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Item does not contain fulltext, Given the gap in knowledge on decoding development in post-colonial contexts, this longitudinal study examined Papiamento (Creole L1) and Dutch (postcolonial L2) decoding development from kindergarten to second grade of children in the Dutch Caribbean while considering order of initial decoding instruction (L1 or L2), kindergarten precursors (speech decoding, vocabulary, rapid naming, short-term memory, phonological awareness), and transfer effects. Results revealed that incase of L1 decoding instruction, the development of letter knowledge and decoding was higher in Papiamento and incase of L2 decoding instruction it was higher in Dutch. When instruction started in L1, Papiamento decoding development was statistically significantly predicted by phonological awareness and letter knowledge, and Dutch decoding development by letter knowledge only. When instruction started in L2, Dutch decoding development was statistically significantly predicted by phonological awareness, letter knowledge, short-term memory, and speech decoding, and Papiamento decoding development by letter knowledge and vocabulary. Transfer effects were found from the language of decoding instruction to the other language with L1 precursors significantly predicting L2, but not the other way around. To conclude, the results reveal the pivotal role and benefit of including the L1 in early bilingual decoding development in a postcolonial context.

Radboud University, 27 januari 2023, Promotores : Verhoeven, L.T.W., Segers, P.C.J. Co-promotor : Kleemans, M.A.J., Contains fulltext : 284819.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access), Learning how to read and spell requires a closely knit knowledge network with an understanding of meaning (semantics), sound (phonology) and letters (orthography). The more intricate this network, the easier it is to learn how to read and spell. Children with dyslexia often struggle to develop the phonological area of this network. The resulting phonological deficits can lead to reading and spelling problems. In his dissertation, Robin van Rijthoven explored whether children could use their strengths in the other two areas to limit the damage in this area. As it happens, they can. Van Rijthoven found that children with a strong semantic network were better readers and spellers and more capable of improving their spelling skills during treatment than children with a weaker network. He also found that children with dyslexia, regardless of their phonological deficits, benefited from an integrated approach to reading and spelling with a relatively strong focus on spelling. Stimulating the orthographic network also appeared to have a compensatory effect.

12 mei 2023, Item does not contain fulltext, Background: Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children may experience difficulties in word decoding development. Aims: We aimed to compare and predict the incremental word decoding development in first grade in Dutch DHH and hearing children, as a function of kindergarten reading precursors. Methods and procedures: In this study, 25 DHH, and 41 hearing children participated. Kindergarten measures were phonological awareness (PA), letter knowledge (LK), rapid naming (RAN), and verbal short-term memory (VSTM). Word decoding (WD) was assessed at three consecutive time points (WD1, 2, 3) during reading instruction in first grade. Outcomes and results: The hearing children scored higher than the DHH children on PA and VSTM only, although the distribution of WD scores differed between the groups. At WD1, PA and RAN predicted WD efficiency in both groups; but PA was a stronger predictor for hearing children. At WD2, LK, RAN, and the autoregressor were predictors for both groups. While at WD3, only the autoregressor was a significant predictor. Conclusions and implications: WD development in DHH children on average shows similar levels as in hearing children, though within the DHH group more variation was observed. WD development in DHH children is not as much driven by PA; they may use other skills to compensate.

Item does not contain fulltext, In this quasi-experimental study involving 23 fourth grade teachers, we investigated the effect of implementing teacher-child dynamic mathematics interviews to improve mathematics teaching behavior in the classroom. After a baseline period of 13 months, the teachers participated in a professional development program to support the use of dynamic mathematics interviews followed by a period of practice in mathematics interviewing to identify children’s mathematics learning needs. To determine the effects of the teacher professional development program, pretest and posttest videos of mathematics interviews were compared. To analyse the effects of the intervention, mathematics teaching behavior, mathematics teaching self-efficacy and perceived mathematical knowledge for teaching were measured. Results showed not only the effect of the program on the quality of the dynamic mathematics interviews, but also the effects of the intervention on mathematics teaching behavior, mathematics teaching self-efficacy and mathematical knowledge for teaching.

Item does not contain fulltext, When children are learning using adaptive learning technologies (ALTs), the technology builds a learner model, which creates temporal trajectories providing insight into how children's knowledge develops. Based on this learner model, ALTs adjust the difficulty of problems for each child, yet children still need to regulate their practice behaviour and uphold effort and accuracy. The temporal trajectories are consequently likely to, besides showing children's knowledge development, be indicative of children's regulation. Therefore, we explore clusters of these trajectories to further identify failure in children's self-regulated learning (SRL) and potential support needs. We propose a data-driven approach to cluster 354 trajectories of 134 5th graders learning three skills with different complexity. The resulting 9 clusters were interpreted using practice accuracy and effort as indicators of regulation of practice behaviour and prior and post-knowledge and learning gain as indicators of knowledge development. The differences between clusters regarding these indicators signal there are different levels of SRL failure and, consequently, different SRL support needs: high accuracy and knowledge development indicate minimal support needs, whereas clusters with low accuracy, showing no knowledge development, indicate extensive SRL support needs. In conclusion: clusters of temporal patterns in children's learning data can identify SRL support is needed.

