The effects of explicit morphological analysis instruction in early elementary Spanish speakers.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of implicit and explicit morphological analysis instruction in Spanish, a language characterized by high morphological complexity and relatively consistent letter-sound correspondences. For 3 days, 94 Grade 3 Spanish monolingual students (43 girls; Mage = 8.9 years) were trained on target words containing experimenter-designed suffixes consistent in form and meaning (e.g., the suffix -isba refers to a factory in words such as "botisba" [a boot factory] and "cajisba" [a box factory]). Explicit and implicit instruction differed in the attention given to the co-occurrence of the suffixes in the target words. One day (immediate posttest) and 1 week (delayed posttest) after training concluded, participants were tested on their learning of the suffixes' form using a suffix identification task and meaning using a word definition and a multiple-choice task. Results of mixed-effects models showed that explicit instruction yielded better results for the learning of the form of the suffixes. Regarding meaning, across-condition differences were detected only in the word definition task; explicit instruction produced better results for both trained and transfer words. We discuss our findings in the context of the grain-size unit theory and examine the interplay between the language's orthographic and morphological characteristics, considering their impact on classroom instruction.

Internalizing problems in individuals with reading, mathematics and unspecified learning difficulties: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine if individuals with reading difficulties (RD), mathematics difficulties (MD), or unspecified learning difficulties (ULD) experience internalizing problems (i.e., anxiety, depression, somatic complaints, and social withdrawal) to the same extent, and if the effect sizes are influenced by moderators (age, internalizing problems type, anxiety type, rater type, selection criteria, and attention control). We reviewed 2,806 studies published in English between January 2000 and April 2023. Our final sample consisted of 96 studies that reported effect sizes or data to calculate them (a total of 120 unique samples, 83,260 participants, age range = 7.3 - 34.8 years). Risk of bias and sensitivity were assessed. A random-effects model analysis revealed a significant and moderate overall effect size (Hedge's g = -.54), indicating that individuals with RD, MD or ULD experience more internalizing problems than their chronological-age (CA) controls. Follow-up analyses showed that neither learning difficulties type nor age of participants were significant moderators, but selection criteria (diagnosis versus screening) and internalizing problems type were. These findings suggest that individuals with RD do not differ from those with MD or ULD in internalizing problems, and all fare poorly compared to CA controls.

Does reading anxiety impact on academic achievement in higher education students?

Poor readers have lower academic achievement and increased anxiety, including reading anxiety, which may perpetuate lower academic achievement. We explored reading anxiety in university students, investigating whether the association between reading ability and academic achievement is mediated by reading anxiety (independent of general anxiety). Participants were students (n = 169, 69% female, age = 20.70) at an Australian university who completed an online reading assessment (decoding skills, phonological awareness, orthographical knowledge and comprehension), and a survey examining reading anxiety, trait anxiety and self-reported reading history. Academic achievement was based on university grades. Two reading anxiety factors (social and non-social) were identified; both factors were distinct from trait anxiety. Reading ability was negatively correlated with reading anxiety and positively correlated with academic achievement. Reading anxiety was not correlated with academic achievement and it did not mediate the relationship between reading ability and academic achievement as expected. As this was the first study to explore reading anxiety in adults, further research is required to determine the impact reading anxiety may have on university students beyond academic achievement.

Home and school interventions aided at-risk students' literacy during Covid-19: a longitudinal analysis.

We examined whether different parent- and teacher-related factors had an effect on at-risk children's reading development during the first six months of the Covid-19 pandemic. Seventy Grade 1 English-speaking Canadian children (28 females, 42 males; M age = 6.60, SD = 0.46) who were at-risk for reading difficulties were administered word and pseudoword reading, nonverbal IQ, and phonological awareness tasks before the school closures (February 2020; Time 1). Reading tasks were administered again when they returned to school in September 2020 (Time 2). In April-May 2020, their parents (n = 70) and teachers (n = 40) filled out a questionnaire on the home literacy environment and the frequency of teaching reading and providing reading materials, respectively. Results of multilevel regression analyses showed that children's reading enjoyment and home learning activities predicted both word and pseudoword reading at Time 2. Differentiation of instruction for struggling readers also predicted children's pseudoword reading at Time 2. These findings reinforce the important role of parents in their children's early reading development particularly when the typical agents of instruction (i.e., teachers) have less time and opportunities to interact with their students because of the pandemic.

