We report a study of incremental learning of new word meanings over multiple episodes. A new method called MESA (Markov Estimation of Semantic Association) tracked this learning through the automated assessment of learner-generated definitions. The multiple word learning episodes varied in the strength of contextual constraint provided by…

Research on how the brain implements reading has produced results of remarkable consistency, especially on the functional anatomy of single word reading. We examine the general features of this emerging knowledge and draw attention to the extent to which it converges with results from other methods of reading science in several areas: reading…

Two experiments were carried out to examine how adult readers of English learn to acquire the orthographic structure and function of Chinese characters selected from reading material in their first-semester college course in Chinese. The first experiment, an online lexical decision task, demonstrated that the learners quickly acquired knowledge…

Considers how reading has universal properties that can be seen across the world's writing systems. Discusses the most important universal language constraint: All writing systems represent spoken languages, a universal with consequences for reading processes. Draws on observations and research from Chinese and Korean to examine these universal…

Examines how alphabetic readers learn to read Chinese. Explores the effect of the frequency of the characters in their curriculum on performance of a lexical decision and naming task. Finds that the beginning learners were sensitive to the structural complexity and composition of characters. Suggests that perceptual learning plays an important…

In reading research, morphological processing and monomorphemic word identification have generally been treated separately. We describe a computational model that brings both kinds of reading together within a single framework. This model assumes that word knowledge-the orthography, phonology, and meaning of words-accumulates with experiences with…

Assesses the role of the onset-rime structure in visual word recognition. Finds experiments 1 through 3 showed no evidence for the importance of onset-rime in children (2nd through 6th graders) or adults; experiment 4 with adults found onset-rime structure is important in oral reading. Suggests the onset-rime structure may be an important unit in…

Supports a differential development model of reading disability that argues deficits in rapid auditory ability in children are primarily associated with problems in phonological processing, whereas deficits in rapid visual ability in children are primarily associated with problems in orthographic processing; and, for adults, continued deficits in…