Contains fulltext : 283810.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access), In the current study, the development in reading comprehension performance of students in lower-SES versus higher-SES schools during and after school closures due to Covid-19 lockdowns was examined, and compared to a normed reference group. Furthermore, we explored protective factors against negative effects at the time of school closures, by pinpointing successful practices in a sub sample of resilient lower-SES schools. The total sample consisted of 2202 students followed from grade 2-4. Overall, we found that students in lower-SES schools made less progress over time than students in higher-SES schools. On average, students made less progress during the lockdowns, but here, the interaction with SES was not significant. Students' reading comprehension levels partially recovered after the lockdowns. Questionnaire-data revealed that schools were better prepared during the second lockdown, with teachers making more use of digital means, and providing more online reading instruction. In addition, collaboration with the parents seemed to have improved. The in depth interviews with resilient lower-SES schools revealed that the introduction of online education and investing in educational partnerships with parents may have helped to minimize the negative impact of lockdowns. We conclude that lockdowns have a negative effect on the development of reading education, but that students are resilient. Digital means and partnership with parents may be seen as protective factors to attenuate the negative effects of emergency remote teaching.

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30 juli 2023, Contains fulltext : 295439.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access), In the present study, we aimed to clarify variation in prospective poor decoders by studying the development of their word decoding skills during the first 1½ years of formal reading education and their unique pre-reading profiles before the onset of formal reading education. Using structural equation modelling and a factorial mixed model analysis of variance (ANOVA), we found autoregression and growth in the word decoding efficiency of prospective poor decoders (n = 90) and matched prospective adequate decoders (n = 90) in first and second grade. However, the gap between the two groups widened over time. Next, we zoomed in on the group of poor decoders by retrospectively studying their individual variation regarding cognitive and linguistic pre-reading skills. Using latent profile analysis, we found three distinct pre-reading profiles: (1) Poor PA, Letter Knowledge, RAN, and Verbal STM; (2) Poor PA and Letter Knowledge; and (3) Poor RAN. Together, these findings suggest that reading difficulties emerge at the intersection of multiple risk factors which can be detected in kindergarten, and that these reading problems persist throughout early reading education.

Contains fulltext : 297287.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access), Radboud University, 09 november 2023, Promotores : Verhoeven, L.T.W., Segers, P.C.J. Co-promotores : Tellings, A.E.J.M., Burk, W.J., 144 p.

Contains fulltext : 299900.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access), We investigated the development of word decoding (Grades 4-6; 165 children) in Papiamento (L1) and Dutch (L2) in the postcolonial context of the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao. The results show a steady development over the upper Grades for both L1 Papiamento and L2 Dutch word decoding in that children became more efficient in word decoding over the years. However, the children were generally better decoders in L2 Dutch than in L1 Papiamento. Moreover, the initial language of decoding instruction did not matter for the development of word decoding. The groups were equally efficient in L1 and L2 word decoding in Grades 4-6. Furthermore, rapid naming and phonological awareness predicted L1 word decoding development, whereas rapid naming, phonological awareness, and working memory predicted L2 word decoding development. Finally, evidence was found for linguistic interdependencies for word decoding development from L1 to L2 and vice versa., 01 december 2023, 29 p.

Contains fulltext : 299356.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access), Background: Word-to-text integration (WTI) can be challenging for second-language (L2) learners, although it can positively contribute to reading comprehension. The present study examined the role of WTI, after controlling for decoding, vocabulary and morphosyntactic awareness, in predicting English as an L2 reading comprehension development in 441 Dutch seventh-grade students. Methods: At the beginning (Time 1 [T1]) and the end (Time 2 [T2]) of the school year, students were tested on their English decoding, vocabulary, morphological and syntactic awareness and reading comprehension with paper-and-pencil tasks and on WTI with a self-paced reading task with reading times being compared on passages with unknown versus known words and passages with and without anomalies. Results: Mediation analyses showed small indirect effects of processing argument overlap and anomalies on T2 reading comprehension, via T1 reading comprehension. Conclusions: WTI explained unique variance in reading comprehension at T2 via reading comprehension at T1, suggesting that it moderately impacts initial stages of reading comprehension in English as a second language (ESL)., 29 november 2023, 20 p.

