ABSTRACT
This study investigated the association between syntactic awareness and L2 Chinese passage-level reading comprehension among 209 Chinese as a second language adult-learners. The participants were administered a character knowledge test, a vocabulary knowledge test, a morphological awareness test, a grammatical judgment and correction test, a word order test, and two reading comprehension tests (multiple-choice questions and cloze test). Partial correlation analyses showed that the participants' performance in two syntactic awareness tasks were significantly positively correlated with their passage-level reading comprehension. Multiple regression analyses revealed that syntactic awareness made a unique contribution to L2 Chinese reading even when the effects of age, major, gender, length of learning Chinese, character knowledge, vocabulary knowledge, and morphological awareness were controlled for. In addition, the word order knowledge had a stronger predicting power to L2 Chinese reading comprehension compared to the grammatical judgment/correction ability.
ABSTRACT
Empirical evidence supports the importance of executive function (EF) in reading, but the underlying mechanism through which EF contributes to the reading process is unclear. The present study examined the direct and indirect effects of EF on reading comprehension through the indirect pathway of language and cognitive skills (i.e., syntactic awareness and text-connecting inferencing) among the beginning readers. The sample included one hundred and sixty-five 2nd and 3rd grade students. The participants were tested on working memory (visuospatial working memory and verbal working memory) and inhibition (prepotent response inhibition and cognitive inhibition), and their syntactic awareness, inference-making, and reading comprehension. The unitary EF construct was obtained by means of confirmatory factor analysis based on the structure of EF in middle childhood suggested in developmental studies. Structural equation modelling was used to examine the direct and indirect effects of EF on the reading outcome. The findings indicated that EF has a direct effect on reading comprehension among the beginning readers. The indirect pathway showed that EF supports the ability to evaluate on grammatical structure of sentences (i.e., syntactic awareness) during reading. However, the indirect effect of EF on reading via inference-making ability is insignificant. The findings highlight the contributions of EF to reading and provide empirical evidence to the hypothetical relation between EF and language skills suggested in DIER (Kim, 2020, Resarch Quarterly, 50, 459). It further extends our knowledge on the roles of EF in the reading process among the beginning readers. Future research directions are implicated as well.
Subject(s)
Executive Function , Reading , Child , Comprehension , Humans , Language , Memory, Short-TermABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Syntactic awareness is a metalinguistic ability defined as the child's ability to reflect on formal processes relating to the organization of words in sentences and to manipulate them. This skill is still little explored in the context of school learning, and its importance in the school learning process of Portuguese-speaking children is poorly describedOBJECTIVE: To compare written narrative between children with and without difficulty in syntactic awarenessMETHODS: The study was conducted on 60 children (mean age 9.4 years; SD: 0.9) enrolled in the 4th and 5th years of elementary school in a municipal school. The subjects were divided into two groups according to their performance in the task of syntactic awareness - G1 (children with medium/high performance in syntactic awareness) and G2 (lower performance). After the assessment of syntactic awareness each child elaborated a written narrative text based on a stimulus figure. This text was analyzed by judges in terms of spelling, grammatical errors, use of grammatical classes, and content. The Student t-test (α = 0.05) was used to compare the groupsRESULTS: G2 children showed altered handwriting; greater occurrence of spelling mistakes, mainly of irregular phonographic relation type; oral support and difficulty with nasal markers; short texts with preference for the use of nouns and verbs, as well as difficulties with text structuring, use of punctuation and vocabulary, while G1 used more verbs and pronouns instead of nounsCONCLUSIONS: Children with adequate syntactic awareness were able to elaborate written narratives with greater competence, demonstrating acquisition of orthographic aspects and development of textual coherence
