Theories of learning and attention predict a positive relationship between reading times on unfamiliar words and their learning; however, empirical findings of contextual learning studies range from a strong positive relationship to no relationship. To test the conjecture that longer reading times may reflect different cognitive and metacognitive…

Overall, game-based technology for early reading instruction has not robustly met the learning potentials of young readers. To better understand the effects and limitations of computer-assisted instruction in classrooms, researchers have called for more critical attention to learning theory, methodological selection, and context for learning.…

The goal of this pilot study was to investigate the effects of morphological instruction on component literacy skills of adult struggling readers. Sixteen adults, most with decoding and encoding deficits, were randomly assigned to tutoring in either morpheme or syllable analysis to learn academic vocabulary and increase component literacy skills.…

It has been suggested that the preview benefit effect is actually a combination of preview benefit and preview costs. Marx et al. (2015) proposed that visually degrading the parafoveal preview reduces the costs associated with traditional parafoveal letter masks used in the boundary paradigm (Rayner, 1975), thus leading to a more neutral baseline.…

Automaticity, or instant recognition of combinations of letters as units of language, is essential for proficient reading in any language. The article explores automaticity amongst competent adult first-language readers of isiZulu, and the factors associated with it or its opposite - active decoding. Whilst the transparent spelling patterns of…

The purpose of the current study was to develop and test a computerized matching-to-sample (MTS) protocol to facilitate recombinative generalization of subword units (onsets and rimes) and recognition of novel onset-rime and onset-rime-rime words. In addition, we sought to isolate the key training components necessary for recombinative…

The following insights into the reading skills of 312 participants in adult basic and secondary education programs are based on a principal components analysis of reading components' contributions to variance in reading comprehension. Overall, 75% of variance was explained by four composite variables representing word skills, language…

One of the most common characteristics prison inmates typically share is unsuccessful educational experiences including dropping out of school, repeating grades, and not gaining basic literacy skills. The most recent National Assessment of Adult Prison Literacy Survey (NAAPLS) by the U.S. Department of Education indicates that large disparities in…

Due to the paucity of research on struggling adult readers, researchers rely on child-based reading constructs and measures when investigating the reading skills of adults struggling with reading. The purpose of the two studies in this investigation was to evaluate the appropriateness of using child-based reading constructs and assessments with…

In this study we asked whether measures of phonological awareness and rapid naming were correlated with single-word reading skills of 30 adults with mild mental retardation. We presented four tests of phonological awareness (for rime, first, middle, and end-sound categorization), two rapid-naming tests (pictures and letters), and the Woodcock…

In a series of three experiments, we examined how sentential and discourse contexts were used by adults who are learning to read compared with skilled adult readers. In Experiment 1, participants read sentence contexts that were either congruent, incongruent or neutral with respect to a target word they had to name. Both skilled and less skilled…

Two special needs adults with speech disorders were taught to read functional vocabulary and short phrases/sentences with strategies involving listening, demonstration of community contexts, word meaning drills, beginning sound identification and shaping, prompting, correct pronunciation, and teacher encouragement. Large increases in correct word…

Seventeen deaf adults and 17 hearing controls participated in three experiments to determine the use of morphemes by deaf Ss as a unit of analysis in reading English. Ss were asked to circle pairs of words with related meaning, divide a derivationally complex word into its component parts, and choose words that best complete sentences. Among…

Four adults with moderate to severe mental retardation received reading instruction under two conditions, traditional orthography and modified orthography in which a line drawing is superimposed upon the printed word. Results showed that traditional orthography was a more effective method for word identification. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

If, by looking more closely at word identification, knowledge of word meanings, and reading comprehension, some interesting similarities and differences are found between children and adults who are learning to read, then the approaches that work best with each group can be identified. When children learn to read, fluency of word identification…