Investigating of Reading, Vocabulary Knowledge and Verbal Memory Performances of Students with Learning Disabilities

Abstract

This study aims to examine the reading comprehension, vocabulary knowledge and working memory performances of primary school third-grade students having learning difficulties and of their peers who don't have any learning difficulty. For this purpose, the comparative descriptive research design was used in the study. The participants of the study consist of a total of 44 primary school third-grade students, 22 of whom were diagnosed with learning difficulties and the remaining 22 of whom have normal reading achievements with typical development. To collect the data related to reading, a grade-appropriate narrative text and reading comprehension questions, the vocabulary knowledge subtests of the Turkish School Age Language Development Test, and the verbal memory subtests of the Working Memory Scale were used. The effect sizes for the differentiation between the groups were calculated and the relationships among the variables were examined for both of the groups. The results showed that the students with learning difficulties significantly failed in reading comprehension, reading speed, vocabulary knowledge, and verbal working memory assessments, comparing to their typically developing peers. Significant relationships were found among the variables at both of the groups. The study's findings were discussed in light of the information on the literature.

Difficulties Encountered by a Dyslexic Secondary School Student in Learning Science and Suggestions for Solutions

“…She can generally express herself, sometimes use words with different meanings, and has difficulty finding the right word while speaking. It is also stated in the literature that the vocabulary of dyslexic students is limited (Bishop, McDonald, Bird, & Hayiou-Thomas, 2009;Delimehmet Dada & Ergül, 2020;Seçkin Yılmaz & Yaşaroğlu, 2020). In addition, she is excited while talking in a crowd and has difficulty expressing her feelings and thoughts.…”

Does Cognitive Training Affect Reading and Writing Skills of Students With Specific Learning Disabilities?

“…Although the rapidity of development of reading skills is different, many studies show that working memory, rapid naming, and phonological awareness are significantly related to reading skills also in Turkish (Babayiğit & Stainthorp, 2007;Güldenoğlu et al, 2016;Karadağ et al, 2019) like many other languages, such as German (Landerl & Wimmer, 2008) and Chinese (Weng et al, 2016). Similarly, Turkish-speaking students with reading disabilities have difficulties in phonological awareness, working memory, and rapid naming (Demirtaş & Ergül, 2020;Seçkin Yılmaz & Yaşaroğlu, 2020). Therefore, intervention programs that focus on developing these skills are important and necessary.…”