Radboud University, 12 januari 2022, Promotores : Verhoeven, L.T.W., Luit, J.E.H. van, Segers, P.C.J. Co-promotor : Goei, S.L., Contains fulltext : 242375.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access)

Contains fulltext : 235999.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access), The relationships between phonological awareness, rapid naming, short term verbal memory, letter knowledge, visual skills and word reading in kindergarten, and the predictive patterns from kindergarten to first grade were examined in 41 Chinese-Dutch bilingual children living in the Netherlands in both their first language (Chinese) and second language (Dutch). In kindergarten, Chinese word reading was predicted by Chinese phonological awareness, and Dutch word reading was predicted by Dutch phonological awareness and letter knowledge. There was a robust autoregressive effect of word reading from kindergarten to first grade in both Chinese and Dutch. Follow-up mediation analyses further showed that both phonological awareness in Chinese and phonological awareness combined with letter knowledge in Dutch in kindergarten had an indirect effect on Grade 1 word reading via kindergarten word reading. Although cross-language correlation was found in word reading for bilingual children in kindergarten, Dutch word reading did not add to the prediction of Chinese word reading when Chinese precursor measures were taken into account.

Contains fulltext : 236780.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access), In the present study, a 5-week tablet-based word reading efficiency game intervention (Reading Turbo) was integrated in a comprehensive phonics-based reading curriculum. The aims of the study were to examine whether the game would advance children's word reading efficiency, and to determine the extent to which pre-reading capacities and in-game mechanisms could explain individual variation in responsiveness to the game. To do so, word reading efficiency scores of first graders in an intervention group (n = 132) and a control group that continued with the usual reading curriculum (n = 118) were compared prior to, directly after, and 2 months after the 5-week intervention period. Individual variation in responsiveness was examined by relating reading precursors (i.e., phonological awareness, letter efficiency, rapid automatized naming (RAN), and verbal working memory) measured at the onset of the intervention, and in-game accuracy and efficiency to word reading efficiency outcomes in untrained words. Results indicated that playing the word reading game significantly enhanced first graders' word reading efficiency directly after the intervention, but the effect was no longer significant 2 months after the intervention. With respect to individual variation in game responsiveness, it was found that phonological awareness, letter efficiency, and verbal working memory predicted responsiveness to the game via in-game accuracy. In addition, phonological awareness and RAN predicted responsiveness to the game via in-game efficiency, and letter efficiency and verbal working memory were directly related to responsiveness. The effectiveness of the word reading game thus differentiated between children with higher and lower pre-reading capacities, and operated via in-game child affordances.

Radboud University, 10 februari 2022, Promotores : Verhoeven, L.T.W., Segers, P.C.J., Contains fulltext : 245935.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access), Multimedia learning environments are becoming more and more common in education. In these environments, information is presented in pictorial, written, and/or auditorial form. A specific form of a multimedia learning environment is the audio-support children and adults with dyslexia often use to compensate for their reading problems. However, while audio-support may compensate reading problems, it may also impact learning. According to the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (CTML presenting the same content simultaneously as written text and as audio would hamper learning, due to overloading the working memory. For students with dyslexia, on the one hand it can be hypothesized that adding audio to written text could enhance learning since it compensates for their reading difficulties. On the other hand, working memory in students with dyslexia is often found to be impaired, and they also seem to process information differently than typically developing peers. Existing research is inconclusive regarding the extent to which audio-support impacts learning in learners with dyslexia. The main goal of the current dissertation is to examine how audio support affects learning of learners with and without dyslexia. The findings show that theoretical models can certainly not be applied on a one-to-one basis to authentic learning environments. It also highlights the importance of a developmental perspective when constructing theoretical models. In this dissertation an extended view on the multimedia learning process is proposed. In addition, results show that audio-support in multimedia environments affects what learners learn, how learners learn, and that there are certain boundary conditions that apply to learning with audio-support. This dissertation shows that audio-support may support children in efficient multimedia learning, but that it is ineffective in adult learners, even those with dyslexia.

04 januari 2022, Item does not contain fulltext, We examined whether word recognition accuracy and latency of words children encounter during primary school across the upper primary school grades can be predicted from word form (word length, mean Levenshtein distance, and mean frequency of neighbors), word meaning (free association network markers) and word exposure (corpus frequency and contextual diversity). As a measure of word recognition, 1454 children (M = 10.1 years, SD = 11.8 months, 52.4% girls) in grade 3, 4 and 5 of Dutch regular primary schools completed a lexical decision task. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that word characteristics could be reduced to latent constructs of form, meaning, and exposure. Structural equation models indicated that word form and exposure predicted word recognition accuracy, and that word recognition accuracy, word form, and word meaning predicted word recognition latency. The present study provided empirical evidence that word form, word meaning, and word exposure differentially predict word recognition accuracy and latency of words children encounter during primary school across the upper primary grades.

11 april 2022, Item does not contain fulltext, This longitudinal study investigated how lexical restructuring can stimulate emerging bilingual children’s phonological awareness in their first (L1) and second (L2) languages. Sixty-two English (L1) - French (L2) bilingual children (Mage = 75.7 months, SD = 3.2) were taught new English and French word pairs differing minimally in phonological contrast. The results indicated that increasing lexical specificity in English mediated the relationship between English vocabulary and English phonological awareness both concurrently and longitudinally at the end of Grade 1. A longitudinal relationship was established among French vocabulary, French lexical specificity, and French phonological awareness at the end of Grade 1. Notably, cross-language transfer from English lexical specificity was a better predictor of development in French phonological awareness, especially for words that contained phonological contrasts that occurred in both languages. The results from this study highlight the phonological foundations of early literacy and extend the lexical restructuring hypothesis to emerging bilingual children.

