The article summarizes findings of research on individual differences in reading ability, noting the primary effects of lack of phonological awareness on the ability to phonologically segment, analyze, and synthesize the speech stream. Other sources of individual differences are also addressed: early visual processes, naming processes, context,…

Reviews some findings obtained through comparisons of dyslexic readers with nondyslexic readers matched by chronological or reading age. Notes some of the problems and pitfalls associated with this approach. Explores the potential of other group comparisons when examining sources of reading difficulty, and discusses individual differences within…

Reviews several lines of convergent research to discuss the relationship between developmental dyslexia and slow symbol naming speed. Describes the interactive development of orthographic and phonological codes, and methodological problems leading to underestimation of the importance of individual differences. Argues that an understanding of…

Demonstrates how cognitive style can be a useful construct in understanding why some children learn to read easily while others do so with great difficulty. Overviews relevant findings from cognitive style research in areas related to both acquisition of word recognition skill and the development of comprehension processes. (MG)

A review of interactive models of reading combined with the assumption of compensatory processes indicates that compared to poor readers, good readers appear to have superior strategies for comprehending and remembering large units of text and are superior at context-free word recognition. (MKM)

Of all cognitive styles, field dependence/independence (FD/I) is by far the most researched and has the greatest application potential to educational problems. Briefly stated, the FD/I dimension refers to people's ability to experience and interpret their environment in terms of a global versus analytic continuum. Field dependents are likely to…

Nassaji and Geva (1999) concluded that lower level processes, particularly efficiency in phonological and orthographic processing contributed significantly to individual differences in adult ESL reading. Moreover, they reported that speed of letter naming, while not directly associated with reading comprehension, was related to linguistic…

Presents a framework for conceptualizing development of individual differences in reading ability that emphasizes the effects of reading on cognitive development and on "bootstrapping" relationships involving reading. Uses the framework to explicate some persisting problems in the literature on reading disability and to conceptualize…

Reading encompasses a wide range of verbal processes, among them such simple verbal processes as word decoding, letter recognition, name retrieval, and semantic access. The question is whether simple verbal processing differences are adequate to account for general reading ability differences. Across different verbal domains and different ages,…

A review of research on "incomplete text," which refers to a variety of adaptations of cloze procedures, illustrates how construct validity has been considered and will need to be considered in future research on the subject. Much of the early research on incomplete text focused on product--providing quantitative assessments of…

The literature on individual differences in cognitive processes that operate at the text level is reviewed. Poor readers display comprehension deficits independent of word-decoding skill, due to deficient syntactic abilities and to more general metacognitive strategies. The general conclusions from this review and from Part One (ED 150 706) are…

Research findings on written language and literacy in Europe over the past five years are summarized, including the following areas of study: construct of literacy, assessment of literacy problems, emergent literacy, reading and writing development, and individual differences in literacy acquisition. (140 references) (LB)