Instructional Practices for Spelling by Spanish-Speaking Children With and Without Learning Disabilities in Early Grades.

The main objectives of this study were to examine the type of adaptations made by Grades 1 through 3 primary school teachers working with children who are poor spellers of a transparent language such as Spanish and to analyze whether these adaptations were determined by the grade taught by these teachers. Using the total population of primary school classroom teachers in the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands as a base, the authors took a random sample that was stratified by level, resulting in a representative sample of 300 teachers. For data collection, the authors employed an online questionnaire containing a list of specific teaching activities or procedures the teachers used to work on spelling. Results revealed that regardless of the grade taught, the teachers made a variety of adaptations in these teaching activities or procedures when working with weaker spellers, as compared to when working with stronger spellers. Furthermore, the results provide information on Spanish language spelling practices for these specific grades.

Do Spanish children use the syllable in visual word recognition in learning to read?

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether Spanish children that are learning to read use the syllable unit in word reading. We used a visual version of the syllable monitoring technique (Mehler, Dommerges, Freavenfelder & Seguí, 1981). For Experiment I, we selected first grade readers at the end of the first year of reading instruction. In the Experiment II we selected second grade readers at the middle of the second year of reading instruction. Participants responded whenever the structure of the target string (e.g., bal) appeared at the beginning of a subsequently presented printed word (e.g., bala). The target was either a consonant-vowel (CV) or consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) structure and either did or did not correspond to the initial syllable of the target-bearing word. At the end of the first year of reading instruction, children showed significant effects of syllable compatibility (faster detection times when the targets correspond to the initial syllable of target-bearing words than when they did not). When we tested children of the second year of reading instruction, they also showed a syllable compatibility effect. These results suggest that Spanish children use syllabic units at the beginning of reading instruction in the visual word recognition.

Do Spanish children use the syllable in visual word recognition in learning to read?

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether Spanish children that are learning to read use the syllable unit in word reading. We used a visual version of the syllable monitoring technique (Mehler, Dommerges, Freavenfelder & Seguí, 1981). For Experiment I, we selected first grade readers at the end of the first year of reading instruction. In the Experiment II we selected second grade readers at the middle of the second year of reading instruction. Participants responded whenever the structure of the target string (e.g., bal) appeared at the beginning of a subsequently presented printed word (e.g., bala). The target was either a consonant-vowel (CV) or consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) structure and either did or did not correspond to the initial syllable of the target-bearing word. At the end of the first year of reading instruction, children showed significant effects of syllable compatibility (faster detection times when the targets correspond to the initial syllable of target-bearing words than when they did not). When we tested children of the second year of reading instruction, they also showed a syllable compatibility effect. These results suggest that Spanish children use syllabic units at the beginning of reading instruction in the visual word recognition (AU)

El principal objetivo de este estudio fue analizar si los niños españoles que aprenden a leer se apoyan en la sílaba para el reconocimiento visual de palabras. Usamos una versión visual de la técnica de monitorización de sílaba (Mehler, Dommerges, Freavenfelder y Seguí, 1981). En un primer experimento seleccionamos a niños que estaban finalizando el primer año de instrucción lectora, y en un segundo experimento seleccionamos a niños que estaban en el segundo año de instrucción lectora. Los niños tenían que responder si la sílaba que se presentaba como target (v.gr., bal) aparecía al principio de una palabra que se presentaba posteriormente en la pantalla del ordenador (v.gr., bala). La sílaba target era una sílaba con estructura consonante-vocal (CV) o con estructura consonante-vocal-consonante (CVC) que podía corresponder o no con la sílaba inicial de la palabra que se presentaba. Al final del primer año de instrucción lectora, se encontró un efecto significativo de compatibilidad silábica (i.e., los tiempos de reacción fueron más rápidos cuando la estructura de la sílaba target correspondía a la estructura de la sílaba inicial de la palabra presentada). Cuando analizamos las respuestas de los niños en el segundo año de instrucción de la lectura, se encontró también un efecto significativo de compatibilidad silábica. Estos resultados sugieren que los niños españoles que aprenden a leer se apoyan en la sílaba para el reconocimiento visual de las palabras (AU)

[Spelling development in the Spanish language]. / Evolución de la escritura de palabras de ortografía arbitraria en lengua española.