Item does not contain fulltext, We studied the Papiamento (L1) and Dutch (L2) reading of 293 fourth grade students in the postcolonial Dutch Caribbean, where L1 just latterly has been introduced into the school curriculum. We examined the effect of language of alphabetization (L1 first vs L2 first) and other L1 and L2 cognitive-linguistic predictors on reading skills. The results show that children's mother tongue, Papiamento, occupies a strong position in both the cognitive-linguistic precursors to learning to read and in the reading comprehension outcomes. In general, higher Papiamento predictor scores and Papiamento reading comprehension were found. However, children's word decoding was generally higher in Dutch. Phonological awareness and rapid naming predicted Papiamento word decoding, vocabulary, phonological awareness, and rapid naming and word span predicted Dutch decoding. Word decoding predicted reading comprehension in Papiamento and grammar predicted reading comprehension in Dutch. There was evidence of linguistic interdependencies for decoding and reading comprehension between languages.

Contains fulltext : 285339.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access)

Item does not contain fulltext, This meta-analysis focused on the effects of computer-supported word reading interventions (foundational reading instruction, supplementary alphabetics, reading fluency, remedial reading) on reading related outcome measures (letter knowledge, phonological awareness, word and pseudoword reading, sentence and text reading, and spelling, as well as transfer to reading comprehension) across different languages in primary school children starting from 1995. We identified 67 studies with a total number of 10734 children throughout the primary grades from which 694 effect sizes were derived. Following a multilevel approach, the average effect size across interventions and outcome measures was 0.36 with 95% CI (0.28, 0.43). There was also evidence of transfer to reading comprehension, 69 effect sizes with an average of 0.21 (95% CI 0.13-0.29). Large variation in effect sizes was observed between studies and especially between comparisons within studies. The effect sizes were moderated by treatment length, subword level as criterion variable and speeded tests. The effect sizes were dependent on the control group condition in that the effect sizes were higher in the case of a control condition with education as usual and lower in cases of a reading treatment control condition. It is concluded that technology enhanced word reading interventions on average yield moderate positive effects on both accuracy and speed of word learning across program types and across languages.

Contains fulltext : 285598.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access)

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Contains fulltext : 240305.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access), The use of adequate reading comprehension strategies is important to read efficiently. Students with dyslexia not only read slower and less accurately, they also use fewer reading comprehension strategies. To compensate for their decoding problems, they often receive audio-support (narration written text). However, audio-support linearly guides readers from beginning to end through texts, possibly hindering the use of reading comprehension strategies in expository texts and negatively impacting reading time and reading comprehension performance. We examined to what extent audio-support affects reading comprehension strategies, reading times, and reading comprehension performance in 21 secondary school students with dyslexia and 22 typically developing controls. Participants were provided with three types of assignments (summarizing, open-ended questions, statement questions) in each condition (written text with and without audio-support). SMI RED-500 eye tracker captured eye movements during reading. The standard deviation of the weighted fixation duration times on the three paragraphs was considered indicative of the disparity of readers' attention within the text. Following a discrimination based on experts' reading behavior and hand-coded validation, these scores visualized whether students used the intensive reading strategy (reading whole text) or selective reading strategy (focusing on part of the text). In open-ended assignments, students divided their attention more over the whole text instead of focusing on one specific part when audio was added. In addition, audio-support increased reading time in students with and without dyslexia in most tasks, while in neither of the tasks audio-support affected reading comprehension performance. Audio-support impacts reading comprehension strategy and reading time in all students.

04 oktober 2022, Item does not contain fulltext, Children and adults with dyslexia are often provided with audio-support, which reads the written text for the learner. The present study examined to what extent audio-support as a form of external regulation impacts navigation patterns in children and adults with and without dyslexia. We compared navigation patterns in multimedia lessons of learners with (36 children, 41 adults), and without dyslexia (46 children, 44 adults) in a text-condition vs. text-audio-condition. Log files were recorded to identify navigation patterns. Four patterns could be distinguished: linear reading (linear), linear reading with rereading (big peak), reading with going back to previous pages (small peaks), and a combination of strategies (combined peaks). Children generally used linear navigation strategies in both conditions, whereas adults mostly used combined-peaks strategies in the text-condition, but linear strategies in the text-audio-condition. No differences were found between learners with and without dyslexia. Audio-support does not impact navigation strategies in children but does seem to impact navigation strategies in adult learners, towards the use of more linear navigation patterns, reflecting less self-regulation.

