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Comprehension Skills (comprehension + skill)
Kinds of Comprehension Skills Selected AbstractsComprehension skill and word-to-text integration processesAPPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 3 2008Charles Perfetti We examine comprehension skill differences in the processes of word-to-text integration, the connection of the meaning of a word, as it is read, to a representation of the text. We review two ,on-line' integration studies using event related potentials (ERPs) to provide fine-grain temporal data on the word-to-text processes of adult readers. The studies demonstrate indicators for word-to-text integration and show differences in these indicators as a function of adult reading comprehension skill. For skilled comprehenders, integration processes were reflected in N400 indicators when a critical word had an explicit link to a word in the prior text and by both N400 and P300 indicators when its meaning was a paraphrase of a prior word. When forward inferences were required for subsequent word-to-text integration, effects for skilled comprehenders were not reliable. Less skilled comprehenders showed delayed and less robust ERP effects, especially when meaning paraphrase was the basis of the integration. We discuss the significance of skill differences in integration processes with a focus on the use of context-dependent word meaning as a possible source of these differences. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The role of two reading strategies in text comprehension: An eye fixation study in primary school childrenJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN READING, Issue 2 2008Menno Van Der Schoot This study examined whether 10,12-year-old children use two reading strategies to aid their text comprehension: (1) distinguishing between important and unimportant words; and (2) resolving anaphoric references. Of interest was the question to what extent use of these reading strategies was predictive of reading comprehension skill over and above decoding skill and vocabulary. Reading strategy use was examined by the recording of eye fixations on specific target words. In contrast to less successful comprehenders, more successful comprehenders invested more processing time in important than in unimportant words. On the other hand, they needed less time to determine the antecedent of an anaphor. The results suggest that more successful comprehenders build a more effective mental model of the text than less successful comprehenders in at least two ways. First, they allocate more attention to the incorporation of goal-relevant than goal-irrelevant information into the model. Second, they ascertain that the text model is coherent and richly connected. [source] Sources of variance in curriculum-based measures of silent readingPSYCHOLOGY IN THE SCHOOLS, Issue 4 2003Rachel Brown-Chidsey Curriculum-Based Measurement silent reading (CBM-SR) items have been found to be reliable and valid for measuring reading comprehension skills This generalizability study reports the findings from administration of three CBM-SR passages to fifth through eighth grade students in one school district. Using Repeated Measures Analyses of Variance (RMANOVA) procedures, the statistical probability of performance on the CBM-SR task as a differential indicator of reading comprehension skill was found to be significant among students in different grade levels and between students who did and did not receive special education services. Follow-up analyses were conducted using generalizability theory to estimate the amount of variance in CBM-SR scores from individual score differences, grade levels, and special education status. The results indicated that on two of the passages, variability in CBM-SR scores came primarily from grade level differences in scores on the tasks, while on the third passage, the differences were most attributable to individual differences in scores, regardless of grade level or special education services. Implications for the use of CBM-SR items for routine assessment of students' reading skills are discussed. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 40: 363,377, 2003. [source] Comprehension skill and word-to-text integration processesAPPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 3 2008Charles Perfetti We examine comprehension skill differences in the processes of word-to-text integration, the connection of the meaning of a word, as it is read, to a representation of the text. We review two ,on-line' integration studies using event related potentials (ERPs) to provide fine-grain temporal data on the word-to-text processes of adult readers. The studies demonstrate indicators for word-to-text integration and show differences in these indicators as a function of adult reading comprehension skill. For skilled comprehenders, integration processes were reflected in N400 indicators when a critical word had an explicit link to a word in the prior text and by both N400 and P300 indicators when its meaning was a paraphrase of a prior word. When forward inferences were required for subsequent word-to-text integration, effects for skilled comprehenders were not reliable. Less skilled comprehenders showed delayed and less robust ERP effects, especially when meaning paraphrase was the basis of the integration. We discuss the significance of skill differences in integration processes with a focus on the use of context-dependent word meaning as a possible source of these differences. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Dyslexia in English as a second languageDYSLEXIA, Issue 1 2005Turid Helland Abstract This study focused on English as L2 in a group of Norwegian dyslexic 12 year olds, compared to an age and gender matched control group. Norwegian school children learn English from the first grades on. The subjects were assessed with a test battery of verbal and written tasks. First, they were given a comprehension task; second, a model sentence task; third, two pragmatic tasks, and fourth, three tasks of literacy. The verbal tasks were scored according to comprehension, morphology, syntax and semantics, while the literacy tasks were scored by spelling, translation and reading skills. It was hypothesized that the results of the control group and the dyslexia group would differ on all tasks, but that subgrouping the dyslexia group by comprehension skills would show heterogeneity within the dyslexia group. The data analyses confirmed these hypotheses. Significant differences were seen between the dyslexia group and the control group. However, the subgrouping revealed minor differences between the control group and the subgroup with good comprehension skills, and major differences between the control group and the subgroup with poor comprehension skills. Especially morphology and spelling were difficult for the dyslexia group. The results were tentatively discussed within the framework of biological and cognitive models of how to interpret L2 performance in dyslexia, underlining the importance of further research in L2 acquisition in dyslexia. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Testing via news videos: an exploratory studyINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED LINGUISTICS, Issue 2 2010Zhang Jing This case study investigated five test-takers' use of news videos in a listening-to-summarize task, and the extent to which the different strategies they employed in processing the visual and the audio elements of the videos affected their performance. It reports the significant features of the visual and audio elements that the test-takers made use of, and the interaction between these elements and test-takers' personal characteristics and summarization performance. Data was collected via verbal reports and follow-up interviews. A discussion of the findings follows in connection with the use of videos in testing and teaching listening comprehension skills, and suggestions for future research are made. [source] First- to second-language reading comprehension: not transfer, but access1INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED LINGUISTICS, Issue 1 2007Catherine Walter compréhension de l'écrit; apprentissage des langues; mémoire de travail The ,transfer' of reading comprehension skills from a first language (L1) to a second language (L2) has long been discussed in the literature. This study challenges the transfer metaphor, proposing instead a notion of access. Studies based on Gernsbacher's Structure Building Framework (SBF) show that reading comprehension draws on general, amodal cognitive processes. It follows that L1-literate learners of an L2 already have comprehension skills: their need is to access these skills from the L2. To examine whether the SBF predicts L2 readers' performance, two groups of French learners of English performed an anomaly detection task. Results corresponded to the predictions of the SBF. The difficulty of lower-intermediate readers in accessing their comprehension skills was also linked to capacity problems in L2-based working memory. Le ,transfert' de la compétence de compréhension de l'écrit de la première langue (L1) à la seconde (L2) est étudié depuis longtemps. Cet article conteste la métaphore de transfert, proposant à sa place une notion d'accès. Plusieurs études basées sur le Système de Construction de Structures (SCS) de Gernsbacher démontrent que la compréhension de l'écrit se base sur des processus non liés à une mode d'appréhension spécifique. Il s'ensuit que les apprenants sachant lire en comprenant en L1 doivent déjà posséder la faculté de compréhension; il s'agit d'y accéder à partir de la L2. Pour examiner si le SCS prédit la performance des apprenants de L2, deux groupes d'apprenants d'anglais de langue maternelle française exécutèrent une tâche de détection d'anomalies. Les résultats correspondent aux prévisions du SCS. De plus, la difficulté des apprenants du niveau pré-intermédiaire à accéder à leur compétence de compréhension a été reliée à des problèmes de capacité de la mémoire de travail basée en L2. [source] Timing and Intensity of Tutoring: A Closer Look at the Conditions for Effective Early Literacy TutoringLEARNING DISABILITIES RESEARCH & PRACTICE, Issue 4 2002Patricia F. Vadasy In this article we report data from a longitudinal study of one,to,one tutoring for students at risk for reading disabilities. Participants were at,risk students who received phonics,based tutoring in first grade, students who were tutored in comprehension skills in second grade, and students tutored in both grades 1 and 2. At second,grade posttest, there were significant differences in word identification and word attack between students who were tutored in first grade only compared to students who were also tutored in second grade, favoring students who were tutored in first grade only. Overall, there were no advantages to a second year of tutoring. For students tutored in second grade only, there were no differences at second,grade posttest compared to controls. Schools may have selected students who did not respond to first,grade tutoring for continued tutoring in second grade. Findings are discussed in light of decisions schools make when using tutors to supplement reading instruction for students with reading difficulties. [source] Sources of variance in curriculum-based measures of silent readingPSYCHOLOGY IN THE SCHOOLS, Issue 4 2003Rachel Brown-Chidsey Curriculum-Based Measurement silent reading (CBM-SR) items have been found to be reliable and valid for measuring reading comprehension skills This generalizability study reports the findings from administration of three CBM-SR passages to fifth through eighth grade students in one school district. Using Repeated Measures Analyses of Variance (RMANOVA) procedures, the statistical probability of performance on the CBM-SR task as a differential indicator of reading comprehension skill was found to be significant among students in different grade levels and between students who did and did not receive special education services. Follow-up analyses were conducted using generalizability theory to estimate the amount of variance in CBM-SR scores from individual score differences, grade levels, and special education status. The results indicated that on two of the passages, variability in CBM-SR scores came primarily from grade level differences in scores on the tasks, while on the third passage, the differences were most attributable to individual differences in scores, regardless of grade level or special education services. Implications for the use of CBM-SR items for routine assessment of students' reading skills are discussed. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 40: 363,377, 2003. [source] | |||||||||||||