Inhibitory control ability may affect the orthographic neighborhood size (ONS) effect by inhibiting the semantic activation of neighbors. However, few studies have explored whether and how inhibitory control plays a role in the ONS effect on recognition of Chinese words. This study screened individuals with high and low inhibitory control…

We introduce a novel method to test a classic idea in developmental science that children's attention to a stimulus is driven by how much they can learn from it. Preschoolers (4-6 years, M=4.6) watched a video where a distracting animation accompanied static, page-by-page illustrations of a storybook. The audio narration for each storybook page…

Purpose: There are many aspects of words that can influence our lexical processing, and the words we are exposed to influence our opportunities for language and reading development. The purpose of this study is to establish a more comprehensive understanding of the lexical challenges and opportunities students face. Method: We explore the latent…

Vocabulary is an important foundation for reading skills. Dual-route cascaded model believes that when form-sound correspondence is irregular, phonetic decoding is a necessary but not sufficient condition for word acquisition. Lexical access in syllabic scripts involves a morphological-phonetic-semantic approach, where phonological decoding is…

Orthographic knowledge (i.e., the knowledge of conventions of a written language) has been identified as a predictor of both basic and higher-level reading processes, however, mostly examined in a cross-sectional design. It remains unclear, whether and how orthographic knowledge contributes uniquely in explaining differences in the acquisition of…

With only about a third of students in US public schools achieving the NAEP Proficient level, many educators believe students are not getting enough reading practice. However, how much reading practice is enough? This study quantifies the relationship between the amount of book reading and the expected number of words learned. We collected 45…

Background: Vocabulary knowledge (VK) and morphological awareness (MA) are crucial linguistic variables for reading comprehension. However, the extent to which MA subskills are intertwined with different facets of VK in their contributions to reading comprehensions, and how MA influences the reading abilities of English as a foreign language (EFL)…

Retrieval practice of isolated words (e.g., with flashcards) enhances foreign vocabulary learning. However, vocabulary is often encountered in context. We investigated whether retrieval opportunities also enhance contextualized word learning. In two within-subjects experiments, participants encoded 24 foreign words and then read a story to further…

We are encouraged by Cobb's (2022) description of changes to the Morpholex profiling tool (https://www.lextutor.ca/cgi-bin/morpho/lex/) resulting in more accurate word classifications. This addresses one point in our recent commentary on Morpholex and on Laufer and Cobb's (2020) study using Morpholex (McLean & Stoeckel, 2021). However, Cobb…

This paper is part 5 of a series of workshops that examines the properties of some simple models of vocabulary networks. While previous workshops dealt with activating words in the network, this workshop focuses on vocabulary loss. We will simulate two possible ways of modelling attrition: (a) explicitly turning active words OFF, and (b) raising…

Vocabulary teaching has traditionally focused on word meanings to aid reading comprehension, however evidence also suggests that vocabulary knowledge influences phonemic awareness and word reading. Vocabulary instruction concentrating on the sound structure of new words alongside meaning (combined sound-meaning vocabulary instruction) improves…

Background: In South African primary schools, reading is central to curriculum delivery, with a structured three-step process: pre-reading, while-reading and post-reading. Many learners struggle with reading comprehension, which affects their academic performance. Research emphasises the importance of pre-reading for activating prior knowledge,…

In this study, we examined the effect of previewing unfamiliar vocabulary on the real-time reading behavior of first language (L1) and second language (L2) readers. University students with English as their L1 or L2 read passages with embedded pseudowords. In a within-participant manipulation, definitions of the pseudowords were either previewed…

This study investigates the impact of task-induced involvement and time on task on incidental second language (L2) vocabulary acquisition. Utilizing a 3 (task-induced involvement) × 2 (time on task) × 2 (post-test time) research design, three task-induced involvement conditions were employed based on the Involvement Load Hypothesis (ILH): reading…

Prominent theories of reading development have separately emphasized the relevance of children's skill in learning (Share, 2008) and lexical representations (Perfetti & Hart, 2002). Integrating these ideas, we examined whether skill in learning lexical representations is a mechanism that might explain children's reading development. To do so…