Contains fulltext : 252601.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access), The present study investigated the compensatory role of verbal learning and consolidation in reading and spelling of children with (N = 54) and without dyslexia (N = 36) and the role of verbal learning (learning new verbal information) and consolidation (remember the learned information over time) on the response to a phonics through spelling intervention of children with dyslexia. We also took phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, verbal working memory, and semantics into account. Results showed that children with dyslexia performed better in verbal learning and equal in verbal consolidation compared to typically developing peers. Regression analyses revealed that verbal learning did not predict reading but did predict spelling ability, across both groups; verbal consolidation did not predict reading, nor spelling. Furthermore, neither verbal learning nor verbal consolidation was related to responsiveness to a phonics through spelling intervention in children with dyslexia. Verbal learning may thus be seen as a compensatory mechanism for spelling before the intervention for children with dyslexia but is beneficial for typically developing children as well.

Item does not contain fulltext, In the present study, we investigated the development of Chinese character reading and its predictors in 55 children from K3 (the last year of kindergarten) to G1 (first grade) in Mainland China. It was examined to what extent first graders' Mandarin Chinese character reading was related to their phonological awareness, Pinyin letter knowledge, and visual perception skills in kindergarten. The results showed that phonological awareness, Pinyin letter knowledge, and Chinese character reading improved from kindergarten to Grade 1, with Pinyin showing ceiling effects in Grade 1. Children’s character reading in first grade was not predicted from phonological awareness in kindergarten. However, visual discrimination showed an indirect effect on Grade 1 character reading via its effect on kindergarten character reading. It can be concluded that both kindergarten visual discrimination and character reading ability facilitate first-grade reading ability for children in Mainland China.

Contains fulltext : 230848.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access), We investigated the adequacy of the conduct and possible benefits of the use of dynamic maths interviews by 19 fourth grade teachers with students showing low maths achievement to facilitate the identification of maths needs. This study shows the potential of an analytical framework to evaluate the adequacy and benefits of dynamic maths interviews in a more valid way by viewing relevant aspects in conjunction. The intervention consisted of a dynamic maths interview teacher professional development programme and a practice period. During this practice period the teachers conducted an interview with each individual student involved in this study. Qualitative analyses of the transcripts of the video-recorded interviews showed the conduct of the individual dynamic maths interviews to be adequate and to facilitate the identification and understanding of the educational needs of students with low maths achievement. Using dynamic maths interviews, teachers provided feedback and support that were clearly attuned to the specific maths needs of students.

Item does not contain fulltext, This study is conducted to further understand the direct and indirect contributions of executive functioning (visuospatial updating, verbal updating, inhibition, shifting) and arithmetic fluency to mathematical problem-solving in 458 fourth-grade students. Arithmetic fluency along with visuospatial and verbal updating were significant predictors of mathematical problem-solving at the end of grade 4. When the growth in mathematical problem-solving during grade 4 was analyzed, only arithmetic fluency directly and strongly contributed to students’ problem-solving at the end of grade 4. Inhibition and shifting (in combination with inhibition) were indirectly connected to mathematical problem-solving at the end of grade 4 via their arithmetic fluency. Arithmetic fluency plays a critical role and continues to do this in mathematical problem-solving. Furthermore, a decline in importance for visuospatial and verbal updating and increasing importance of inhibition and shifting (combined with inhibition) were found with regard to students' ability to solve mathematical problems during grade 4.

Item does not contain fulltext, Enrichment programmes are designed to offer gifted students experiences that are not covered in the regular curriculum We used a pre-test-post-test control group design to examine the effects of a computer-based enrichment programme on the development of analytical and creative abilities in 26 gifted children in an experimental group (15 boys, mean age = 10 years and 3 months) and compared this to 20 equally gifted children in a control group (8 boys, mean age = 10 years and 4 months). Students were identified as being analytically gifted, creatively gifted, or analytically-creatively gifted. In general, results showed increasing levels of analytical ability and stable levels of creative ability. In addition, hierarchical regression analyses showed a positive effect of the enrichment programme on the development of analytical abilities in children with relatively low starting levels of analytical ability (i.e. the creatively gifted students). To conclude, results suggest that rather than analytically gifted children, children with creative talents gained most advantage from participating in the computer-based enrichment programme.

Contains fulltext : 285184.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access), In this study, we investigated which spelling cues are used in word-medial consonant spelling by learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Previous research has shown that native speakers of English rely on different cues to decide whether a single ("diner") or double consonant ("dinner") needs to be used in word-medial consonant spelling. These cues include phonology, orthography, morphology and lexical frequency. We investigated whether these cues play a similar role in Dutch spellers who are EFL learners, next to similarity of the English target to Dutch. We analyzed dictation task data that was part of an unsupervised digital learning environment for EFL learning. The error analyses revealed that novice EFL spellers mainly used phonological and cross-linguistic cues in consonant doubling. In contrast, more proficient spellers relied less on phonological cues, and relied on morphological cues instead. The EFL spellers did not rely on orthographic cues. Furthermore, spelling difficulty was influenced by the frequency of a word and its similarity with the native-language equivalent, in terms of cognate status (non-cognate/cognate) and consonant doubling. Together, our findings indicate that a higher number of converging cues facilitates spelling for EFL spellers and that their reliance on cues changes as spelling proficiency increases.

