Teaching Struggling Readers of English as a Second Language in the Malaysian Classroom

Teacher plays an important role in students’ reading growth through the implementation of various suitable instructional strategies in the classroom. This study contributes to the existing literature pertaining to the way the teacher worked with the students who were identified as struggling readers of English as a second language (henceforth ESL). This is a qualitative study involving one primary teacher as a research participant. Data was obtained from classroom observations, interviews and documents collection. Inductive analysis was carried out and the process incorporating a co-construction of meaning between the participant responses and the researcher’s own understanding. Two main themes emerged in the study namely “involvement” and “challenges”. In this paper, one of the themes namely “involvement” that incorporates “classroom environment” and “instructional methods” will be discussed. The findings of this study suggest that the Ministry of Education (henceforth MOE) can look into how support can be given to the teachers to assist them to have more effective teaching strategies in the ESL classroom.

Early Phonological Neural Specialization Predicts Later Growth in Word Reading Skills

According to the Interactive Specialization Theory, cognitive skill development is facilitated by a process of neural specialization. In line with this theory, the current study investigated whether neural specialization for phonological and semantic processing at 5-to-6 years old was predictive of growth in word reading skills 2 years later. Specifically, four regression models were estimated in which reading growth was predicted from: (1) an intercept-only model; (2) measures of semantic and phonological neural specialization; (3) performance on semantic and phonological behavioral tasks; or (4) a combination of neural specialization and behavioral performance. Results from the preregistered analyses revealed little evidence in favor of the hypothesis that early semantic and phonological skills are predictive of growth in reading. However, results from the exploratory analyses, which included a larger sample, added age at Time 1 as a covariate, and investigated relative growth in reading, demonstrated decisive evidence that variability in phonological processing is predictive of reading growth. The best fitting model included both measures of specialization within the posterior superior temporal gyrus (pSTG) and behavioral performance. This work provides important evidence in favor of the Interactive Specialization Theory and, more specifically, for the role of phonological neural specialization in the development of early word reading skills.

The Effect of Facilitative vs. Inhibitory Word Training Corpora on Word Reading Accuracy Growth in Children with Dyslexia

We modeled word reading growth in typically developing (n = 118) and children with dyslexia (n = 20), grades 2-5, across multiple exposures to 30 words. We explored the facilitative vs. inhibitory effects of exposures to differential mixes of words that support high vs. low frequency vowel pronunciations. One training corpus contained a ratio of 80%-20% high to low frequency pronunciations (e.g. for ea; 80% ea pronounced as /i/ as in bead and 20% ea pronounced /ε/ as in dead) while the other consisted of a ratio of 20%-80%. We also modeled accuracy at the final exposure for a subset of 12 shared words across conditions using item-level crossed random effects models with reading skill (i.e., typically developing vs. dyslexic), condition, word frequency, and vowel pronunciation (i.e., high vs. low frequency vowel pronunciation) as predictors in the model. We were particularly interested in the interaction between condition and vowel pronunciation across reading groups. Results suggest typically developing children were influenced by the interaction between condition and vowel pronunciation, suggesting both facilitation and inhibition; whereas children with dyslexia were influenced by condition and vowel pronunciation without an interaction. Results are interpreted within the overfitting model of dyslexia (Harm & Seidenberg, 1999).

The Effect of Facilitative Versus Inhibitory Word Training Corpora on Word Reading Accuracy Growth in Children With Dyslexia

We modeled word reading growth in typically developing ( n = 118) and children with dyslexia ( n = 20), Grades 2–5, across multiple exposures to 30 words. We explored the facilitative versus inhibitory effects of exposures to differential mixes of words that support high- versus low-frequency vowel pronunciations. One training corpus contained a ratio of 80%–20% high- to low-frequency pronunciations (e.g., for ea; 80% ea pronounced as /i/ as in bead and 20% ea pronounced /ε/ as in dead), whereas the other consisted of a ratio of 20%–80%. We also modeled accuracy at the final exposure for a subset of 12 shared words across conditions using item-level crossed-random effects models with reading skill (i.e., typically developing vs. dyslexic), condition, word frequency, and vowel pronunciation (i.e., high- vs. low-frequency vowel pronunciation) as predictors in the model. We were particularly interested in the interaction between condition and vowel pronunciation across reading groups. Results suggest typically developing children were influenced by the interaction between condition and vowel pronunciation, suggesting both facilitation and inhibition, whereas children with dyslexia were influenced by condition and vowel pronunciation without an interaction. Results are interpreted within the overfitting model of dyslexia.

Comparison of Reading Growth Among Students With Severe Reading Deficits Who Received Intervention to Typically Achieving Students and Students Receiving Special Education

This study compared the reading growth of students with and without learning disabilities, and students with and without reading deficits in response to tier 2 reading interventions within a response-to-intervention framework. Participants were 499 second- and third-grade students in six urban schools. Students who scored at or below the 10th percentile on the fall reading screening assessment were identified as having a severe reading deficit and received a tier 2 reading intervention that was targeted to their needs. Results showed a significant effect between groups on reading growth. Students with severe reading deficits receiving targeted tier 2 intervention grew at a rate that equaled the rate of growth of students without reading deficits and was significantly higher than students who were receiving special education services for reading. Implications for practice, suggestions for future research, and study limitations are discussed.

Early Phonological Neural Specialization Predicts Later Growth in Word Reading Skills

According to the Interactive Specialization Theory, cognitive skill development is facilitated by a process of neural specialization. In line with this theory, the current study investigated whether neural specialization for phonological and semantic processing at 5-to-6 years old was predictive of growth in word reading skills from 5-to-8 years old. Specifically, four regression models were estimated in which reading growth was predicted from: (1) an intercept-only model, (2) measures of semantic and phonological neural specialization, (3) performance on semantic and phonological behavioral tasks, or (4) a combination of neural specialization and behavioral performance. Results from the preregistered analyses revealed little evidence in favor of the hypothesis that early semantic and phonological skills predict growth in reading. However, results from the exploratory analyses, which included a larger sample, focused exclusively on the phonological predictors, and investigated relative growth in reading, demonstrated strong evidence that variability in phonological processing is predictive of growth in word reading skills. Specifically, the best fitting model included both measures of phonological neural specialization within the posterior superior temporal gyrus and performance on a phonological behavioral task. This work provides important preliminary evidence in favor of the Interactive Specialization Theory and, more specifically, for the role of phonological neural specialization in the development of early word reading skills.