Relations of Vocabulary and Cognitive Skills With Reading Performance of North Korean Students in South Korean Schools.

We examined if North (n = 123) and South Korean (n = 123) children in Grades 3 to 8 studying in South Korea differ in their reading, vocabulary, and literacy-related cognitive skills, and whether language and literacy-related skills contribute to reading outcomes differently among North and South Korean children. The results showed that South Korean students performed better in syllable deletion, RAN-Letters, vocabulary, decoding fluency, and reading comprehension after controlling for age and SES. No differences were observed in phonological awareness, RAN-Digits, and visual processing tasks. A multigroup path analysis showed that phonological awareness and vocabulary were more strongly associated with decoding fluency for the South than the North Korean students, whereas the opposite was true for visual processing. The results suggest that South Korean vocabulary knowledge may be a significant factor in addressing the academic difficulties facing North Korean children in South Korean schools and that it is important to consider linguistic characteristics when examining the variations in reading skills and vocabulary knowledge of North Korean students in South Korean schools. These findings have implications for North Korean children's literacy instruction in South Korean schools.

Identifying dyslexia at the university: assessing phonological coding is not enough.

A dyslexia diagnosis in Denmark can have significant consequences for individuals, as support is not available to others with reading difficulties. Currently, the diagnosis is given solely on the basis of an electronically administered test consisting of two tasks assessing grapheme-phoneme correspondences. To examine whether the Danish diagnostic test is sufficient to identify university students with dyslexia, we compared the performance of 239 Danish university students who reported literacy difficulties and were tested for dyslexia with the Danish diagnostic test on three word-level tests (low-frequency word reading, high-frequency word reading and spelling to dictation) with the performance of separate control groups for each test: 220, 212 and 218 students, respectively. The results showed that 61% of students labelled "not dyslexic" by the Danish diagnostic test performed significantly worse than controls on at least two out of three word-level tests. In terms of self-report of literacy difficulties, students labelled "not dyslexic" by the diagnostic test were indistinguishable from those labelled "dyslexic." These findings suggest that the current method of diagnosing dyslexia in Denmark is too narrow and that adding a few simple tests of word reading and spelling would minimize the risk of overlooking students in need of literacy support.

Lexicality effects on orthographic learning in beginning and advanced readers of Dutch: An eye-tracking study.

Orthographic learning is the topic of many recent studies about reading, but much is still unknown about conditions that affect orthographic learning and their influence on reading fluency development over time. This study investigated lexicality effects on orthographic learning in beginning and relatively advanced readers of Dutch. Eye movements of 131 children in Grades 2 and 5 were monitored during an orthographic learning task. Children read sentences containing pseudowords or low-frequency real words that varied in number of exposures. We examined both offline learning outcomes (i.e., orthographic choice and spelling dictation) of target items and online gaze durations on target words. The results showed general effects of exposure, lexicality, and reading-skill level. Also, a two-way interaction was found between the number of exposures and lexicality when detailed orthographic representations were required, consistent with a larger overall effect of exposure on learning the spellings of pseudowords. Moreover, lexicality and reading-skill level were found to affect the learning rate across exposures based on a decrease in gaze durations, indicating a larger learning effect for pseudowords in Grade 5 children. Yet, further interactions between exposure and reading-skill level were not present, indicating largely similar learning curves for beginning and advanced readers. We concluded that the reading system of more advanced readers may cope somewhat better with words varying in lexicality, but is not more efficient than that of beginning readers in building up orthographic knowledge of specific words across repeated exposures.

Do Reading and Arithmetic Fluency Share the Same Cognitive Base?