INTRODUÇÃO: A consciência sintática é uma habilidade metalinguística e é definida como a capacidade da criança em refletir sobre os processos formais relativos à organização das palavras em frases e manipulá-los. Esta é uma habilidade ainda pouco explorada no contexto de aprendizagem escolar, sendo pouco descrito a sua importância no processo de aprendizagem escolar de crianças falantes do portuguêsOBJETIVO: Comparar a narrativa escrita entre crianças com e sem dificuldade em consciência sintáticaMÉTODO: Participaram 60 crianças (idade média 9,4 anos; DP: 0,9) matriculadas no 4º e 5º ano do ensino fundamental de uma escola municipal, divididas em dois grupos, de acordo com seu o desempenho na tarefa de consciência sintática - G1 (crianças com desempenho médio/elevado em consciência sintática) e G2 (desempenho rebaixado). Após a avaliação da habilidade de consciência sintática, cada criança elaborou um texto narrativo escrito baseado em uma figura estímulo que foi analisado nos aspectos grafia, erros ortográficos, uso das classes gramaticais e o conteúdo. Para comparação entre os grupos usou-se o teste T - student (α = 0,05RESULTADOS: As crianças do G2 apresentaram grafia alterada; maior ocorrência de erros ortográficos, sendo estes principalmente do tipo relação fonografêmica irregular; apoio na oralidade e dificuldade com marcadores de nasalização; textos curtos com preferência do uso de substantivos e verbos, além de dificuldades com a estruturação do texto, uso de pontuação e vocabulário, enquanto que o G1 utilizou mais verbos e pronomes no lugar dos substantivosCONCLUSÃO: Crianças que apresentam adequada habilidade de consciência sintática conseguiram elaborar narrativas escritas com maior competência, demonstrando aquisição de aspectos ortográficos e desenvolvimento da coerência textual
Subject(s)
Child , Child Language , Narration , Handwriting , Language Development , LearningABSTRACT
Children with dyslexia face persistent difficulties in acquiring not only reading skills but also spelling skills. Among difficulties in spelling, problems in grammatical spelling have been studied very rarely. The goal of the study is to better understand grammatical spelling difficulties in children with dyslexia by assessing written syntactic awareness skills, a linguistic factor that has not been investigated in the context of spelling until now. It is worth noting that while morphological awareness has been well studied in children with dyslexia, only very few studies have focused on syntactic awareness, which is, however, necessary to produce number or gender agreement. Twenty children with dyslexia were matched to typically developing children on both chronological age and on grammatical spelling level. All the children were asked to perform a subject verb agreement grammatical spelling test and a written syntactic awareness test on the same sentences, as well as control measures. Results demonstrated that the children with dyslexia performed equally compared to grammatical spelling matched children in grammatical spelling, whilst they performed less well compared to children of the same age. For syntactic awareness, they were less accurate at identifying the subject of the complex sentences than spelling age matched children, even though both groups were matched in grammatical spelling. These results demonstrate that children with dyslexia face a specific deficit in written syntactic awareness. It highlights how better understanding of the spelling difficulty will better guide treatment.
ABSTRACT
In this study, monolingual (English) and bilingual (English/Spanish, English/Urdu) five- and six-year-old children completed a grammaticality judgment test in order to assess their awareness of the grammaticality of two types of syntactic constructions in English: word order and gender representation. All children were better at detecting grammatically correct and incorrect word order constructions than gender constructions, regardless of language group. In fact, bilingualism per se did not impact the results as much as receptive vocabulary range. For example, children with the highest receptive vocabulary scores were more accurate in detecting incorrect word order constructions (i.e., word order violations, semantic anomalies) and incorrect gender agreement than children in the lower receptive vocabulary ranges. However, no differences were found between the ranges for ambiguous gender constructions. These results highlight the importance of receptive vocabulary ability on syntactic awareness performance, regardless of language group.
Subject(s)
Awareness , Language Development , Linguistics , Multilingualism , Semantics , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Longitudinal Studies , Male , Speech Perception , VocabularyABSTRACT
El desarrollo de la conciencia sintáctica ha sido escasamente investigado en una ortografía transparente como la del español. Situación totalmente contraria es la que ha experimentado la conciencia fonológica, cuyo desarrollo y rol en la adquisición lectora han recibido mucha más atención tanto en lenguas transparentes como en opacas. Investigaciones en inglés y en francés han demostrado que las habilidades metasintácticas siguen desarrollándose después de comenzada la alfabetización y que incluso a los 11 o 14 años aún no ha culminado este desarrollo. El propósito del presente estudio es describir y comparar el desarrollo evolutivo de la conciencia sintáctica y conciencia fonológica en niños chilenos del periodo básico. Para ello, se seleccionó una muestra de 234 sujetos, pertenecientes a colegios públicos y privados, quienes realizaron individualmente una tarea de conciencia sintáctica y otra de conciencia fonémica. Los resultados en español confirman los hallazgos obtenidos en lenguas opacas, puesto que muestran que el desarrollo de ambas habilidades metalingüísticas continúa evolucionando durante el periodo básico.
