Lecture 6 - Learning to Read Flashcards
What are the key differences between spoken and written language?
- Spoken: Auditory modality, transient, harder to segment, more affected by noise
- Written: Visual modality, stable (can be re-read), easier to segment (varies by writing system), less affected by noise
How is reading related to speech?
Reading often builds on spoken language. It can involve:
- Orthography –> phonology –> semantics (parasitic on speech)
- Orthography –> semantics (direct access to meaning)
- Both routes are possible, depending on the context and reader experience
What is the Dual Route Model (Colheart et al., 1993)?
- Lexical route: Orthography –> orthographic lexicon –> meaning –> phonology
- Non-lexical route: Orthography –> grapheme-phoneme conversion –> phonology
What are pseudowords and what do they tell us about reading aloud?
- Pseudowords (e.g., cheem, fike) require grapheme-phoneme conversion
- They show the importance of phonological decoding, especially in shallow orthographies (e.g., Italian). Irregular real words (e.g., yacht) rely on the lexical route
What are Ehri’s (1992) four phases of reading development?
1) Pre-alphabetic: Uses visual features; no sound-letter knowledge
2) Partial alphabetic: Some letter-sound knowledge, poor segmentation
3) Full alphabetic: Full grapheme-phoneme mapping, can decode new words
4) Consolidated alphabetic: Mastery of multi-letter units (syllables, morphemes, rhymes)
What is phonological awareness?
- Awareness of sound structures in words, including rhyming (implicit) and manipulating sounds (explicit)
- It is both a cause and consequence of reading skill
What are the main methods for teaching reading, and how do they differ?
- Look and Say/Whole Word: Visual recognition of whole words
- Alphabetic/Phonic: Systematic teaching of grapheme-phoneme rules
- This contrast is at the heart of the reading wars
What is developmental dyslexia and what causes it?
A specific difficulty in learning to read, despite adequate education and intelligence. Causes are multifactorial and may involve:
1) Subtle visual difficulties (e.g., magnocellular pathway deficits)
2) Phonological difficulties (e.g., reduced planum temporale asymmetry)
3) Attention issues (e.g., difficulty focusing on letter sequences)
What are the subtypes of dylexia described by Castles & Coltheart (1993)?
- Surface dyslexia: Poor irregular word reading; intact recoding
- Phonological dyslexia: Impaired decoding of new/nonwords; reliance on lexical route
- They lie on a continuum and may reflect developmental delay vs deviance
What are effective interventions for Dyslexia?
- Phonological training
- Eye fixation training
- Increased letter spacing (R E A D)
- Multisensory methods (linking letters/sounds through touch, space, etc.)
Which writing systems have shallow orthography?
Italian
What does the grapheme-phoneme conversion process help with?
Reading pseudowords
In which phase of reading development can children decode unfamiliar words?
Full alphabetic
Which brain structure is associated with phonological difficulties in dyslexia?
Planum temporale
Which model processes both lexical and non-lexical reading routes?
Dual Route Model
What does surface dyslexia primarily affect?
Recognition of irregular words
