited from the structural similarity between certain iconic characters and their referents, making these items easier than arbitrary characters. These results point to an important cognitive universal in the development of literacy for all children that is the foundation for skilled reading that later becomes diverse and specialized.

scholarly journals The Dramatic Impact of Explicit Instruction on Learning to Read in a New Writing System

2021 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 471-484
Author(s):  
Kathleen Rastle ◽  
Clare Lally ◽  
Matthew H. Davis ◽  
J. S. H. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Teaching Method ◽  
Explicit Instruction ◽  
Reading Acquisition ◽  
Writing System ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Writing Systems ◽  
Learning To Read ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Novel Words

There is profound and long-standing debate over the role of explicit instruction in reading acquisition. In this research, we investigated the impact of teaching regularities in the writing system explicitly rather than relying on learners to discover these regularities through text experience alone. Over 10 days, 48 adults learned to read novel words printed in two artificial writing systems. One group learned spelling-to-sound and spelling-to-meaning regularities solely through experience with the novel words, whereas the other group received a brief session of explicit instruction on these regularities before training commenced. Results showed that virtually all participants who received instruction performed at ceiling on tests that probed generalization of underlying regularities. In contrast, despite up to 18 hr of training on the novel words, less than 25% of discovery learners performed on par with those who received instruction. These findings illustrate the dramatic impact of teaching method on outcomes during reading acquisition.

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