Orthographic lexicon and reading skills in young Spanish speaking readers / Léxico ortográfico y habilidad lectora en jóvenes lectores hispanoparlantes

Abstract

This study analyses the relationship between orthographic processing and reading skills in Spanish speaking children, taking into account school experience and different reading levels, focusing on aspects of orthographic ambiguity, frequency, semantics and efficiency in written word recognition. Lexical orthographic processing assessment measures, decoding and lexical-semantic representations for reading ability were used in a sample of 1070 years 2 to 6 primary school students. Results showed the significant contribution orthographic lexicon makes to reading proficiency in Spanish, as well as the impact students years' experience in reading practice has on specializing and refining orthographic lexicon, particularly in words with ambiguous spelling. These results are discussed in the context of orthographic transparency and interdependence between the mechanisms of grapho-phonological and orthographic-lexical word recognition.

Procedural differences in the calculation of the prevalence of reading difficulties in Spanish-speaking school children / Diferencias procedimentales en el cálculo de la prevalencia del retraso lector en escolares hispanoparlantes

“…However, in higher school years the diagnostic criteria based on a deficiency of orthographic efficiency or the combination of both criteria seems to facilitate a more accurate diagnosis. Students in initial school years are just beginning the process of acquiring orthographic representations and thus storing the orthographic information of words that are orthographically ambiguous is slow and requires a high level of expertise and refined orthographic lexicon for all students (Cuadro & Costa, 2014; Lété & Fayol, 2013; Sánchez Abchi, Diuk, Borzone, & Ferroni, 2009). Thus, the predominant use of the phonological mechanism seems to explain individual differences in reading performance primarily in these early school years.…”

“…Thus, the predominant use of the phonological mechanism seems to explain individual differences in reading performance primarily in these early school years. Only in higher school years can a more developed autonomous orthographic lexicon be expected (Cuadro & Costa, 2014), and consequently a deficiency in the recovery of orthographic representations can represent a sensitive indicator of RD.…”

“…En cambio, en los cursos más avanzados, el criterio diagnóstico basado en un déficit en la eficacia ortográfica o en la combinación de ambos criterios, parecería permitir un diagnóstico más preciso. Los alumnos en los cursos iniciales recién comienzan el proceso de adquisición de las representaciones ortográficas y por lo tanto el almacenamiento de la información ortográfica de palabras con ambigüedad ortográfica es lenta y exige un alto nivel de especialización y afinado del léxico ortográfico (Cuadro & Costa, 2014; Lété & Fayol, 2013; Sánchez Abchi, Diuk, Borzone, & Ferroni, 2009) para todos los alumnos. De esta forma, el uso predominante del mecanismo fonológico, parecería explicar las diferencias individuales en el rendimiento lector fundamentalmente en estos primeros años escolares.…”

“…La velocidad resulta una medida de la automatización de los procesos léxicos (Shany & Share, 2011) y se destaca como particularmente relevante para discriminar las diferencias individuales en el acceso léxico (Nikolopoulos, Goulandris, Hulme, & Snowling, 2006). Esta consideración es especialmente interesante para el español, en el que las ambigüedades en las lexicalizaciones (ortografía inconsistente) exigirían al sujeto un nivel de análisis superior para el logro de un léxico ortográfico autónomo; en tanto puede encontrarse con palabras existentes fonológicamente pero inexistentes ortográficamente ( cielo / sielo ) (Cuadro & Costa, 2014; Defior & Serrano, 2014). Por lo tanto, una medida de la recuperación de representaciones ortográficas junto a la medición tradicional de la fluidez lectora, podría permitir un diagnóstico más sensible del RL, específicamente para la lengua española.…”

“…Speed ​​is a measure of the automation of lexicon processes (Shany & Share, 2011) and stands out as particularly relevant for distinguishing individual differences in lexical access (Nikolopoulos, Goulandris, Hulme, & Snowling, 2006). This consideration is especially interesting for Spanish, in which the ambiguities in lexicalization (inconsistent spelling) require a higher level of analysis from the subject in order to reach an autonomous orthographic lexicon; as they may come across words that exist phonologically but not orthographically ( cielo [ sky , correctly spelled]/ sielo [same pronunciation, but non-existing spelling]) (Cuadro & Costa, 2014; Defior & Serrano, 2014). Therefore, a measure of orthographic representation recovery in addition to the traditional measurement of reading fluency could allow a more sensitive diagnosis of RD, specifically for Spanish.…”