This study focused on spelling development in Spanish children from elementary grades. A sample of 1045 was selected from 2nd to 6th grade belonging to four schools in Tenerife Island with an age range between 7 and 12 years old (M = 113.8, SD = 17.6). We administered a standardized writing test that includes diverse subtests to assess spelling, ruled and not ruled, and various written composition tasks (i.e., writing a story based on vignettes, describing a character and writing a story). We calculated the average of correct spellings in each variable and school level, and we also analyzed the type of misspellings that children made across different writing tasks. We found that spelling is acquired by 4th-grade children when it is not ruled, whereas the spelling of ruled words is acquired by 5th-grade children. When we analyzed the misspellings in a dictation task, we found that the children confused spelling of the graphemes c/s/z/x. Across different writing tasks, we found that students committed more misspellings with the graphemes b/v, h y c/s/z/x before they finished the 4th elementary grade.

Evolución de la escritura de palabras de ortografía arbitraria en lengua española / Spelling development in the Spanish language

El objetivo de este trabajo consistió en estudiar la evolución de la escritura de palabras con ortografía arbitraria en alumnado de Educación Primaria (EP). La muestra estaba compuesta por 1.045 escolares de segundo a sexto curso de EP de 4 centros de la Isla de Tenerife, entre 7 y 12 años de edad (M= 113.8; DT= 17.6). Se les dictaban palabras con ortografía arbitraria, reglada y no reglada, y se les pidió también que realizaran tareas de composición escrita (i.e., escritura de una historia apoyada en viñetas, descripción de un personaje y escritura de un cuento). Se analizaron tanto los aciertos como los errores ortográficos en el dictado y la composición escrita. Los resultados encontrados señalan que la ortografía arbitraria, cuando no es reglada, se adquiere a partir de 4º curso de EP, mientras que la escritura de palabras de ortografía reglada la adquieren a partir de 5º curso de EP. Analizando los errores ortográficos en la escritura al dictado se observó que existía mayor confusión en la escritura de los grafemas c/s/z/x. En las diferentes tareas de composición escrita encontramos que, hasta la finalización del segundo ciclo, los escolares tienden a confundir los grafemas b/v, h y c/s/z/x

This study focused on spelling development in Spanish children from elementary grades. A sample of 1045 was selected from 2nd to 6th grade belonging to four schools in Tenerife Island with an age range between 7 and 12 years old (M= 113.8, SD= 17.6). We administered a standardized writing test that includes diverse subtests to assess spelling, ruled and not ruled, and various written composition tasks (i.e., writing a story based on vignettes, describing a character and writing a story). We calculated the average of correct spellings in each variable and school level, and we also analyzed the type of misspellings that children made across different writing tasks. We found that spelling is acquired by 4th-grade children when it is not ruled, whereas the spelling of ruled words is acquired by 5th-grade children. When we analyzed the misspellings in a dictation task, we found that the children confused spelling of the graphemes c/s/z/x. Across different writing tasks, we found that students committed more misspellings with the graphemes b/v, h y c/s/z/x before they finished the 4th elementary grade

Computer speech-based remediation for reading disabilities: the size of spelling-to-sound unit in a transparent orthography.

This study was designed to assess the effects of four reading-training procedures for children with reading disabilities (RD) in a transparent orthography, with the aim of examining the effects of different spelling-to-sound units in computer speech-based reading. We selected a sample of 83 Spanish children aged between 7 years 1 month and 10 years 6 months (M = 105.2, SD = 7.8) whose pseudoword reading performance was below the 25th percentile and IQ > 90. The participants were randomly assigned to five groups: (a) the whole-word training group (WW) (n = 17), (b) the syllable training group (S)(n = 16), (c) the onset-rime training group (OR) (n = 17), (d) the phoneme training group (P) (n = 15), and (e) the untrained control group (n = 18). Children were pre- and post-tested in word recognition, reading comprehension, phonological awareness, and orthographic and phonological tasks. The results indicate that experimental groups who participated in the phoneme and syllable conditions improved their word recognition in comparison with the control group. In addition, dyslexics who participated in the phoneme, syllable, and onset-rime conditions made a greater number of requests during computer-based word reading under conditions that required extensive phonological computation (low frequency words and long words). Reading time, however, was greater for long words in the phoneme group during computer-based reading. These results suggest the importance of training phonological processes in improving word decoding in children with dyslexia who learn in a consistent orthography.