We examined the role of different cognitive-linguistic skills in reading and arithmetic fluency, and whether the effects of these skills are mediated by reading and arithmetic accuracy. One hundred twenty-six English-speaking Grade 1 children (67 females, 59 males; M age = 6.41 years) were followed from the beginning of Grade 1 (Time 1) to the end of Grade 1 (Time 2). At Time 1, they were assessed on measures of non-verbal IQ, speed of processing, working memory, phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming (RAN), and number sense. At Time 2, they were assessed on measures of reading and arithmetic accuracy as well as on measures of reading and arithmetic fluency. Results of path analysis showed first that when reading and arithmetic fluency were included in the model as separate outcomes, RAN was predictive of both and that speed of processing and working memory were predictive of only arithmetic fluency. Second, RAN, speed of processing, and working memory had both direct and indirect effects (via reading and arithmetic accuracy) on the covariation of reading and arithmetic fluency. Irrespective of how reading and arithmetic fluency were treated in the analyses, the effects of non-verbal IQ, phonological awareness, and number sense were all indirect. Taken together, these findings suggest that reading and arithmetic fluency draw on a broader network of cognitive-linguistic skills, whose effects can sometimes be indirect through reading and arithmetic accuracy.

Developmental Relations Between Home Literacy Environment, Reading Interest, and Reading Skills: Evidence From a 3-Year Longitudinal Study.

We examined the bidirectional relations between home literacy environment, reading interest, and children's emergent literacy and reading skills in a sample of 172 English-speaking Canadian children (Mage  = 75.87 months) followed from Grade 1 to Grade 3. Results of cross-lagged analysis revealed that the reading comprehension activities (RCA) at home positively predicted children's reading skills at the end of Grade 2 and the reading skills negatively predicted the RCA in Grade 3. Parent-rated reading interest was bidirectionally related to reading skills, whereas child-rated reading interest was only predicted by earlier reading skills, but not vice versa. These findings suggest that parents are sensitive to their children's reading performance and modify their involvement accordingly.

How does rapid automatized naming influence orthographic knowledge?

Rapid automatized naming (RAN) is a strong predictor of reading fluency across languages, and some researchers have attributed this to the contribution of RAN to the development of orthographic knowledge, which is predictive of reading fluency. However, to date, it remains unclear whether RAN (alphanumeric and nonalphanumeric) predicts orthographic knowledge (OK) and what skills may mediate their relation. To examine the RAN-OK relations, we assessed 114 Grade 3 Spanish-speaking Mexican children (58 girls; Mage = 7.9 years, SD = 0.3) on RAN (objects and digits), orthographic knowledge (lexical and sublexical; accuracy and response time), speed of processing, multi-element processing, phonemic awareness, and reading fluency. Path analyses showed first that, OK (both lexical and sublexical) partly mediated the effects of RAN on reading fluency. Second, multiple mediation analyses showed an indirect effect of both RAN tasks on lexical and sublexical OK through phonological awareness. In view of Ehri's amalgamation hypothesis and Share's self-teaching hypothesis, our findings suggest that RAN may reflect, in part, the speed with which the phonological representations of letters are accessed and retrieved, which subsequently influences how quickly orthographic representations can be formed and accessed.

Home Literacy Environment and Early Literacy Development Across Languages Varying in Orthographic Consistency.

We examined the relation between home literacy environment (HLE) and early literacy development in a sample of children learning four alphabetic orthographies varying in orthographic consistency (English, Dutch, German, and Greek). Seven hundred and fourteen children were followed from Grade 1 to Grade 2 and tested on emergent literacy skills (vocabulary, letter knowledge, and phonological awareness) at the beginning of Grade 1 and on word reading fluency and spelling at the end of Grade 1, the beginning of Grade 2, and the end of Grade 2. Their parents responded to a questionnaire assessing HLE [parent teaching (PT), shared book reading (SBR), access to literacy resources (ALR)] at the beginning of Grade 1. Results showed first that PT was associated with letter knowledge or phonological awareness in Dutch and Greek, while ALR was associated with emergent literacy skills in all languages. SBR did not predict any cognitive or early literacy skills in any language. Second, PT and ALR had indirect effects on literacy outcomes via different emergent literacy skills in all languages. These findings suggest that not all HLE components are equally important for emergent literacy skills, reading fluency, and spelling. No specific trend in the role of orthographic consistency in the aforementioned relations emerged, which suggests that other factors may account for the observed differences across languages when children start receiving formal reading instruction in Grade 1.

