Can poor readers be good learners?
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Annemarie Kerkhoff
Abstract
This study aimed to test whether adults with dyslexia are impaired at non-adjacent dependency learning, and whether potential learning difficulties are domain-specific or not. Participants were familiarised with one of two artificial languages containing dependencies between the first and third element of a string of nonsense words, e.g. “tep wadim lut”. Dyslexic and non-dyslexic adults were equally good at learning the dependencies, although a trend towards a group difference was found when test sentences contained novel middle words, requiring generalisation of the pattern. The groups did not differ on learning dependencies between unfamiliar shapes in a visual experiment. These results provide tentative support for a domain-specific learning deficit for adults with dyslexia, suggesting that they may be poorer at generalizing from language input.
Abstract
This study aimed to test whether adults with dyslexia are impaired at non-adjacent dependency learning, and whether potential learning difficulties are domain-specific or not. Participants were familiarised with one of two artificial languages containing dependencies between the first and third element of a string of nonsense words, e.g. “tep wadim lut”. Dyslexic and non-dyslexic adults were equally good at learning the dependencies, although a trend towards a group difference was found when test sentences contained novel middle words, requiring generalisation of the pattern. The groups did not differ on learning dependencies between unfamiliar shapes in a visual experiment. These results provide tentative support for a domain-specific learning deficit for adults with dyslexia, suggesting that they may be poorer at generalizing from language input.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface ix
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Part I. Language and literacy development
- How neuroscience can inform education 3
- The neural basis for primary and acquired language skills 17
- Contributions from cognitive neuroscience to current understanding of reading acquisition and reading disability 29
- Lexical quality revisited 51
- The role of metalinguistic and socio-cognitive factors in reading skill 69
- Developing reading comprehension interventions 85
- Hunting for the links between word-level writing skills and text quality 103
- The development of Hebrew conjunct constructions in narration 119
- Motivation and engagement in language and literacy development 137
- Children’s hypertext comprehension 149
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Part II. Multilingual language and literacy development
- An updated review of cross-language transfer and its educational implications 167
- The influence of first language on learning English as an additional language 183
- Multilingual learners 199
- A comparison of phonological awareness and morphological awareness in reading Chinese across two linguistic contexts 219
- Development of qualifiers in children’s written stories 237
- Individual variation in syntactic processing in the second language 257
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Part III. Language and literacy development in special populations and its implications
- How to teach children reading and spelling 277
- Two technologies to help adults with reading difficulties improve their comprehension 295
- Can poor readers be good learners? 315
- The shift of the role of early intervention in the study of dyslexia 333
- Issues in diagnosing dyslexia 349
- Imagery in reading and reading disabilities 363
- Written narratives in children with autism 379
- Advancing interventions for children with motor restrictions 399
- Assessment of communicative competence in children with severe developmental disorders 413
- Index 441
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface ix
-
Part I. Language and literacy development
- How neuroscience can inform education 3
- The neural basis for primary and acquired language skills 17
- Contributions from cognitive neuroscience to current understanding of reading acquisition and reading disability 29
- Lexical quality revisited 51
- The role of metalinguistic and socio-cognitive factors in reading skill 69
- Developing reading comprehension interventions 85
- Hunting for the links between word-level writing skills and text quality 103
- The development of Hebrew conjunct constructions in narration 119
- Motivation and engagement in language and literacy development 137
- Children’s hypertext comprehension 149
-
Part II. Multilingual language and literacy development
- An updated review of cross-language transfer and its educational implications 167
- The influence of first language on learning English as an additional language 183
- Multilingual learners 199
- A comparison of phonological awareness and morphological awareness in reading Chinese across two linguistic contexts 219
- Development of qualifiers in children’s written stories 237
- Individual variation in syntactic processing in the second language 257
-
Part III. Language and literacy development in special populations and its implications
- How to teach children reading and spelling 277
- Two technologies to help adults with reading difficulties improve their comprehension 295
- Can poor readers be good learners? 315
- The shift of the role of early intervention in the study of dyslexia 333
- Issues in diagnosing dyslexia 349
- Imagery in reading and reading disabilities 363
- Written narratives in children with autism 379
- Advancing interventions for children with motor restrictions 399
- Assessment of communicative competence in children with severe developmental disorders 413
- Index 441
