E.G. Steenbeek-Planting

The interaction of discourse context and world knowledge in online sentence comprehension. Evidence from the N400.

In an ERP experiment we investigated how the recruitment and integration of world knowledge information relate to the integration of information within a current discourse context. Participants were presented with short discourse contexts which were followed by a sentence that contained a critical word that was correct or incorrect based on general world knowledge and the supporting discourse context, or was more or less acceptable based on the combination of general world knowledge and the specific local discourse context. Relative to the critical word in the correct world knowledge sentences following a neutral discourse, all other critical words elicited an N400 effect that began at about 300 ms after word onset. However, the magnitude of the N400 effect varied in a way that suggests an interaction between world knowledge and discourse context. The results indicate that both world knowledge and discourse context have an effect on sentence interpretation, but neither overrides the other.

Improving word reading speed: individual differences interact with a training focus on successes or failures

The effect of two training procedures on the development of reading speed in poor readers is examined. One training concentrates on the words the children read correctly (successes), the other on the words they read incorrectly (failures). Children were either informed or not informed about the training focus. A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 79 poor readers. They repeatedly read regularly spelled Dutch consonant–vowel–consonant words, some children their successes, others their failures. The training used a computerized flashcards format. The exposure duration of the words was varied to maintain an accuracy rate at a constant level. Reading speed improved and transferred to untrained, orthographically more complex words. These transfer effects were characterized by an Aptitude-Treatment Interaction. Poor readers with a low initial reading level improved most in the training focused on successes. For poor readers with a high initial reading level, however, it appeared to be more profitable to practice with their failures. Informing students about the focus of the training positively affected training: The exposure duration needed for children informed about the focus of the training decreased more than for children who were not informed. This study suggests that neither of the two interventions is superior to the other in general. Rather, the improvement of general reading speed in a transparent orthography is closely related to both the children’s initial reading level and the type of words they practice with: common and familiar words when training their successes and uncommon and less familiar words with training their failures.

The dimensions of reading comprehension in Dutch children: Is differentiation by text and question type necessary?

Many recent studies have aimed to demonstrate that specific types of reading comprehension depend on different underlying cognitive abilities. In these studies, it is often implicitly assumed that reading comprehension is a multidimensional construct. The general aim of this study was to examine the dimensionality of a large pool of reading comprehension items differing according to text and question type. The items were administered to 996 fourth-grade children. We used multitrait, multimethod modeling to test for the existence of specific text and question types. In addition, the correlations of factor scores, reflecting the different measures of reading comprehension, with word reading speed, vocabulary, and working memory were examined. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the specific measures of comprehension, differing according to text and question type, hardly reflected systematic variation, after a general factor of reading comprehension was taken into account. Reading comprehension items thus largely reflect a common factor. Factor scores that were supposed to reflect specific comprehension factors were not reliable and were hardly related to word reading speed, vocabulary, and working memory.

Evidence-based psycholinguistic principles to remediate reading problems applied in the playful app Letterprins: A perspective of quality of healthcare on learning to read.

The present study described a new reading game (Letterprins), designed to improve the reading development of children with reading problems. Letterprins contains a series of reading-related tasks, based on previous research, which have been shown to facilitate children’s reading development. In order to ensure treatment fidelity integrity the game is played in collaboration with a parent or caregiver. The parent/caregiver needs to indicate the correctness of the child’s responses. The app adjusts the exercises based on the child’s performance, and thereby optimizes learning. The app addresses reading development at the sound, word, and sentence level, and thereby captures a large range of the stages in early reading development.

Developmental Relations Between Reading Comprehension and Reading Strategies

ABSTRACT We examined the developmental relations between knowledge of reading strategies and reading comprehension in a longitudinal study of 312 Dutch children from the beginning of fourth grade to the end of fifth grade. Measures for reading comprehension, reading strategies, reading fluency, vocabulary, and working memory were administered. A structural equation model was constructed to estimate the unique relations between reading strategies and reading comprehension, while controlling for reading fluency, vocabulary, and working memory. The results showed that there was a unique effect of reading strategies on reading comprehension, and also of reading comprehension on reading strategies.

Early reading intervention by means of a multicomponent reading game

This study examined the effects of an intervention with a multicomponent reading game on the development of reading skills in 60 Dutch primary school children with special educational needs. The game contains evidence-based reading exercises and is based on principles of applied gaming. Using a multiple baseline approach, we tested childrens word, pseudoword and text reading fluency, as well as their reading motivation, at three test occasions. The results indicated that the short intervention (9 x 15 min) enhanced childrens pseudoword reading fluency as well as their text reading fluency. Interestingly, the early intervention group showed a sustained intervention effect (i.e., also during retention), which shows that using this reading game has a long-term effect on early text reading development. Intervention did not affect reading motivation, which suggests that the multicomponent reading game can be used to facilitate early reading development without compromising reading motivation.