Oral reading errors of two young beginning readers

Abstract

A BS TRA C TOral reading errors were collected from two young beginning readers (6 years old) as they read to their class teacher throughout a school year. The data were collected from the naturalistic setting of an infant classroom. The errors of substitution were analysed for graphophonic, syntactic and semantic similarity and examined to determine whether the observed response was a previously read word. The study demonstrated that the two boys frequently used a previously read word as a substitution although there was less reliance upon this source towards the end of the year. The graphophonic cue system was used throughout the year, with first letter similarity particularly in evidence. However, finer discriminations over time were also noted. The contextual constraints of syntax and semantics were in evidence throughout the year and the use of these cues had increased by the end of the year. The evidence from this in-depth case study was used to question previously postulated developmental phases of reading. RESUME Les erreurs en lecture d haute voix de deux jeunes apprentis-lecteursOn s'est souvent servi des erreurs en lecture A haute voix de jeunes lecteurs dkbutants comme d'indicateurs du dkveloppement de la lecture chez les enfants (voir par exemple Weber, 1970; Biemiller, 1970 et Clay, 1979. Biemiller (1970) et Donald (1980) soutiennent que ce type d'ktudes permet de faire apparaitre une skquence genktique relative aux premiers temps de l'apprentissage. On admet toutefois que la mkthode d'enseignement peut avoir un effet sur les erreurs produites (Barr, I 974). ORAL READING ERRORS 145Ce texte se rapporte A deux jeunes apprentis-lecteurs dont on a recueilli les erreurs en lecture ii haute voix tout au long d'une annee scolaire. Les donnees ont ktk recueillies dans l'environnement nature1 d'une classe Cltmentaire ("Infant classroom") lorsque les enfants lisaient a l'intention de leur maitre.On a class6 en categories toutes les erreurs effectutes par les deux enfants. On a analysk ensuite les substitutions suivant les trois dimensions fondamentales du systtme d'indices du langage, c'est-a-dire les dimensions grapho-phonetique, syntaxique et skmantique (Goodman, K., 1969). On s'est egalement prkoccupe de savoir si la reponse observee etait un mot lu precedemment.On a indique la quantitt de texte lu et le niveau de precision de cette lecture. On a remarque en particulier que les deux garcons lisaient couramment B des niveaux de precision suptrieurs a 90070, c'est-a-dire que pour 20 mots qu'ils lisaient ils faisaient moins d'une erreur. Les erreurs qui apparaissent le plus souvent sont des substitutions. Si l'on exclue les auto-corrections et les rkpetitions -en les considkrant comme des tentatives positives de reconstitution du texte -les substitutions constituent plus de 80% du total d'erreurs. L'analyse des substitutions montre que les deux enfants fournissent le plus souvent un mot dkjia lu comme substitut du mot du texte. Tout au long de l'annk plus de 90% des substitutions est constituk de mots qui ont...

Dyslexia and oral reading errors

“…This finding has been widely replicated (e.g. Campbell, 1987; Francis, 1977) and suggests that when young children are uncertain about a word they tend to offer one with which they are already familiar in a reading context. Weber also found that as children became better readers the contextual acceptability of their substitutions increases – a finding that is consistent with Goodman's (1969) thesis.…”

“…In the same issue of the Journal of Research in Reading as Potter's article, Donald (1980) speculated that contemporary evidence on children's oral reading errors implied a developmental sequence of strategies: first, predominant use of word familiarity; second, use of context (contextual guessing); third, unresolved graphic‐contextual conflict (no response); fourth, incorrectly resolved graphic‐contextual conflict (nonsense); and lastly, correctly resolved graphic‐contextual conflict. Neat though this theory appeared, it did not withstand empirical investigation (see Beardsley, 1982; Campbell, 1987; Francis, 1984). Although there are developmental changes, the miscue data indicate a transition at around a reading age of 7 years, probably as a function of teaching input and learning opportunities.…”

The teacher response to children's miscues of substitution

“…An analysis of the two children's miscues, and their reading development, has been reported earlier (Campbell, 1987). Those children, Alan 6 years 7 months and Brian 6 years 10 months at the start of the school year, had made a limited start with reading as compared with their peer group.…”

“…The teacher response to oral reading miscues (or errors in the terminology of some of the writers) has been studied by a number of researchers including Allington (1980), Spiegel andRogers (1980) and Hoffman and Baker (1981) in the USA, Glynn (198~) and McNaughton (1987) in New Zealand, and Gulliver (1980) and Campbell (19811988) in the UK. Each of those researchers has provided means of categorizing the various teacher verbal moves as responses to miscues.…”

Investigating the Miscue-reflected EFL Oral Reading Process: A Case Study

“…Previous studies have explored the patterns of oral reading miscues and showed the involvement of language factors in miscue production (Allington, 1984;Beebe, 1980;Goodman & Gollasch, 1980). This line of research has also indicated the role of context in reading (e.g., Campbell, 1987) and found that the use of context increased with the maturity of a reader. Miscue studies further confirmed the utilization of cognitive strategies such as self-monitoring in reading, as reflected in the production of corrected miscues (Kolic-Vehovec, 2002;Thompson, 1984).…”