EXPRESS: Phonological precision for word recognition in skilled readers

According to the lexical quality hypothesis (Perfetti, 2007), differences in the orthographic, semantic, and phonological representations of words will affect individual reading performance. Whilst several studies have focused on orthographic precision and semantic coherence, few have considered phonological precision. The present study used a suite of individual difference measures to assess which components of lexical quality contributed to competition resolution in a masked priming experiment. The experiment measured form priming for word and pseudoword targets with dense and sparse neighbourhoods in 84 university students. Individual difference measures of language and cognitive skills were also collected and a principal component analysis was used to group these data into components. The data showed that phonological precision and NHD interacted with form priming. In participants with high phonological precision, the direction of priming for word targets with sparse neighbourhoods was facilitatory, while the direction for those with dense neighbourhoods was inhibitory. In contrast, people with low phonological precision showed the opposite pattern, but the interaction was non-significant. These results suggest that the component of phonological precision is linked to lexical competition for word recognition and that access to the mental lexicon during reading is affected by differing levels of phonological processing.

Spelling ability influences early letter encoding during reading: Evidence from return-sweep eye movements

In recent years, there has been an increase in research concerning individual differences in readers’ eye movements. However, this body of work is almost exclusively concerned with the reading of single-line texts. While spelling and reading ability have been reported to influence saccade targeting and fixation times during intra-line reading, where upcoming words are available for parafoveal processing, it is unclear how these variables affect fixations adjacent to return-sweeps. We, therefore, examined the influence of spelling and reading ability on return-sweep and corrective saccade parameters for 120 participants engaged in multiline text reading. Less-skilled readers and spellers tended to launch their return-sweeps closer to the end of the line, prefer a viewing location closer to the start of the next, and made more return-sweep undershoot errors. We additionally report several skill-related differences in readers’ fixation durations across multiline texts. Reading ability influenced all fixations except those resulting from return-sweep error. In contrast, spelling ability influenced only those fixations following accurate return-sweeps—where parafoveal processing was not possible prior to fixation. This stands in contrasts to an established body of work where fixation durations are related to reading but not spelling ability. These results indicate that lexical quality shapes the rate at which readers access meaning from the text by enhancing early letter encoding, and influences saccade targeting even in the absence of parafoveal target information.

Vocabulary Learning in Children with Cochlear Implants in Signed and Spoken Modalities

The lexical quality hypothesis emphasizes the importance of the quantity and the quality of lexical knowledge for reading comprehension: children need to quickly and accurately access the meanings of the written words they encounter. This chapter discusses research on the quality and quantity of lexical representations in spoken language and in signed language in children with cochlear implants (CIs). It also describes the impact of three multimodal approaches that have been used to enhance the quantity and quality of lexical representations in deaf and hard-of-hearing children, including those with CIs: Cued Speech, orthographic information, and augmentative signs. The chapter argues that these three multimodal approaches are promising tools for enhancing the quality of lexical representations in spoken language in children with CIs.

Prevailing Theories of Reading Development and Deafness

Understanding how children learn to read and become proficient readers has been facilitated by models of reading developed over the past three decades. These include, among others, the Simple View of Reading, the lexical quality hypothesis, and the lattice model. These models have shaped effective reading interventions for children with typical hearing and have implications for understanding dyslexia and dysgraphia. Importantly, they can provide insights into why many children who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) have so much trouble learning to read and write. This chapter uses the lattice model of reading development to illustrate where DHH children may encounter barriers to learning to read and how such barriers might be overcome. The lattice model proposes that reciprocal and interacting effects of linguistic processes, text-specific processes, instruction, and cognitive, social, and regulatory processes all contribute to children’s reading development. Included is a discussion of a new version of the lattice model that has been adapted to support the research findings for children who are DHH.

New Descriptors of Textual Records: Getting Help from Frequent Itemsets

The analysis of numerical data, whether structured, semi-structured, or raw, is of paramount importance in many sectors of economic, scientific, or simply social activity. The process of extraction of association rules is based on the lexical quality of the text and on the minimum support set by the user. In this paper, we implemented a platform named “IDETEX” capable of extracting itemsets from textual data and using it for the experimentation in different types of clustering methods, such as [Formula: see text]-Medoids and Hierarchical clustering. The experiments conducted demonstrate the potential of the proposed approach for defining similarity between segments.

Effects of individual differences in lexical quality: Neighbourhood effects in naming

Two experiments investigated individual differences in the neighbourhood density effect shown during the production of written words and pseudowords. Word and pseudoword targets with dense and sparse neighbourhoods were used in a masked form priming experiment with 84 universitystudents. In addition, individual difference measures of language and cognitive processes were collected, and a principal component analysis was used to group these data into factors. Overall, we observed facilitatory form priming effects for word and pseudoword targets. However, the facilitatory form priming was larger for pseudoword targets and word targets with sparse neighbourhoods compared to those with dense neighbourhoods. Form priming of word targets was also affected by a factor linking to orthographic precision: For people with low orthographic precision, word targets with dense neighbourhoods preceded by word primes showed stronger facilitatory priming than those thatfollowed pseudoword primes. The opposite pattern was shown for word targets with sparse neighbourhoods. People with high orthographic precision only showed facilitatory priming. Facilitatory form priming for pseudoword targets preceded by pseudoword primes was smaller than for those that followed word primes in people with low orthographic precision. The opposite patternwas found for people with high orthographic precision. These results suggest that people with high orthographic precision rely more on the lexical route than the sublexical route and the opposite is the case for people with low orthographic precision. The implications for theories of masked priming in production and the Lexical Quality Hypothesis applied to reading skill are discussed.

Phonological precision for word recognition in skilled readers

This study investigated individual differences in the neighbourhood density effect observed during the processing of written words. A masked priming experiment measured form priming for word and pseudoword targets from dense and sparse neighbourhoods in 84 university students. In addition, individual difference measures of language and cognitive processes were collected, and a principal component analysis was used to group these data into factors. We observed facilitatory form priming for words with a sparse neighbourhood and inhibitory form priming for words with a dense neighbourhood. A factor relating to phonological precision was positively related to priming effects for word targets with sparse neighbourhoods, but negatively related to priming effects for word targets with dense neighbourhoods. These results suggest that the component of phonological precision is linked to the inhibitory effects of lexical competition for word recognition. The implications for theories of reading skills, such as the Lexical Quality Hypothesis, are discussed.