Language DevelopmentLecture Notes: 10/16/14Types of Orthographies● Alphabetic○ A symbol represents a sound■ Shallow● Perfect one-to-one letter-sound correspondences (knowing the sound of the letter = reading)■ Deep● Variable letter-sound correspondences with a lot of exceptions (knowing the sound of the letter does not equal reading● Logographic○ A symbol represents a wordComponents of Reading in an Alphabetic Language● Letter recognition○ Detection of letters of the alphabet and their distinguishing features (independentof specifics of style● Grapheme-to-Phoneme Mapping○ Also known as phonological recoding○ Each letter represents a sound● Word Recognition○ Putting together the letter string into a recognizable word○ The better the reading skills, the more automatic is the word recognition (i.e., takes less effort)● Semantic Knowledge○ Recognizing the meaning behind the written word● Comprehension and Interpretation○ Putting all the components together to understand and interpret the textTimeline of Reading Development: Early, Pre-Literacy Skills● Emergent literacy = collection of knowledge about literacy prior to literacy acquisition○ E.g., knowledge of how to hold the book, turn its pages○ Engage in “pretend” reading● In preschool, kindergarten: children learn letter names, learn to print their own name, and will develop “sight reading” (i.e., Pepsi = sign on what they want to drink)School-Age (grades 1 and 2)● Instruction in grapheme-phoneme mappings● Sounding out words● Reading simple texts with support● Developing a larger sight vocabularyFrom “Learning to Read” to “Reading to Learn”● Grades 2 and 3 ○ Focus is on extracting meaning from text, not on deciphering it○ Reading material is the source of new knowledge○ New words and concepts get acquired through reading○ Prior to grades 2-3: knowledge of vocabulary leads to larger vocabulary○ After grades 2-3: knowledge of reading leads to larger vocabulary○ Children’s vocabulary increases by 9,000 words from first to third grade, and by 20,000 words from third to fifth.The Fluent Reader● Grade 4○ Capable of reading more difficult material, with multiple points of view○ Decoding is automatic, reading is rapid and efficient○ Reading is done for the purpose of gaining knowledgePhonological Awareness = #1 Key to Reading● Awareness and attention to sounds of spoken words○ Includes being able to phyme, separate a word into its syllables, and manipulate the sounds within a word○ Evolves into awareness of phonemes as units of language■ E.g., Pig Latin● Higher phonological awareness leads to better reading (and vice versa)○ E.g., differences in phono awareness at age 4 predict reading achievement in grade 4○ E.g., in illiterate adults often poor phonological awarenessVocabulary Knowledge = #2 Key to Reading● Becomes most important to reading development in the middle elementary years● After age 5, vocabulary size becomes the main predictor of reading skills● the more words you know, the better able you are to understand what you read● The more you read, the more words you will learn (since reading is the major source of exposure to new words)Matthew Effect● “For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from himthat hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath”● “Rich get richer and poor get poorer” or:○ The effect of reading practice on reading development■ Children who are initially good readers improve at faster rate than children who are initially poor readers● Due to the interaction between phonological skills and word recognition● Children with good phonological skills will recognize more words and will learn faster, which in turn, is going to increase their word recognition skills● Children with poor phonological skills will recognize less words and will learn slower, which in turn is going to slow down acquisition of new words, and yield slower reading acquisition ratesInfluences on Reading Development● Home = family literacy○ Shared reading, richness of vocabulary used at home, extent of discourse (i.e., length of a conversational exchange), overall parental support lead to better literacy and language skills● SES effects in reading development○ e.g., SES- based differences in children’s vocabularis○ E.g., SES- based differences in exposure to home literacy (# of books at home ispredictive of reading development● School○ Teacher quality, curriculum, classroom vocabularyReading Instruction● The reading wars = what is the best method to teach reading?● Whole language vs Phonics○ Whole-language (or reading for meaning)■ Children should learn reading just like they learn oral language (through being surrounded by it)■ The emphasis is on the meaning of the text (e.g., providing children with interesting texts from the get-go)■ Involves top-down conceptualization of reading (i.e., if you do not know a word, think of the context in which it occurs, and try and guess at its meaning)■ Developing a large sight vocabulary○ Phonics (or reading as decoding)■ The emphasis is on the sound of the text■ Involves bottom-down conceptualization of reading (i.e., if you do not know a word, sound it out letter by letter, and figure out its meaning basedon pronunciation)■ Developing rapid, automatic letter-to-phoneme mapping skills● At this point, a phonologically-based approach has received the most support, with the whole-language elements built into a larger phonics programDyslexia● Reading failure despite normal intelligence and adequate instructional support● Associated with deficits in language processing, and not with visual impairment● Hallmark: difficulties with phonological processing○ Dyslexic children have particular difficulty reading fake