The development of syntactic awareness has still not been widely investigated in a transparent orthography, such as Spanish. On the other hand, the increase of phonological awareness and its contribution to reading acquisition has received much more attention, both in opaque and transparent languages. Studies with English and French speaking children have demonstrated that syntactic awareness continues developing after reading instruction begins, and that even at the age of 11 or 14 it is not completely developed. The aim of this study was to describe and compare the development of syntactic awareness and phonological awareness in Chilean children from elementary grades. A sample of 234 Chilean children participated in the study, and they were assessed individually in syntactic and phonological awareness tasks. Results in Spanish confirmed similar findings found in opaque languages, as it was shown that both meta-linguistic abilities are still being developed at the school levels evaluated in this study.
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Child , Conscience , Aptitude , Reading , Writing , LinguisticsABSTRACT
This research aimed to explore the relation between syntactic awareness and writing composition in 129 Hong Kong Chinese children. These children were from a ten-year longitudinal project. At each year, a number of measures were administered. The 129 children's data of nonverbal reasoning at age 4, phonological awareness, morphological awareness, vocabulary knowledge at age 8, reading comprehension at age 12 and syntactic awareness and writing composition skills at ages 11 and 12 were included in this study. Syntactic awareness was longitudinally and uniquely predictive of Chinese children's writing composition, and children's performance in early writing composition was uniquely associated with their later syntactic skills, even when controlling for the contributions from age, nonverbal and verbal abilities, phonological awareness, and morphological awareness. The relationship between syntactic awareness and writing composition was mediated by children's performance in reading comprehension. These findings may suggest a reciprocal relation between syntactic awareness and writing composition, and this association may vary with ability in reading comprehension in Chinese children.
Subject(s)
Child Development/physiology , Comprehension/physiology , Language , Reading , Awareness , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Hong Kong , Humans , Longitudinal Studies , Male , WritingABSTRACT
Arithmetic word problem (AWP) solving is a highly demanding task for children with learning disabilities (LD) since verbal and mathematical information have to be integrated. This study examines specifically how syntactic awareness (SA), the ability to manage the grammatical structures of language, affects AWP solving. Three groups of children in elementary education were formed: children with arithmetic learning disabilities (ALD), children with reading learning disabilities (RLD), and children with comorbid arithmetic and reading learning disabilities (ARLD). Mediation analysis confirmed that SA was a mediator variable for both groups of children with reading disabilities when solving AWPs, but not for children in the ALD group. All groups performed below the control group in the problem solving task. When SA was controlled for, semantic structure and position of the unknown set were variables that affected both groups with ALD. Specifically, children with ALD only were more affected by the place of the unknown set.
Subject(s)
Dyscalculia/physiopathology , Dyslexia/physiopathology , Language , Mathematical Concepts , Problem Solving/physiology , Child , Comorbidity , Dyscalculia/epidemiology , Dyslexia/epidemiology , Female , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
Poor comprehenders have intact word-reading skills but struggle specifically with understanding what they read. We investigated whether two metalinguistic skills, morphological and syntactic awareness, are specifically related to poor reading comprehension by including separate and combined measures of each. We identified poor comprehenders (n = 15) and average comprehenders (n = 15) in Grade 4 who were matched on word-reading accuracy and speed, vocabulary, nonverbal cognitive ability, and age. The two groups performed comparably on a morphological awareness task that involved both morphological and syntactic cues. However, poor comprehenders performed less well than average comprehenders on a derivational word analogy task in which there was no additional syntactic information, thus tapping only morphological awareness, and also less well on a syntactic awareness task, in which there were no morphological manipulations. Our task and participant-selection process ruled out key nonmetalinguistic sources of influence on these tasks. These findings suggest that the relationships among reading comprehension, morphological awareness, and syntactic awareness depend on the tasks used to measure the latter two. Future research needs to identify precisely in which ways these metalinguistic difficulties connect to challenges with reading comprehension.
