Set for variability (SfV) is an oral language task that requires an individual to disambiguate the mismatch between the decoded form of an irregular word and its actual lexical pronunciation. For example, in the task, the word wasp is pronounced to rhyme with clasp (i.e. /waesp/), and the individual must recognize the actual pronunciation of the…

While prevailing research links language proficiency to fundamental literacy acquisition, research is, however, limited when language and literacy acquisition are simultaneous as is the case with young (4-6 years) English language learners (ELLs) in K1, K2 and Grade 1 who acquire first time literacy in an inclusive classroom and in a L2…

First grade students (n=221) were tested on measures of verbal fluency, visual attention, phonological awareness, orthographic recognition, rapid automated naming (RAN) of letters and objects, and reading. Findings indicated that word reading was directly and significantly predicted by RAN letter naming and general RAN cognitive processing time of…

Examines the development of knowledge of orthographic structure among beginning readers by testing their ability to discern which word in a pair looked most like a word. (HOD)

Investigates letter discrimination training and its transfer to a trigram recognition task. (RB)

The purpose of this investigation was to study the effect of controlling the letters used in words both for a training program designed to improve visual discrimination and for a word recognition task. The experiment was designed to investigate the influence of simultaneous and successive discrimination learning with stimuli which varied in…

Strategies children use when they recognize words were explored. To measure the effectiveness of two different methods of training children to attend to the critical features of letters, 40 first-grade urban children were presented two pairs of letters (similar and dissimilar) simultaneously or successively. Unexpectedly, it was found that with…

Twelve first-grade children were tested on word-reading and automaticity of letter and word processing. Word-reading speed increased steadily during the year. Apparently, their ability to process letters automatically was acquired prior to the ability to read words rapidly and accurately. (Author/CP)

This study investigated the effect on word recognition of supplementing a beginning reading program with instruction in distinctive features of alphabet letters. Subjects, 11 first grade students in the experimental sample and 10 first grade students in the control sample in Short Hills, New Jersey, were administered a test of word recognition (20…

A study compared peripheral vision applied to letter-pair and Dolch word recognition. Subjects, 6 normal readers, 12 Chapter 1 students, and 34 learning disabled (and assumed dyslexic) students from grades one through three enrolled in a parochial school, a public school, and a university summer reading clinic, completed a test designed to…

Poor spellers in second grade (N=128) participated in sessions that included direct instruction in the alphabet principle, modeling of different approaches for developing connections between spoken and written words, and practice in composing. Results of this multilayered approach are discussed, including evidence that training in spelling…

Supports the view that letter-name knowledge aids the child in learning to read. (RL)

Evaluates the effects of training in phonemic segmentation and of instruction in letter names and letter sounds on kindergarten children's reading and spelling skills. Finds that phoneme awareness instruction, combined with instruction connecting the phonemic segments to alphabet letters, significantly improves the early reading and spelling…

Concludes that, of several reading readiness factors, knowledge of alphabet letter names is the best predictor of phonics skills other than vowel recognition and of reading abilities involving words in insolation, and that number knowledge is the best predictor of reading abilities involving words and syntax. (FL)