What mechanism underlies the rapid automatized naming-reading relation?

We examined why rapid automatized naming (RAN) is related to reading by manipulating one aspect of the RAN task at a time and by inspecting the changes occurring in the RAN-reading relation. In total, 136 Grade 2 English-speaking children and 121 university students were assessed on serial and discrete RAN, cancellation, and yes/no naming as well as on oral and silent reading fluency. The results of regression analyses indicated that seriality, access to phonological representations, and articulation play an important role in the RAN-reading relation. However, their effects were not equal for the two age groups or across the two reading outcomes.

Dyslexia in a consistent orthography: Evidence from reading-level match design.

Studies in consistent orthographies using reading-level (RL) match design have produced conflicting results, possibly because of problems with general ability and RL matching in many studies. We matched the participants on both verbal and nonverbal ability and on reading tasks with no ceiling effects and compared the performance of Grades 4 and 6 Greek-speaking children with dyslexia to those of chronological age (CA) and RL matched control groups across a variety of tasks associated with dyslexia (phonological awareness, rapid naming, phonological memory, and orthographic processing). The results showed that although both Grade 4 and Grade 6 dyslexics performed poorer than the CA groups in most tasks, they did not perform poorer than the RL group in any of the tasks included. We conclude with a discussion of the theoretical ramifications of the results and the appropriateness of the RL match design in studying dyslexia in consistent orthographies.

Reading and Spelling Development Across Languages Varying in Orthographic Consistency: Do Their Paths Cross?

We examined the cross-lagged relations between reading and spelling in five alphabetic orthographies varying in consistency (English, French, Dutch, German, and Greek). Nine hundred and forty-one children were followed from Grade 1 to Grade 2 and were tested on word and pseudoword reading fluency and on spelling to dictation. Results indicated that the relations across languages were unidirectional: Earlier reading predicted subsequent spelling. However, we also found significant differences between languages in the strength of the effects of earlier reading on subsequent spelling. These findings suggest that, once children master decoding, the observed differences between languages are not related to the direction of the effects but to the strength of the effects from reading to spelling. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

A meta-analysis of reading-level match dyslexia studies in consistent alphabetic orthographies.

We provide a meta-analytic review of all group-comparison studies that used reading-level match design, were conducted in highly consistent European orthographies, included children with dyslexia younger than 13 years of age as participants, and included measures of one or more of the potential causes of dyslexia. We identified 21 studies meeting these criteria that examined one or more of phonological awareness, rapid naming, verbal short-term memory, or auditory temporal processing. A random effects model analysis showed first that the groups were matched imperfectly and they differed significantly in word reading measures not used for matching. Second, there were no significant differences between the individuals with dyslexia and their reading-level-matched controls in rapid naming, phonological memory, and auditory temporal processing. Finally, the analyses for phonological awareness showed a significant effect for comparisons that involved manipulating phonemes but not for tasks that involved manipulating syllables. The results are compatible with phonological deficit theories of dyslexia, but this conclusion is qualified by observed differences in reading skills and sample selection concerns.

Differences in the literacy skills of Danish dyslexic students in two types of higher education programmes.

Previous research has treated high-functioning dyslexic students as a homogeneous group. This study explores the clinical observation that dyslexic students attending university programmes differ from dyslexic students attending tertiary education professional programmes in some aspects of their literacy skills. Four groups, dyslexic university students (n = 32), dyslexic students attending professional programmes (n = 32), control university students (n = 31), and control students from professional programmes (n = 30), were assessed on measures of pseudoword reading, phonological choice, vocabulary, reading and spelling of morphologically complex single words, and reading aloud from a syntactically complex text. The results showed that the two dyslexic groups were comparable only on the phonological tasks, the dyslexic university students outperforming the professional programme students in all reading and spelling measures. Controlling vocabulary and number of semesters studied, the difference was no longer significant. Nevertheless, the analyses indicate that phonological deficits underlie the performance of professional programme students with dyslexia across a wide range of tasks, whereas university students with dyslexia may be able to limit the impact of phonological deficits to some extent by relying on some alternative cognitive attributes. Reading experience, orthographic learning, and working memory efficiency are discussed as possible explanations for this pattern of results.