Because Chinese character learning typically relies heavily on rote character copying, we tested independent copying skill in third- and fourth-grade Chinese children with and without dyslexia. In total, 21 Chinese third and fourth graders with dyslexia and 33 without dyslexia (matched on age, nonverbal IQ, and mother's education level) were given…

States that in the 1970s, sight words existed in a "topsy-turvy world" in which the variety of definitions was confusing. Suggests that readers recognize sight words as single, holistic units without segmenting and attending to letters one at a time, and without sounding out and blending letters sequentially. Explains the connection…

Reading is a skill--learning how the alphabet works by using it. Learning how to do it involves practice in building letters into words. As the decoding process is practiced, phonics moves into long-term storage. Building the skill of reading has the same 4 aspects as developing other skills: (1) the beginner uses the motion of his vocal organs to…

Investigates the degree to which native speech perception is superior to non-native speech perception. Shows that language specific speech perception is a linguistic rather than an acoustic phenomenon. Discusses results in terms of early speech perception abilities, experience with oral communication, cognitive ability, alphabetic versus…

Lists a basic sight vocabulary of 96 irregularly spelled words which should be taught through visual memory techniques. (MKM)

Learning disabled (LD) children were taught sight words with mastery learning strategies, and a comparison group with methods that are typically used in teaching sight words. Results suggest that most LD children can reach mastery on sight words within a reasonable time framework if sound remedial principles are applied consistently. (Author/BW)

Short, sight-word vocabulary lists derived from the spontaneous speech of four different groups of children are compared with the vocabulary in six beginning reading series. Very high levels of agreement were found for function, but not for content, words. (JMF)

Criticizes Marie Carbo's article, "Debunking the Great Phonics Myth" (in Kappan's November 1988 issue), for waging a relentless debate against phonics and falsely attributing low U.S. reading achievement scores to a phonics emphasis. Clears up confusions and inaccuracies in Carbo's article concerning first and second editions of the…

Lists 334 words that three frequently used word lists have in common. Of these, 137 are phonically consistent and can be taught using phonics while 197 should be taught by sight-word techniques. (TJ)

This booklet discusses a procedure to assist students experiencing difficulty in learning the "Dolch Basic Sight Vocabulary of 220 Words" and rearranges a list of 220 words to make it easier for students to learn. The procedure discussed in the booklet is based on the "word family" approach, in which words like "all call,…

There are basically two different models for the word recognition process. One model postulates that a reader primarily uses sound/symbol cues to recognize a word; a second model states that a reader focuses mainly on whole-word characteristics. To determine which model best fits beginning and adult readers, a multiple regression analysis was…

Critiques an experiment by M. Arlin, M. Scott, and J. Webster (see EJ 206 153) in which their pictures as an aid to learning hypothesis contrasts with the focal attention hypothesis supported by research by H. Singer, S. J. Samuels, and J. Spiroff (see EJ 105 648). (MKM)

Primary-aged students (N=5) with moderate mental retardation were taught to read environmental sight words and assessed for observational cross-learning of other students' words. Results indicate that the constant time delay method was effective in teaching sight words to four students and all students acquired some information targeted for other…

A combination of case study observation and mini-experimentation techniques were used to examine a number of issues of relevance in the study of the acquisition of beginning reading skills. Six children were divided equally among three instructional modes: phonics, whole word, and mixed. They were asked to decode and encode words, and their…

The history of teaching people to read is explored from the introduction of the Greek alphabet about 3,000 years ago to the present renewed interest in sound symbol relationships. Greek schoolboys were required to learn first the alphabet in order, next commonly used syllables, and then words. English was first written in the Latin alphabet using…