Group training on segmentation-blending training forms (SB) in conjunction with strategies for decoding novel words (WD) was assessed in kindergarteners. Neither the WD or SB factor was found to significantly affect novel word decoding performance, although the results indicated that the sounding out SB form led to considerable success in word…

The aim of this study was to determine whether a general or specific context facilitation mechanism should be incorporated into information-processing models of reading. General facilitation models claim that a context can facilitate recognition of any word that is related to it. Specific facilitation models claim that a context will facilitate…

Presents tables of initial and final letter clusters for use in psychological experiments as well as in the teaching of reading. (HOD)

Early and late first-grade children, third-grade poor and good readers, and adults named pictures under several interference conditions: with embedded intracategory or extracategory words, pronounceable or nonpronounceable letter strings, and visual noise. (Author/JMB)

Describes a study which examined the influence of the impulsive-reflective dimension of cognitive style on the type of linguistic cue systems a reader used to reconstruct meaning from print. (JM)

This experiment attempted to discover under what circumstances, if any, children use whole words, syllables, letter clusters, or letters as units during reading. The results indicated that syllables and letter clusters are probably not processed as units for any type of word, but there was slight evidence that letters may function as units,…

A set of decoding tests and picture-word interference tasks was administered to third and fifth graders to explore the relationship between single-word decoding, single-word semantic processing, and text comprehension skill. (BRT)

Critically examines the foci of four prevalent explanations for reading failure in children: visual perception, intersensory integration, temporal-order perception, and verbal functioning. Applying findings from his own laboratory investigations and other selected research to each of the four hypotheses, author argues that the verbal-deficit…

Telegraphic conciseness is possible because of three processes: simplification of utterences by eliminating modal and functional words; recourse to semantics outside of any syntactic context; and recourse to a shared context. Telegraphic syntax is simply a slightly different usage of language rules. (Text is in French.) (AMH)

This article examines the abilities children exercise in a variety of record-making activities, including mapping, quantification, and music notation. The ways teachers and educational climates promote different versions of literacy are discussed. Children's conceptions of literacy are examined. (JL)

Presents research findings about the development of metalinguistic awareness (MLA) in young children. Discusses MLA and reading readiness, and the implications for beginning reading instruction. Suggests various reading methods which allow children with both high and low levels of MLA to develop literacy. (MM)

Study investigated incidental learning of word meanings from context during normal reading. Effects of word and text properties were examined in detail. Small but reliable gains in knowledge were found at all grade levels and ability levels tested. (RB)

This paper outlines theories and research findings on reading psychology in the last decade and relates theoretical and empirical findings to current practices of instruction. The role of reading in literate society is examined in relation to such technological advances as the use of microcomputers. (JAZ)

Sixteen skilled and 16 learning disabled (LD) readers (ages 11-12) viewed nonsense pictures either without names, with names that emphasized the semantic aspects of the picture, or with names unassociated with the pictorial representation. Results suggested that semantic coding deficits in LD readers were localized to retrieval processes.…

Reviews the debate on the importance of decoding in reading, focusing on the positions taken by P. Gough and K. Goodman. Argues that the debate is settled, with Gough's view having more explanatory power in terms of helping to understand the success of the good reader and the plight of the poor one. (FL)