The Cognitive Profiles of Poor Readers/Good Spellers and Good Readers/Poor Spellers in a Consistent Orthography : A Retrospective Analysis

Part of : Προσχολική & σχολική εκπαίδευση ; Vol.3, No.2, 2015, pages 103-116

Issue:
Pages:
103-116
Author:
Abstract:
Reading and spelling are closely related to each other, but empirical evidence shows that they can also dissociate. The purpose of this study was to examine the cognitive profiles of good readers/poor spellers and poor readers/good spellers in a relatively consistent orthography (Greek). One hundred forty children were administered measures of phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, phonological short-term memory, and orthographic knowledge in grades 1 and 2. Their performance in reading and spelling was assessed in grade 4. Two small groups of children exhibited dissociation between reading and spelling: seven children were identified as poor readers/good spellers and 11 children as good readers/poor spellers. The former group experienced severe deficits in both rapid naming and phonological awareness. The latter group experienced only mild deficits in orthographic knowledge. Although inefficient orthographic knowledge affects their spelling accuracy (Greek is inconsistent in the direction of spelling), it does not impact their reading fluency because they can recognize words by relying on partial cues.
Subject:
Subject (LC):
Keywords:
reading, spelling, dissociation, phonological awareness, rapid naming, orthographic knowledge, orthographic consistency
References (1):
  1. Babayiğit, S., & Stainthorp, R. (2010). Component processes of early reading, spelling, and narrative writing skills in Turkish: A longitudinal study. Reading and Writing, 23, 539-568.Boets, B., Wouters, J., Van Wieringen, A., De Smedt, B., & Ghesquière, P. (2008). Modelling relations between sensory processing, speech perception, orthographic and phonological ability, and literacy achievement. Brain and Language, 106, 29-40.Bowers, P. G., & Wolf, M. (1993). Theoretical links among naming speed, precise timing mechanisms and orthographic skill in dyslexia. Reading and Writing, 5, 69-85.Bruck, M., & Waters, G. (1988). An analysis of the spelling errors of children who differ in their reading and spelling skills. Applied Psycholinguistics, 9, 77-92.Cardoso-Martins, C., & Pennington, B. F. (2004). The relationship between phoneme awareness and rapid serial naming skills and literacy acquisition: The role of developmental period and reading ability. Scientific Studies of Reading, 8, 27-52.Conrad, N. (2008). From reading to spelling and from spelling to reading: Transfer goes both ways. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100, 869-878.Cunningham, A. E., & Stanovich, K. E. (1990). Assessing print exposure and orthographic processing skill in children: A quick measure of reading experience. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 733-740.Davies, R., Cuetos, F., & Glez-Seijas, R. M. (2007). Reading development and dyslexia in a transparent orthography: A survey of Spanish children. Annals of Dyslexia, 57, 179-198.Dolores, P. (1983). Phonemic segmentation and spelling. British Journal of Psychology, 74, 129-144.Ehri, L. C. (1997). Learning to read and learning to spell are one and the same, almost. In C. A. Perfetti, L. Rieben, & M. Fayol (Eds.), Learning to spell: Theory and practice across languages (pp. 237-269). Mahwah, NJ: Laurence Erlbaum.Ehri, L. C. (2014). Orthographic mapping in the acquisition of sight word reading, spelling memory, and vocabulary learning. Scientific Studies of Reading, 18, 5–21. http://doi.org/10.1080/10888438.2013.819356Eklund, K. M., Torppa, M., & Lyytinen, H. (2013). Predicting reading disability: early cognitive risk and protective factors. Dyslexia, 19, 1-10.Escribano, C. L. (2007). Evaluation of the double-deficit hypothesis subtype classification of readers in Spanish. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 40, 319-330.Fayol, M., Zorman, M., & Lété, B. (2009). Associations and dissociations in reading and spelling French: Unexpectedly poor and good spellers. British Journal of Educational Psychology Monograph Series, 2, 63-75.Fletcher-Flinn, C. M., Shankweiler, D., & Frost, S. J. (2004). Coordination of reading and spelling in early literacy development: An examination of the discrepancy hypothesis. Reading and Writing, 17, 617-644.Frith, U. (1980). Unexpected spelling problems. In U. Frith (Ed.), Cognitive processes in spelling (pp. 495-515). London: Academic Press.Georgas, D. D., Paraskevopoulos, I. N., Bezevegis, I. G., & Giannitsas, N. D. (1997). Ελληνıκó WISC–III: Wechsler κλiμακες νοημοσύνης γıα παıδıά [Greek WISC–III: Wechsler intelligence scales for children]. Athens, Greece: Ellinika Grammata.Georgiou, G. K., Hirvonen, R., Liao, C. H., Manolitsis, G., Parrila, R., & Nurmi, J.- E. (2011). The role of achievement strategies on literacy acquisition across languages. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 36, 130-141.Georgiou, G. K., Parrila, R., & Papadopoulos, T. C. (2008). Predictors of word decoding and reading fluency in English and Greek: A cross-linguistic comparison. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100, 566-580.Harris, M., & Giannouli, V. (1999). Learning to read and spell in Greek: The importance of letter knowledge and morphological awareness. In M. Harris & G. Hatano (Eds.), Learning to read and write: A cross-linguistic perspective (pp. 51-70). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.Holmes, V. M., & Castles, A. E. (2001). Unexpectedly poor spelling in university students. Scientific Studies of Reading, 5, 319-350.Holmes, V. M., & Ng, E. (1993). Word-specific knowledge, word-recognition strategies, and spelling ability. Journal of Memory and Language, 32, 230-257.Holmes, V. M., & Quinn, L. (2009). Unexpectedly poor spelling and phonological processing skill. Scientific Studies of Reading, 13, 295-317.Ioannou, D., Diamanti, V., Mouzaki, A., & Protopapas, A. (2012, July). The impact of morphological skills on reading achievement of Greek-speaking children in elementary Grades 3, 4, and 5. Paper presented in 19th Annual Meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading. Montreal, Canada.Kamhi, A. G., & Hinton, L. N. (2000). Explaining individual differences in spelling ability. Topics in Language Disorders, 20, 37-49.Leppänen, U., Niemi, P., Aunola, K., & Nurmi, J.-E. (2006). Development of reading and spelling Finnish from preschool to Grade 1 and Grade 2. Scientific Studies of Reading, 10, 3-30.Loizidou-Ieridou, N., Masterson, J., & Hanley, J. R. (2010). Spelling development in 6–11 year-old Greek speaking Cypriot children. Journal of Research in Reading, 33, 247-262.Lovett, M. W. (1987). A developmental approach to reading disability: Accuracy and speed criteria of normal and deficient reading skill. Child Development, 58, 234-260.Manolitsis, G., & Grigorakis, I. (2012, July). How specific is the role of morphological awareness in beginning reading and spelling? Paper presented at the 19th Annual Conference of the Society for the Scientific Studies of Reading (SSSR). Montreal, Canada.Masterson, J., Laxon, V., Lovejoy, S., & Morris, V. (2007). Phonological skill, lexical decision and letter report performance in good and poor adult spellers. Journal of Research in Reading, 30, 429-442.Moll, K., & Landerl, K. (2009). Double dissociation between reading and spelling deficits. Scientific Studies of Reading, 13, 359-382.Mouzaki, A., Protopapas, A., Sideridis, G. D., & Simos, P. (2007). Διερεύνηση των ψυχομετρικών χαρακτηριστικών μιας δοκιμασίας ορθογραφικής δεξιότητας μαθητών τ ης Β , Γ , Δ , κ αι Ε τάξης του δημοτικού σχολείου. [Examining the psychometric traits of a spelling skill test for children in Grade 2, 3, 4, and 5 of elementary school]. Epistimes Agogis [Sciences of Education], 1, 129–146.Mouzaki, A., & Sideridis, G. D. (2007). Poor readers’ profiles among Greek students of elementary school. Hellenic Journal of Psychology, 4, 205-232.Nation, K., & Hulme, C. (1997). Phonemic segmentation, not onset ‐rime segment predicts early reading and spelling skills. Reading Research Quarterly, 32, 154-167.Nunes, T., Aidinis, A., & Bryant, P. (2006). The acquisition of written morphology in Greek. In M. Joshi & P. G. Aaron (Eds.), Handbook of orthography and literacy (pp. 201–218). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Olson, R.K., Forsberg, H., Wise, B., & Rack, J. (1994). Measurement of word recognition, orthographic, and phonological skills. In G. R. Lyon (Ed.), Frames of reference for the assessment of learning disabilities: New views on measurement issues (pp. 243–277). Baltimore, MD: Brookes.Olson, R., Wise, B., Conners, F., Rack, J., & Fulker, D. (1989). Specific deficits in component reading and language skills Genetic and environmental influences. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 22, 339-348.Papadopoulos, T. C. (2013). PASS theory of intelligence in Greek : A review. Preschool & Primary Education, 1, 41–66.Papadopoulos, T. C., Georgiou, G. K., & Kendeou, P. (2009). Investigating the double-deficit hypothesis in Greek: Findings from a longitudinal study. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 42, 528-547.Papadopoulos, T. C., Kendeou, P., & Shiakalli, M. (2014). Reading comprehension tests and poor readers: How test processing demands result in different profiles. L’Année Psychologique, 114, 725-752.Perfetti, C., Rieben, L., & Fayol, M. (1997). Learning to spell: Research, theory, and practice across languages. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Porpodas, C. (1999). Patterns of phonological and memory processing in beginning readers and spellers of Greek. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 32, 406-416.Protopapas, A., Fakou, A., Drakopoulou, S., Skaloumbakas, C., & Mouzaki, A. (2013). What do spelling errors tell us? Classification and analysis of errors made by Greek schoolchildren with and without dyslexia. Reading and Writing, 26, 615-646.Protopapas, A., & Skaloumbakas, C. (2007). Screening and diagnosis of reading disabilities in Greek. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 40(1), 15–36.Protopapas, A., & Vlahou, E. L. (2009). A comparative quantitative analysis of Greek orthographic transparency. Behavior Research Methods, 41, 991-1008.Seymour, P. H. K., & Porpodas, C. D. (1980). Lexical and non-lexical processing of spelling in dyslexia. In U. Frith (Ed.), Cognitive processes in spelling (pp. 444–473). London: Academic PressShare, D. L. (1995). Phonological recoding and self-teaching: sine qua non of reading acquisition. Cognition, 55, 151-218.Swanson, H. L., Trainin, G., Necoechea, D. M., & Hammill, D. D. (2003). Rapid naming, phonological awareness, and reading: A meta-analysis of the correlation evidence. Review of Educational Research, 73, 407-440.Tims, T. (2013). Exploring the relationship between orthographic processing and word reading. Unpublished Master's thesis, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada.Torgesen, J. K., Wagner, R. K., & Rashotte, C. A. (1999). Test of Word Reading Efficiency. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.Torppa, M., Georgiou, G., Salmi, P., Eklund, K., & Lyytinen, H. (2012). Examining the double-deficit hypothesis in an orthographically consistent language: The effect of familial risk for dyslexia. Scientific Studies of Reading, 16, 287-315.Tunmer, W. E. (1991). Phonological awareness and literacy acquisition. In L. Rieben & C. Perfetti (Eds.), Learning to read: Basic research and its implications (pp. 105-119). New York: Springer-Verlag.Vaessen, A., & Blomert, L. (2013). The cognitive linkage and divergence of spelling and reading development. Scientific Studies of Reading, 17, 89-107.Wagner, R. K., Torgesen, J. K., & Rashotte, C. A. (1999). Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.Wechsler, D. (1992). Wechsler intelligence scale for children (3rd ed.). New York: Psychological Corporation.Wiederholt, J. L., & Bryant, B. R. (2001). GORT 4: Gray oral reading test. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed. Wimmer, H. (1993). Characteristics of developmental dyslexia in a regular writing system. Applied Psycholinguistics, 14, 1-33.Wimmer, H., & Mayringer, H. (2002). Dysfluent reading in the absence of spelling difficulties: A specific disability in regular orthographies. Journal of Educational Psychology, 94, 272-277.Wimmer, H., Mayringer, H., & Landerl, K. (2000). The double-deficit hypothesis and difficulties in learning to read a regular orthography. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 668-680.Wolf, M., & Bowers, P. G. (1999). The double-deficit hypothesis for the developmental dyslexias. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91, 415-438.Wolf, M., & Denckla, M. B. (2005). RAN/RAS: Rapid automatized naming and rapid alternating stimulus tests. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.