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Contains fulltext : 253511.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access), Word identification models assume that words are identified by at least two sources of information and analysis; one is phonological, and the other is visual. The present study investigated the influence of phonological awareness, Pinyin letter knowledge, and visual perception skills on Chinese character recognition after controlling for vocabulary, rapid naming, and verbal short-term memory in 80 Mandarin-speaking kindergarten children. Children were tested on phonological awareness (syllable awareness, onset-end rhyme awareness, and tone awareness), Pinyin letter naming, and visual perception (visual discrimination and visual-spatial relationships). The results showed that variance in Chinese character recognition could be explained by syllable awareness and tone awareness, but not by visual perception skills or Pinyin letter knowledge. Analyses further indicated that Pinyin letter knowledge moderated the relationship between tone awareness and Chinese character recognition. A focus on tone awareness and syllable awareness in the kindergarten may help Chinese children to accomplish the transition from phonological awareness to early literacy, while Pinyin letter knowledge can help children to make the connection between Chinese speech and writing.

Contains fulltext : 286341.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access), Mensen met een taalontwikkelingsstoornis en mensen die doof of slechthorend zijn, vertonen vaak meer verschijnselen van agressie, somberheid en angst dan hun leeftijdsgenoten. Deze problemen lijken gedeeltelijk samen te hangen met beperkingen in de executieve functies en Theory of Mind. In dit artikel proberen we deze problemen te verklaren vanuit de theorie dat taal naast een extern-communicatieve rol ook een interne organiserende rol heeft. Deze interne rol ontstaat doordat de taal in een aantal stappen wordt losgekoppeld van de zintuigelijke ervaring. Daarin speelt de ontwikkeling van woordbetekenisstructuur een belangrijke rol. Aan het einde van het artikel stellen we voor hoe deze theorieën kunnen worden toegepast op mensen met een taalontwikkelingsstoornis en mensen die doof of slechthorend zijn, en hoe deze inzichten kunnen bijdragen aan behandelingen bij beide groepen.

Contains fulltext : 252623.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access), The current study investigated the relative contributions of auditory speech decoding (i.e., auditory discrimination) and visual speech decoding (i.e., speechreading) on phonological awareness and letter knowledge in deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) kindergartners (Mage = 6;4, n = 27) and hearing kindergartners (Mage = 5;10, n = 42). Hearing children scored higher on auditory discrimination and phonological awareness, with the DHH children scoring at chance level for auditory discrimination, while no differences were found on speechreading and letter knowledge. For DHH children, speechreading correlated with phonological awareness and letter knowledge, for the hearing children, auditory discrimination correlated with phonological awareness. Two regression analyses showed that speechreading predicted phonological awareness and letter knowledge in DHH children only. Speechreading may thus be a compensatory factor in early literacy for DHH children, at least for those who are exposed to spoken language in monolingual or in bilingual or bimodal-bilingual contexts, and could be important to focus on during early literacy instruction

21 oktober 2022, Contains fulltext : 283810.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access), In the current study, the development in reading comprehension performance of students in lower-SES versus higher-SES schools during and after school closures due to Covid-19 lockdowns was examined, and compared to a normed reference group. Furthermore, we explored protective factors against negative effects at the time of school closures, by pinpointing successful practices in a sub sample of resilient lower-SES schools. The total sample consisted of 2202 students followed from grade 2-4. Overall, we found that students in lower-SES schools made less progress over time than students in higher-SES schools. On average, students made less progress during the lockdowns, but here, the interaction with SES was not significant. Students' reading comprehension levels partially recovered after the lockdowns. Questionnaire-data revealed that schools were better prepared during the second lockdown, with teachers making more use of digital means, and providing more online reading instruction. In addition, collaboration with the parents seemed to have improved. The in depth interviews with resilient lower-SES schools revealed that the introduction of online education and investing in educational partnerships with parents may have helped to minimize the negative impact of lockdowns. We conclude that lockdowns have a negative effect on the development of reading education, but that students are resilient. Digital means and partnership with parents may be seen as protective factors to attenuate the negative effects of emergency remote teaching.

19 november 2021, Item does not contain fulltext, The use of adequate reading comprehension strategies is important to read efficiently. Students with dyslexia not only read slower and less accurately, they also use fewer reading comprehension strategies. To compensate for their decoding problems, they often receive audio-support (narration written text). However, audio-support linearly guides readers from beginning to end through texts, possibly hindering the use of reading comprehension strategies in expository texts and negatively impacting reading time and reading comprehension performance. We examined to what extent audio-support affects reading comprehension strategies, reading times, and reading comprehension performance in 21 secondary school students with dyslexia and 22 typically developing controls. Participants were provided with three types of assignments (summarizing, open-ended questions, statement questions) in each condition (written text with and without audio-support). SMI RED-500 eye tracker captured eye movements during reading. The standard deviation of the weighted fixation duration times on the three paragraphs was considered indicative of the disparity of readers' attention within the text. Following a discrimination based on experts' reading behavior and hand-coded validation, these scores visualized whether students used the intensive reading strategy (reading whole text) or selective reading strategy (focusing on part of the text). In open-ended assignments, students divided their attention more over the whole text instead of focusing on one specific part when audio was added. In addition, audio-support increased reading time in students with and without dyslexia in most tasks, while in neither of the tasks audio-support affected reading comprehension performance. Audio-support impacts reading comprehension strategy and reading time in all students.

