The role of orthographic and semantic learning in word reading and reading comprehension

We tested the theoretically driven hypotheses that children’s orthographic and semantic learning are associated with their word reading and reading comprehension skills, even when orthographic and semantic knowledge are taken into account. A sample of 139 English-speaking Grade 3 children completed a learning task in which they read stories about new inventions. Then they were tested on their learning of the spelling and meaning of the inventions (i.e., orthographic and semantic learning, respectively). Word reading and reading comprehension were assessed with standardised tasks, and orthographic and semantic knowledge were assessed with choice tasks targeting the spelling and meaning of existing words. The results of our structural equation modeling indicated that orthographic learning predicted word reading directly and reading comprehension indirectly via word reading. We also found that semantic learning predicted reading comprehension directly. These findings support integration of the self-teaching hypothesis and the lexical quality hypothesis

The bidirectional association between maternal speech and child characteristics

Our aim was to assess whether infants influence the quantity and quality of their mothers’ speech to them and, in turn, whether this maternal speech influences children’s later language. As 189 mothers interacted with each of their twins at 0;5, we calculated the number of utterances, the proportion of sensitive utterances, and the proportion of self-repeated utterances they produced. We later assessed the twins’ language comprehension and production when they were 1;6, 2;6, and 5;2. Quantity of maternal speech predicted child language at 5;2, whereas sensitivity predicted child language at 2;6 and 5;2 and partial self-repetition predicted child language at 1;6. Conversely, sensitivity and partial self-repetition in maternal speech at 0;5 were associated with genetic factors from the child, indicating that infant characteristics influence the quality of maternal speech. Overall, our findings stress the importance of considering both directions in the association between maternal speech and child characteristics

Do children with developmental dyslexia have syntactic awareness problems once phonological processing and memory are controlled?

IntroductionSyntactic awareness is the ability to monitor and manipulate word order within sentences. It is unclear whether children with dyslexia have syntactic awareness problems, as there are mixed results in the literature. Dyslexia is typically classified with very poor word and nonword reading and phonological processing problems are often observed in this population. It is conceivable that a phonological deficit could strain memory when performing oral syntactic awareness tasks. Here we examine if syntactic awareness problems are observed in children with dyslexia once phonological processing and memory skills are controlled.MethodsReal and nonword reading efficiency tests determined reading level. Children with dyslexia (n = 25) were compared to typically developing children (n = 24) matched for age (M = 8;8) and nonverbal abilities. Syntactic awareness was measured with an oral word order correction task (e.g., Is baking Lisa and her son in his room sleeps). Tests of phonological awareness, phonological memory, and verbal working memory were also administered and served as controls.ResultsThe dyslexic group performed worse than typically developing readers on syntactic awareness and this group difference persisted once phonological memory and verbal working memory were controlled. However, after controlling for phonological awareness skills, there were no group differences on the syntactic awareness test.Discussion:The results suggest that phonological awareness problems in particular might be responsible for syntactic awareness difficulties in dyslexia and future studies should control for this. The results are discussed within theoretical frameworks on the nature of oral language deficits in dyslexia

The genetic and environmental etiology of the association between vocabulary and syntax in first grade

This study examined the genetic and environmental etiology of vocabulary, syntax, and their association in first graders. French-speaking same-sex twins (N = 555) completed two vocabulary tests, and two scores of syntax were calculated from their spontaneous speech at 7 years of age. Multivariate latent factor genetic analyses showed that lexical skills were influenced mainly by the environment shared between the twins, whereas syntactic skills were influenced exclusively by genes and unique environment. Moreover, the moderate association between vocabulary and syntax was mostly due to common genetic factors. These novel findings may be attributable to the use of latent factors and the population studied. More research is needed to determine the specific factors involved in lexical and syntactic skills at this developmental period

Children with persistent versus transient early language delay : language, academic, and psychosocial outcomes in elementary school

Purpose: The objective of this study was to compare children with persistent versus transient preschool language delay on language, academic, and psychosocial outcomes in elementary school. Method: Children with persistent language delay (n = 30), transient language delay (n = 29), and no language delay (controls; n = 163) were identified from a population-based sample of twins. They were compared on language skills, academic achievement, and psychosocial adjustment in kindergarten and Grades 1, 3, 4, and 6. Results: Children with persistent language delay continued to show language difficulties throughout elementary school. Furthermore, they had academic difficulties, in numeracy, and psychosocial difficulties (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder behaviors, externalizing behaviors, peer difficulties) from Grade 1 to Grade 6. Children with transient language delay did not differ from controls on language and academic performance. However, they showed more externalizing behaviors in kindergarten and peer difficulties in Grade 1 than controls. Conclusion: Difficulties at school age are widespread and enduring in those with persistent early language delay but appear specific to psychosocial adjustment in those with transient language delay

Ortho-semantic learning of novel words: An event-related potential study of grade 3 children

Introduction: As children become independent readers, they regularly encounter new words whose meanings they must infer from context, and whose spellings must be learned for future recognition. The self-teaching hypothesis proposes orthographic learning skills are critical in the transition to fluent reading, while the lexical quality hypothesis further emphasizes the importance of semantics. Event-related potential (ERP) studies of reading development have focused on effects related to the N170 component—print tuning (letters vs. symbols) and lexical tuning (real words vs. consonant strings)—as well as the N400 reflecting semantic processing, but have not investigated the relationship of these components to word learning during independent reading. Methods: In this study, children in grade 3 independently read short stories that introduced novel words, then completed a lexical decision task from which ERPs were derived. Results: Like real words, newly-learned novel words evoked a lexical tuning effect, indicating rapid establishment of orthographic representations. Both real and novel words elicited significantly smaller N400s than pseudowords, suggesting that semantic representations of the novel words were established. Further, N170 print tuning predicted accuracy on identifying the spellings of the novel words, while the N400 effect for novel words was associated with reading comprehension. Discussion: Exposure to novel words during self-directed reading rapidly establishes neural markers of orthographic and semantic processing. Furthermore, the ability to rapidly filter letter strings from symbols is predictive of orthographic learning, while rapid establishment of semantic representations of novel words is associated with stronger reading comprehension