Subject(s)
Awareness/physiology , Comprehension/physiology , Language Development , Language Disorders/physiopathology , Child , Female , Humans , Language Tests , Male , ReadingABSTRACT
La conciencia sintáctica (CS) es una habilidad metalingüística vinculada con el rendimiento en lectura y en comprensión lectora. En la actualidad, no se cuenta con suficientes estudios que den cuenta de esta relación en idioma español, ni con instrumentos de medida adecuados. El objetivo de este trabajo es presentar un instrumento de medición de CS para nuestro contexto hispanoparlante. Dicho instrumento consta de 20 ítems que evalúan el desempeño en diferentes categorías gramaticales. Se aplicó a 208 niños de 5 a 8 años de edad y se exploró la estructura factorial del instrumento, la validez de constructo y la existencia de diferencias sociodemográficas. Los resultados muestran dos factores, y un nivel adecuado de consistencia interna. Además, se encontraron correlaciones significativas con pruebas de habilidades metalingüísticas y de lectura, y se observaron diferencias significativas en las variables sociodemográficas. Se concluye que el instrumento resulta válido y confiable para evaluar CS.(AU)
Syntactic awareness (SA) is a metalinguistic skill linked to reading performance and reading comprehension. At present, there are not enough Spanish language studies that deal with this relationship. The aim of this work is to present an instrument that measures SA in our Spanish-speaking context. This instrument, which was administered to 208 5- to 8-years-old, consists of 20 items that assess performance in different grammatical categories. We explored the factorial structure of the instrument, the construct validity and the presence of socio-demographic differences. The results show two factors, and an adequate level of internal consistency. Significant correlations with reading and other metalinguistic skills tests were found, and significant differences in socio-demographic variables were observed. Therefore, we conclude that the instrument is valid and reliable for assessing SA.(AU)
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Child, Preschool , Child , Reading , Comprehension , Reproducibility of Results , Reproducibility of Results , ConscienceABSTRACT
La conciencia sintáctica (CS) es una habilidad metalingüística vinculada con el rendimiento en lectura y en comprensión lectora. En la actualidad, no se cuenta con suficientes estudios que den cuenta de esta relación en idioma español, ni con instrumentos de medida adecuados. El objetivo de este trabajo es presentar un instrumento de medición de CS para nuestro contexto hispanoparlante. Dicho instrumento consta de 20 ítems que evalúan el desempeño en diferentes categorías gramaticales. Se aplicó a 208 niños de 5 a 8 años de edad y se exploró la estructura factorial del instrumento, la validez de constructo y la existencia de diferencias sociodemográficas. Los resultados muestran dos factores, y un nivel adecuado de consistencia interna. Además, se encontraron correlaciones significativas con pruebas de habilidades metalingüísticas y de lectura, y se observaron diferencias significativas en las variables sociodemográficas. Se concluye que el instrumento resulta válido y confiable para evaluar CS.
Syntactic awareness (SA) is a metalinguistic skill linked to reading performance and reading comprehension. At present, there are not enough Spanish language studies that deal with this relationship. The aim of this work is to present an instrument that measures SA in our Spanish-speaking context. This instrument, which was administered to 208 5- to 8-years-old, consists of 20 items that assess performance in different grammatical categories. We explored the factorial structure of the instrument, the construct validity and the presence of socio-demographic differences. The results show two factors, and an adequate level of internal consistency. Significant correlations with reading and other metalinguistic skills tests were found, and significant differences in socio-demographic variables were observed. Therefore, we conclude that the instrument is valid and reliable for assessing SA.
