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Comparing and Validating Methods of Reading Instruction Using Behavioural and Neural Findings in an Artificial Orthography

Taylor, JSH; Davis, MH; Rastle, K; (2017) Comparing and Validating Methods of Reading Instruction Using Behavioural and Neural Findings in an Artificial Orthography. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General , 146 (6) pp. 826-858. 10.1037/xge0000301. Green open access

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Abstract

There is strong scientific consensus that emphasizing print-to-sound relationships is critical when learning to read alphabetic languages. Nevertheless, reading instruction varies across English-speaking countries, from intensive phonic training to multicuing environments that teach sound- and meaning-based strategies. We sought to understand the behavioral and neural consequences of these differences in relative emphasis. We taught 24 English-speaking adults to read 2 sets of 24 novel words (e.g., /buv/, /sig/), written in 2 different unfamiliar orthographies. Following pretraining on oral vocabulary, participants learned to read the novel words over 8 days. Training in 1 language was biased toward print-to-sound mappings while training in the other language was biased toward print-to-meaning mappings. Results showed striking benefits of print–sound training on reading aloud, generalization, and comprehension of single words. Univariate analyses of fMRI data collected at the end of training showed that print–meaning relative to print–sound relative training increased neural effort in dorsal pathway regions involved in reading aloud. Conversely, activity in ventral pathway brain regions involved in reading comprehension was no different following print–meaning versus print–sound training. Multivariate analyses validated our artificial language approach, showing high similarity between the spatial distribution of fMRI activity during artificial and English word reading. Our results suggest that early literacy education should focus on the systematicities present in print-to-sound relationships in alphabetic languages, rather than teaching meaning-based strategies, in order to enhance both reading aloud and comprehension of written words.

Type: Article
Title: Comparing and Validating Methods of Reading Instruction Using Behavioural and Neural Findings in an Artificial Orthography
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1037/xge0000301
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000301
Language: English
Additional information: This article has been published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Copyright for this article is retained by the author(s). Author(s) grant(s) the American Psychological Association the exclusive right to publish the article and identify itself as the original publisher.
Keywords: Social Sciences, Psychology, Experimental, Psychology, reading acquisition, reading comprehension, phonics, fMRI, artificial language learning, VISUAL WORD RECOGNITION, LEXICAL COMPETITION, SEMANTIC DEMENTIA, DEVELOPMENTAL DYSLEXIA, SURFACE DYSLEXIA, RESPONSE-TIME, BRAIN, SYSTEM, ADULTS, METAANALYSIS
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Language and Cognition
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10081010
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