Concepts are where the foundation of scientific knowledge and thought structures are laid. Thanks to concepts, distinctions or generalisations about an event or an entity are formed and thought structures are formed in our minds. In this study, it was aimed to determine the associations in the minds of secondary school 6th grade students about the…

The research proposed to examine whether there was any significant correlation between students' question words mastery and their speaking ability due to the students' difficulty in asking information about someone' personal information. There were 28 students as the samples selected by using simple random sampling. This research used a…

In this article, the beta-binomial model for count data is proposed and demonstrated in terms of its application in the context of oral reading fluency (ORF) assessment, where the number of words read correctly (WRC) is of interest. Existing studies adopted the binomial model for count data in similar assessment scenarios. The beta-binomial model,…

This study investigated direct and indirect pathways from listening comprehension (LC) to reading comprehension (RC) via fluent word reading (FWR) in grades 1-3, and path equivalence across these grades. LC's total effects predicting RC range from 0.45 to 0.59 in grades 1-3, a stronger relationship than found in previous studies. Overall, LC's…

When too much visual stimuli is present, the phenomenon of clutter is known to degrade an individual's perception across a variety of domains, ranging from completing search tasks incorrectly, to decreasing reading speed when letters are too close together. However, research is lacking as to whether the negative effects of clutter impact learning…

The statistical structure of a given language likely drives our sensitivity to words' morphological structure. The current work begins to investigate to what degree morphological processing effects observed in visual word recognition can be attributed to statistical regularities between orthography and semantics in English, without any prior…

The current study investigated the role of visual short-term memory, working memory, and declarative memory as individual differences in the earliest stages of vocabulary and syntactic learning in "Duolingo"-based language instruction. Thirty-eight L1-Greek adults completed memory tasks and engaged in learning Navajo on…

Learning to read English requires learning the complex statistical dependencies between orthography and phonology. Previous research has focused on how these statistics are learned in neural network models provided with as much training as needed. Children, however, are expected to acquire this knowledge in a few years of school with only limited…

This study proposes a method to detect problematic speech segments automatically for second language (L2) listeners, considering both lexical and acoustic aspects. It introduces a tool, Partial and Synchronized Caption (PSC), which provides assistance for language learners and fosters L2 listening skills. PSC presents purposively selected words…

Books designed for beginning readers typically intermix text with illustrations in close proximity. Prior research suggests this standard layout may reduce literacy skills due to increased attentional competition between text and illustrations. The current study extends this work by examining whether manipulations to the book layout can enhance…

The goal of the current study was to determine whether Concept of Word in Text (COW-T) predicts later sight word reading achievement in Spanish, as it does in English. COW-T requires that children have beginning sound awareness, automatic recognition of letters and letter sounds, and the ability to coordinate these skills to finger point…

Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) technology has become a part of contemporary Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) systems. ASR systems however are being criticized for their erroneous performance especially when utilized as a mean to develop skills in a Second Language (L2) where errors are not tolerated. Nevertheless, these errors can…

Dyslexia and other learning disabilities are not being properly recognized and treated in our educational system or society at large. Unrecognized and untreated learning disabilities represent a serious social and economic problem, not only to the individual but to society as a whole. For example, antisocial behavior, as seen in prison populations…

This study investigates a novel method of captioning, partial and synchronized, as a listening tool for second language (L2) learners. In this method, the term partial and synchronized caption (PSC) pertains to the presence of a selected set of words in a caption where words are synced to their corresponding speech signal, using a state-of-the-art…

We investigated the latent factor structure of the "Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening for Kindergarteners" in Spanish ("PALS español K"). Participants included 590 Spanish-speaking, public-school kindergarteners from five states. Three theoretically-guided factor structures were measured and tested with one half of our…