19th Biennial EARLI Conference for Research on Learning and Instruction (23-27 Aug 2021), Item does not contain fulltext

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Contains fulltext : 234366.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access), L1 studies show that the paired-associate learning (PAL) of novel pronunciations, verbal learning, contributes to the prediction of individual differences in vocabulary, reading, and spelling development. The present study examined whether verbal learning predicts vocabulary and literacy development in English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Dutch Grade 7 students (N = 455) completed a PAL task in which they learned to associate known Dutch words with their unknown English (spoken and written) translation. Both verbal and orthographic learning were assessed. Additionally, vocabulary, and reading and spelling skills were measured at the beginning of Grade 7 and five months later. The results showed that verbal learning contributed to development in vocabulary and reading accuracy. The contribution of orthographic learning was limited to development in spelling and pseudoword reading fluency. Overall, these findings are in line with findings in L1, indicating that especially verbal learning adds to the prediction of EFL development.

Contains fulltext : 226458.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access), Word knowledge acquisition is an incremental process that relies on exposure. As a result, word knowledge can broadly range from recognizing the word’s lexical status, to knowing its meaning in context, and to knowing its meaning independent of context. The present study aimed to model incremental word knowledge in 1454 upper primary school children from grades 3 to 5 by investigating their abilities on three word knowledge tasks originating from the same set of 300 words: lexical decision, context decision, and definitional decision. A mixed-effects model showed significant differences in performance between tasks and between grades, and a significant interaction indicating that task differences were different for children in grade 5 compared to children in grades 3 and 4. In order to examine further the different task relation patterns at the word level, a cluster analysis was performed using the observed item means, which were corrected for the guessing chance. The analysis showed that for most words, recognition of its lexical status was easier than knowing its meaning in context, which in turn was easier than knowing its meaning independent of context. It is concluded that task relation patterns differ based on mean log frequency as a proxy of word exposure.

Contains fulltext : 231752.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access), Word-to-text integration (WTI) is the ability to integrate words into a mental representation of the text and is important for reading comprehension, but challenging in English as a second language (ESL). However, it remains unclear whether WTI can be trained in seventh grade ESL learners, who often struggle with reading comprehension and display large individual differences. To pay attention to individual differences, the present study examined an adaptive computer game-based WTI-intervention. The intervention, replacing 50 minutes of ESL classroom instruction, comprized a 12-week program in which students had to complete WTI-based assignments within four serious games, targeting morphosyntactic awareness, translation of words within sentences, recognizing idioms from words in contexts, and a filler game targeting dictation. The intervention group (n=164) was compared to a control group (n= 166), who only received regular ESL classroom instruction. Both groups completed the following reading measures: decoding, morphological, and syntactic awareness, WTI (argument and anomaly reading speed and processing), and reading comprehension tasks at the beginning (T1) of the school year and at the end (T2) of the school year. Results demonstrated an intervention effect on decoding and anomaly processing as reflected by an interaction between time (T1 vs. T2) and group (intervention vs. control) in a repeated measures MANOVA. Follow-up mediation analyses for the intervention group only - with game performance as mediators between reading measures at T1 and T2 - indicated that students with better T1 scores on reading measures showed more growth in performance within games. More performance growth within the translation game and the idiom recognition game was related to better reading scores at T2. Both high-achieving and low-achieving students displayed performance growth within games, indicating that a WTI intervention yields promising results for a broad variety of ESL rea

Contains fulltext : 228343.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access), Background: The present study examined patterns and predictors of reading comprehension growth in first language (L1) and second language (L2) readers in the upper grades of primary school. Previous research suggests that L1 and L2 readers differ in their growth trajectories and that differences in language proficiency play a role in this. However, how predictors at different levels of processing influence growth has not been investigated. In particular, the role of unification skills such as syntactic integration and the ability to form a situation model of a text is under‐investigated. Method: In a longitudinal study, 63 L1 Dutch and 109 L2 Dutch readers were followed from fourth to sixth grade (mean ages 10 to 13 years). L2 children had a variety of language backgrounds. In Grades 4–6, reading comprehension was assessed. In Grade 4, participants were also assessed on cognitive ability (nonverbal reasoning and working memory), decoding, vocabulary, and unification skills (syntax and situation model building ability). Patterns and predictors of growth were investigated by means of mixed‐effects modelling. Results: Reading comprehension growth was predicted by vocabulary and decoding, such that participants with lower decoding or vocabulary scores made more reading comprehension gains. L1 and L2 readers with high vocabulary scores did not differ in their reading comprehension growth. L2 readers with low vocabulary made less reading comprehension gains than L1 readers with low vocabulary. Unification skills predicted initial reading comprehension but not growth. Conclusions: Findings suggest that linguistic skills above the word level predict initial reading comprehension but not growth. Children with lower initial literacy skills caught up on reading comprehension, but this was less true for L2 children. L2 children with high vocabulary, however, did not differ from their L1 peers.

