This study investigates whether deletion neighbourhood frequency influences the processing of French written words, and whether it might also be influenced by individual differences in skilled adult readers. For this purpose, words with at least 1 higher-frequency deletion neighbour (e.g., pliage [folding]/plage [beach]) and others with no higher-frequency neighbour (e.g., morose [gloomy]) were presented in lexical decision (Experiment 1), progressive demasking (Experiment 2), and naming (Experiment 3) tasks. For each experiment, the participants' lexical skills were assessed by spelling, reading, and vocabulary tests. In Experiments 1-3, participants responded more slowly to words with at least 1 higher-frequency deletion neighbour than they did to words with no such neighbour. We also found evidence that the inhibitory effect of deletion neighbourhood frequency was sensitive to lexical skills in the naming task. These findings are discussed in terms of lexical competition underlying visual word recognition according to individual differences. Public Significance StatementThis study indicated that visual word recognition depends on both orthographic similarity between words and individual differences in adults' lexical skills (spelling, reading, and vocabulary). We found that French readers responded more slowly to words with at least 1 higher-frequency deletion neighbour (e.g., pliage [folding]/plage [beach]) than they did to words with no such neighbour. This effect occurred for all French readers in lexical decision and identification tasks and emerged for high lexical-skill readers in naming. These findings suggest that lexical competition between words is a critical process for the French language.

No abstract

The aims of the present study are: (1) to examine the contribution that vocabulary makes to reading comprehension in the Simple View of Reading model in French-speaking children aged from 7 to 10 years based on the use of an index of efficiency (i.e., speed-accuracy index); and (2) to investigate the extent to which the contribution of vocabulary to reading comprehension might change according to children's school grade level. Measures of vocabulary depth, word reading (i.e., three levels of word representations, namely orthography, phonology, semantics), listening, and reading comprehension were collected using computer-based assessments in children from Grades 2 to 5 (N = 237). We examined the contribution of vocabulary in two contrasted groups: a younger group consisting of children from Grades 2-3 and an older group with children from Grades 4-5. A confirmatory factor analysis revealed that vocabulary is a factor separate from word reading, listening and reading comprehension. Moreover, the results from a structural equation modeling analysis showed that word reading and listening comprehension fully mediated the relation between vocabulary and reading comprehension. Consequently, vocabulary had an indirect effect via word reading on reading comprehension in both groups. Finally, word reading had a greater effect on reading comprehension than listening comprehension in both groups. The results suggest that word reading plays a central role in reading comprehension and is underpinned by the influence of vocabulary. We discuss the results in the light of the lexical quality hypotheses taken together with reading comprehension.