Computer speech-based remediation for reading disabilities: the size of spelling-to-sound unit in a transparent orthography

This study was designed to assess the effects of four reading-training procedures for children with reading disabilities (RD) ina transparent orthography, with the aim of examining the effects of different spelling-to-sound units in computer speech-based reading. We selected a sample of 83 Spanish children aged between 7 years 1 month and 10 years 6 months (M = 105.2, SD= 7.8) whose pseudoword reading performance was below the 25th percentile and IQ > 90. The participants were randomly assigned to five groups: (a) the whole-word training group (WW) (n = 17), (b) the syllable training group (S)(n = 16), (c) the onset-rime training group (OR) (n = 17), (d) the phoneme training group (P) (n = 15), and (e) the untrained control group (n= 18). Children were pre- and post-tested in word recognition, reading comprehension, phonological awareness, and orthographic and phonological tasks. The results indicate that experimental groups who participated in the phoneme and syllable conditions improved their word recognition in comparison with the control group. In addition, dyslexics who participated in the phoneme, syllable, and onset-rime conditions made a greater number of requests during computer-based word reading under conditions that required extensive phonological computation (low frequency words and long words). Reading time, however, was greater for long words in the phoneme group during computer-based reading. These results suggest the importance of training phonological processes in improving word decoding in children with dyslexia who learn in a consistent orthography (AU)

Esta investigación fue diseñada para evaluar los efectos de la instrucción asistida a través de ordenador en los procesos fonológicos y de lectura en niños con dificultades de aprendizaje en la lectura (DAL) en una ortografía transparente. Para ello se manipularon diferentes tipos de unidades lingüísticas con objeto de analizar con cuál de ellas se consiguen mejores resultados.Se seleccionó una muestra de 83 niños españoles de edades comprendidas entre los 7 años y 1 mes y 10 años y 6 meses(edad M = 105.2; DT = 7.8) que presentaban una puntuación en lectura de pseudopalabras por debajo del percentil 25 y un cociente intelectual mayor que 90. Los sujetos fueron distribuidos al azar en cinco grupos diferentes: (a) instrucción basada en reconocimiento de palabras (WW) (n = 17), (b) instrucción basada en reconocimiento de sílabas (S) (n = 16), (c) instrucción basada en reconocimiento de principio-rima (OR) (n = 17), (d) instrucción basada en reconocimiento de fonemas (P) (n =15),y (e) ningún tipo de instrucción (n = 18). Se administraron distintas tareas, antes y después de finalizado el periodo de instrucción, para evaluar los efectos de la instrucción sobre la descodificación, comprensión lectora, conciencia fonológica, y procesamiento ortográfico. Los niños con DAL que participaron en la instrucción basada en el reconocimiento de fonemas y en la instrucción basada en reconocimiento de sílabas mejoraron la descodificación en comparación al grupo control. Además, los niños con DAL que participaron en las condiciones de fonema, sílaba y principio-rima solicitaron un mayor número de ayudas durante el periodo de instrucción en aquellas condiciones donde la demanda de procesamiento fonológico era mayor (v. gr., palabras de baja frecuencia y palabras largas). Sin embargo, se registraron tiempos de lectura mayores, durante el periodo de instrucción, para las palabras largas en la condición de entrenamiento basada en fonemas. Estos hallazgos sugieren que el entrenamiento en procesos fonológicos mejora la descodificación de las palabras en niños con DAL en una ortografía transparente (AU)

Do the effects of computer-assisted practice differ for children with reading disabilities with and without IQ-achievement discrepancy?

This study was designed to assess whether the effects of computer-assisted practice on visual word recognition differed for children with reading disabilities (RD) with or without aptitude-achievement discrepancy. A sample of 73 Spanish children with low reading performance was selected using the discrepancy method, based on a standard score comparison (i.e., the difference between IQ and achievement standard scores). The sample was classified into three groups: (1) a group of 14 children with dyslexia (age M = 103.85 months; SD = 8.45) who received computer-based reading practice; (2) a group of 31 "garden-variety" (GV) poor readers (age M = 107.06 months; SD = 6.75) who received the same type of instruction; and (3) a group of 28 children with low reading performance (age M = 103.33 months; SD = 9.04) who did not receive computer-assisted practice. Children were pre- and posttested in word recognition, reading comprehension, phonological awareness, and visual and phonological tasks. The results indicated that both computer-assisted intervention groups showed improved word recognition compared to the control group. Nevertheless, children with dyslexia had more difficulties than GV poor readers during computer-based word reading under conditions that required extensive phonological computation, because their performance was more affected by low-frequency words and long words. In conclusion, we did not find empirical evidence in favor of the IQ-achievement discrepancy definition of reading disability, because IQ did not differentially predict treatment outcomes.