Contains fulltext : 234372.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access), We examined the response to a phonics through spelling intervention in 52 children with dyslexia by analyzing their phonological, morphological, and orthographical spelling errors both before and after the intervention whereas their spelling errors before the intervention were compared with those of 105 typically developing spellers. A possible compensatory role of semantics on the intervention effects was also investigated. Results showed that before the intervention, children with dyslexia and the typically developing children both made most morphological errors, followed by orthographic and phonological errors. Within each category, children with dyslexia made more errors than the typically developing children, with differences being largest for phonological errors. Children with dyslexia with better developed semantic representations turned out to make less phonological, morphological, and orthographic errors compared with children with dyslexia with less developed semantic representations. The intervention for children with dyslexia led to a reduction of all error types, mostly of the orthographic errors. In addition, semantics was related to the decline in phonological, morphological, and orthographic spelling errors. This study implicates that semantic stimulation could benefit the spelling development of children at risk for or with dyslexia.

Radboud University, 03 november 2021, Promotores : Verhoeven, L.T.W., Segers, P.C.J., Contains fulltext : 238988.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access), Various cognitive-linguistic skills are involved in reading across scripts. The present thesis is a systematic study that examined the precursors of Chinese early literacy development in monolingual Chinese children and the precursors of early literacy development in Chinese as a first language and Dutch as a second language among Chinese children in a bilingual context (the Netherlands). The findings expand our knowledge of how Chinese children learn to read in the early stage in Chinese monolingual and Chinese-Dutch bilingual contexts. Phonological awareness was found to be a universal predictor of word reading in kindergarten across the two groups. High stability was also shown for word reading from the last year of kindergarten to first grade for the two groups of children. However, the longitudinal predictive patterns of learning to read for monolingual vs. bilingual children were different. The present dissertation made it clear that the process of learning to read across languages has universal features but is also dependent on the linguistic and educational contexts of participants

Contains fulltext : 234226.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access), This study investigated the role of lexical skills and executive functioning on L1 Dutch and L2 English phonological awareness in children enrolled in bilingual Dutch/English kindergarten in The Netherlands (n = 95) and monolingual Dutch kindergarten (n = 83). Participants had an average age of 5 years and 10 months and completed tasks on phonological awareness, lexical skills (vocabulary and lexical specificity), and executive functioning (sustained visual and auditory attention, behavioural self-regulation, and verbal short-term memory) in the L1 Dutch and the L2 English. Dutch phonological awareness was predicted by self-regulation and verbal short-term memory. English phonological awareness was directly predicted by Dutch phonological awareness and visual sustained attention. The results highlight the importance of executive functioning such as sustained attention, behavioural self-regulation and short-term memory in first and second language learning in kindergarten, and support cross-language transfer effects from L1 to L2 phonological awareness among bilingual learners.

Contains fulltext : 219397.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access), We examined the response to a phonics through spelling intervention for children with developmental dyslexia in word and pseudoword reading efficiency and word spelling. Furthermore, we investigated to what extent the response to the intervention is robust across different cognitive profiles (phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, and working memory). A group of 54 Dutch children, diagnosed with developmental dyslexia, received a phonics through spelling intervention that combined reading and spelling instruction and practice in a systematic way. An equal amount of time was spent on reading and spelling. Compared with norms within a normal population, positive effects were established for word and pseudoword reading efficiency and word spelling from pretest to posttest. The individual variation in phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, and verbal working memory did not significantly influence the progress in reading and spelling children made during the phonics through spelling intervention. It can thus be concluded that a combined reading and spelling intervention is beneficial for word and pseudoword reading efficiency and word spelling in children with developmental dyslexia notwithstanding their cognitive profiles. Although promising results were found, this study also showed the persistence of spelling but even more so of reading problems after an intervention among children with dyslexia.

04 maart 2021, Item does not contain fulltext, We investigated the adequacy of the conduct and possible benefits of the use of dynamic maths interviews by 19 fourth grade teachers with students showing low maths achievement to facilitate the identification of maths needs. This study shows the potential of an analytical framework to evaluate the adequacy and benefits of dynamic maths interviews in a more valid way by viewing relevant aspects in conjunction. The intervention consisted of a dynamic maths interview teacher professional development programme and a practice period. During this practice period the teachers conducted an interview with each individual student involved in this study. Qualitative analyses of the transcripts of the video-recorded interviews showed the conduct of the individual dynamic maths interviews to be adequate and to facilitate the identification and understanding of the educational needs of students with low maths achievement. Using dynamic maths interviews, teachers provided feedback and support that were clearly attuned to the specific maths needs of students.