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Child, Preschool , Child , Comprehension , Conscience , Reading , Reproducibility of ResultsABSTRACT
O objetivo desta pesquisa foi realizar uma análise dos erros ortográficos de uma amostra de alunos com dificuldades de aprendizagem. Participaram 18 alunos de 3ª a 7ª séries do ensino fundamental, frequentando turmas de reforço escolar. Os dados foram coletados pela aplicação individual de uma prova de escrita de palavras e outra de produção de texto. Observou-se que as dificuldades ortográficas encontradas não diferem, em sua natureza, daquelas obtidas em estudos com crianças sem dificuldades de aprendizagem, porém evidenciam uma frequência elevada, mesmo entre os alunos do segundo ciclo. Os erros mais comuns foram os de transcrição da fala, seguidos de dificuldades baseadas na análise fonológica, tais como: trocas de letras, marcação de nasalização e sílabas complexas. Discute-se o papel das habilidades de consciência fonológica e morfossintática no planejamento de atividades pedagógicas visando a facilitar a apropriação do sistema ortográfico.(AU)
The objective of this research was to make an analysis of spelling errors of a sample of students with learning difficulties. Eighteen students from the 3rd to the 7th grades of junior and senior high school, making part of groups of school reinforcement, participated in the study. Data were collected through the individual application of a word writing test and another of text production. It was observed that the spelling errors did not differ, in their nature, from those found in studies with children without learning difficulties, but they showed high frequency, even among senior high-school students. The most frequent errors were those of speech transcription, followed by errors based on phonological analysis, such as change of letters, nasalization marking and complex syllables. The paper also discusses the role of phonological and morpho-syntactic awareness in the planning of educational activities aiming to facilitate the spelling system acquisition.(AU)
El objetivo de esa investigación fue realizar un análisis de los errores ortográficos de una muestra de estudiantes con dificultades de aprendizaje. 18 estudiantes de la 3 ª. a la 7 ª. serie de la educación elemental, que frecuentaban grupos de refuerzo escolar, participaron en el estudio. Los datos fueron recolectados por la aplicación de una prueba de escritura de palabras y otra de producción de texto. Las dificultades ortográficas encontradas no se diferenciaron, en su naturaleza, de las obtenidas en estudios con niños sin dificultades, pero mostraron alta frecuencia, incluso entre los estudiantes del segundo ciclo. Los errores más frecuentes fueron la transcripción del habla, seguido de errores basados en las dificultades del análisis fonológico, como cambio de letras, sílabas complejas y marcas de nasalización. Se discute el papel de la conciencia fonológica y morfosintáctica en la planificación de actividades educativas encaminadas a facilitar la apropiación de la ortografía.(AU)
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Child , Education, Primary and Secondary , Learning Disabilities , Articulation DisordersABSTRACT
O objetivo desta pesquisa foi realizar uma análise dos erros ortográficos de uma amostra de alunos com dificuldades de aprendizagem. Participaram 18 alunos de 3ª a 7ª séries do ensino fundamental, frequentando turmas de reforço escolar. Os dados foram coletados pela aplicação individual de uma prova de escrita de palavras e outra de produção de texto. Observou-se que as dificuldades ortográficas encontradas não diferem, em sua natureza, daquelas obtidas em estudos com crianças sem dificuldades de aprendizagem, porém evidenciam uma frequência elevada, mesmo entre os alunos do segundo ciclo. Os erros mais comuns foram os de transcrição da fala, seguidos de dificuldades baseadas na análise fonológica, tais como: trocas de letras, marcação de nasalização e sílabas complexas. Discute-se o papel das habilidades de consciência fonológica e morfossintática no planejamento de atividades pedagógicas visando a facilitar a apropriação do sistema ortográfico.
The objective of this research was to make an analysis of spelling errors of a sample of students with learning difficulties. Eighteen students from the 3rd to the 7th grades of junior and senior high school, making part of groups of school reinforcement, participated in the study. Data were collected through the individual application of a word writing test and another of text production. It was observed that the spelling errors did not differ, in their nature, from those found in studies with children without learning difficulties, but they showed high frequency, even among senior high-school students. The most frequent errors were those of speech transcription, followed by errors based on phonological analysis, such as change of letters, nasalization marking and complex syllables. The paper also discusses the role of phonological and morpho-syntactic awareness in the planning of educational activities aiming to facilitate the spelling system acquisition.
El objetivo de esa investigación fue realizar un análisis de los errores ortográficos de una muestra de estudiantes con dificultades de aprendizaje. 18 estudiantes de la 3 ª. a la 7 ª. serie de la educación elemental, que frecuentaban grupos de refuerzo escolar, participaron en el estudio. Los datos fueron recolectados por la aplicación de una prueba de escritura de palabras y otra de producción de texto. Las dificultades ortográficas encontradas no se diferenciaron, en su naturaleza, de las obtenidas en estudios con niños sin dificultades, pero mostraron alta frecuencia, incluso entre los estudiantes del segundo ciclo. Los errores más frecuentes fueron la transcripción del habla, seguido de errores basados en las dificultades del análisis fonológico, como cambio de letras, sílabas complejas y marcas de nasalización. Se discute el papel de la conciencia fonológica y morfosintáctica en la planificación de actividades educativas encaminadas a facilitar la apropiación de la ortografía.