Individual Differences in Phonological Feedback Effects: Evidence for the Orthographic Recoding Hypothesis of Orthographic Learning

Abstract

Share (1995) has proposed phonological recoding (the translation of letters into sounds) as a self-teaching mechanism through which readers establish complete lexical representations. More recently, McKague et al. (2008) proposed a similar role for orthographic recoding, i.e., feedback from sounds to letters, in building and refining lexical representations. We reasoned that an interaction between feedback consistency measures and spelling ability in a spelling decision experiment would lend support to this hypothesis. In a linear mixed effects logistic regression of accuracy data this interaction was significant. Better spellers but not poorer spellers were immune to feedback effects in deciding if a word is spelled correctly, which is consistent with McKague et al.’s prediction that the impact of phonological feedback on word recognition will diminish when the orthographic representation for an item is fully specified. The study demonstrates the importance of considering individual differences when investigating the role of phonology in reading.

Phonological Awareness Materials in Utah Kindergartens: A Case Study in the Science of Reading

“…Our examination of research published after the NRP (NICHD, 2000) and NELP (2008) reports did not identify empirical work that contradicted those reports’ major findings. In fact, the articles we reviewed served to bolster or expand those findings (see, e.g., Boyer & Ehri, 2011; Clayton et al, 2020; Hall & Burns, 2018; Harris & Perfetti, 2017; Hulme, Bowyer‐Crane, Carroll, Duff, & Snowling, 2012; Mesmer & Lake, 2010; Szadokierski, Burns, & McComas, 2017). For evidence reviewed but not cited in this article, see the Appendix.…”

“…However, our review of research turned up no published studies that support those assumptions (see also Shanahan, 2017). However, we identified studies suggesting that as readers develop word recognition precision, orthography garners a larger role, and phonological information diminishes in impact (see, e.g., Conrad, Harris, & Williams, 2013; Ehri, 2014; Ehri & Saltmarsh, 1995; Harris & Perfetti, 2017). We also identified at least one study in which at‐risk first graders receiving explicit phonics and text intervention did not profit from oral‐only phonemic awareness work (Brown et al, 2000).…”

Language Bases of Spelling in Writing during Early and Middle Childhood: Grounding Applications to Struggling Writers in Typical Writing Development

“…One reason that the linguistic foundations of spelling are not widely recognized is that, historically, linguistics focused on oral language. Increasingly linguists are interested in written language, including spelling (e.g., Harris & Perfetti, 2017;Neef, 2012;Perfetti, Rieben, & Fayol, 1997). However, translation science is needed to implement this research, as the psycholinguistics of written spelling lags behind other efforts to implement evidence-based practices in schools, for example, in reading.…”

“…Third, individual differences affect all aspects of learning word spelling. A larger vocabulary of familiar meanings results in more word-specific spellings of higher lexical quality (Harris & Perfetti, 2017).…”

La presencia de elementos de conexión en las producciones narrativas escritas en una muestra de escolares de Santiago de Chile

“…La identificación de la palabra y la conciencia fonológica es en el desarrollo del niño un factor importante en la interpretación de la palabra para una lectura fluida. La recodificación fonológica es entendida como la traducción de los sonidos y un mecanismo de auto-enseñanza a través del cual los lectores establecen representaciones léxicas completas (Harris & Perfetti, 2017). A largo plazo, una adecuada alfabetización en las áreas de lectura y escritura es imprescindible para desenvolverse en la sociedad e insertarse en el mundo laboral, no siendo el único factor que influye en ello, pero sí uno de gran importancia (Sotomayor et al, 2013).…”