What is it about?
As children read texts, they encounter new words and have the opportunity to learn the spelling and the meaning of these new words. We found that children’s ability to learn the spelling of new words could explain their improvements in word reading over the years, and that their ability to learn the meaning of new words could explain their improvements in reading comprehension.
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Why is it important?
Reading is one of the most important skills children acquire during the school years. This study helped identify the mechanisms through which children improve their reading skills. It showed that children’s word learning ability is central in the process of becoming a better reader. These findings point to the need to incorporate the power of children’s learning into theories of and instruction in reading.
Perspectives
This study has taught me a lot, especially in terms of following up children over three years. It certainly made me see the value of longitudinal studies to test the developmental nature of research questions.
Dr Catherine Mimeau
Université TÉLUQ
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Testing mechanisms underlying children’s reading development: The power of learning lexical representations., Developmental Psychology, April 2024, American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/dev0001749.
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