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Descriptors:
Accuracy; Rating Scales; English (Second Language); Essays; Experiments; Statistical Analysis; Lexicology

Abstract:
Although raters can be trained to evaluate the lexical qualities of student essays, the question remains as to what extent raters follow the "lexis" scale descriptors in the rating scale when evaluating or rate according to their own criteria. The current study examines the extent to which 27 trained university EFL raters take various lexical qualities into account while using an analytic rating scale to assess timed essays. In this experiment, the lexical content of 27 essays was manipulated before rating. This was done in order to determine if raters were sensitive to range, accuracy or sophistication when rating writing for lexis. Using a between-subjects ANOVA design, it was found that raters were sensitive to accuracy, but not range or sophistication, when rating essays for lexis. The implications for rater training and using rating scales are discussed. (Contains 4 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Foreign Countries; Reading Research; Learning Theories; Vocabulary; Semantics; Models; Reading Aloud to Others; Validity; English; Pronunciation; Lexicology; Phonemes; Graphemes; Phoneme Grapheme Correspondence

Abstract:
Two prominent dual-route computational models of reading aloud are the dual-route cascaded (DRC) model, and the connectionist dual-process plus (CDP+) model. While sharing similarly designed lexical routes, the two models differ greatly in their respective nonlexical route architecture, such that they often differ on nonword pronunciation. Neither model has been appropriately tested for nonword reading pronunciation accuracy to date. We argue that empirical data on the nonword reading pronunciation of people is the ideal benchmark for testing. Data were gathered from 45 Australian-English-speaking psychology undergraduates reading aloud 412 nonwords. To provide contrast between the models, the nonwords were chosen specifically because DRC and CDP+ disagree on their pronunciation. Both models failed to accurately match the experiment data, and both have deficiencies in nonword reading performance. However, the CDP+ model performed significantly worse than the DRC model. CDP++, the recent successor to CDP+, had improved performance over CDP+, but was also significantly worse than DRC. In addition to highlighting performance shortcomings in each model, the variety of nonword responses given by participants points to a need for models that can account for this variety. (Contains 5 tables, 2 figures and 3 footnotes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Learner Engagement; English (Second Language); Foreign Countries; Hearing Impairments; Total Communication; Vocabulary Development; Lexicology; Language Acquisition; English Language Learners; Assistive Technology; Accessibility (for Disabled); Courseware; Elementary School Curriculum; Elementary School Students; Animation; Dictionaries; Computer Uses in Education; Program Descriptions; Special Needs Students

Abstract:
As English increasingly becomes the international language, many ministerial and educational organisations have identified the need to improve the competence of Thai students in speaking English. While there is significant research devoted to developing software tools to support the teaching of English as a second language, they are mostly concerned with adult learners. This project focuses on addressing the need to improve the teaching of English as a second language to primary school children with hearing impairments. This paper presents the development of an educational software tool referred to as the Total Communication with Animation Dictionary (TCAD), which supports learners in the acquisition and retention of new English lexical knowledge and is based on the theoretical approaches of Total Communication and situated learning. A series of experiments was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of the TCAD in improving vocabulary acquisition and retention. Early results are promising with increased learner engagement and performance compared with traditional approaches. (Contains 7 tables and 11 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Semantics; Sight Vocabulary; Phonological Awareness; Identification; Individual Differences; Word Recognition; Reading Ability; Reading; Models; Morphology (Languages); Lexicology; Decoding (Reading); Adults; Comprehension; Naming; Reading Fluency

Abstract:
The lexical decision (LD) and naming (NAM) tasks are ubiquitous paradigms that employ printed word identification. They are major tools for investigating how factors like morphology, semantic information, lexical neighborhood and others affect identification. Although use of the tasks is widespread, there has been little research into how performance in LD or NAM relates to reading ability, a deficiency that limits the translation of research with these tasks to the understanding of individual differences in reading. The present research was designed to provide a link from LD and NAM to the specific variables that characterize reading ability (e.g., decoding, sight word recognition, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension) as well as to important reading-related abilities (phonological awareness and rapid naming). We studied 99 adults with a wide range of reading abilities. LD and NAM strongly predicted individual differences in word identification, less strongly predicted vocabulary size and did not predict comprehension. Fluency was predicted but with differences that depended on the way fluency was defined. Finally, although the tasks did not predict individual differences in rapid naming or phonological awareness, the failures nevertheless assisted in understanding the cognitive mechanisms behind these reading-related abilities. The results demonstrate that LD and NAM are important tools for the study of individual differences in reading. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Comprehension; Sentences; Reaction Time; Aphasia; Word Frequency; Learning Modalities; Lexicology; Auditory Training; Predictor Variables; Accessibility (for Disabled); Reading Comprehension; Reading Processes; Speech Language Pathology; Intervention; Control Groups; Experimental Groups; Listening Comprehension

Abstract:
Purpose: It is well known that people with aphasia have sentence comprehension impairments. The present study investigated whether lexical factors contribute to sentence comprehension impairments in both the auditory and written modalities using online measures of sentence processing. Method: People with aphasia and non brain-damaged controls participated in the experiment (n = 8 per group). Twenty-one sentence pairs containing high- and low-frequency words were presented in self-paced listening and reading tasks. The sentences were syntactically simple and differed only in the critical words. The dependent variables were response times for critical segments of the sentence and accuracy on the comprehension questions. Results: The results showed that word frequency influences performance on measures of sentence comprehension in people with aphasia. The accuracy data on the comprehension questions suggested that people with aphasia have more difficulty understanding sentences containing low-frequency words in the written compared to auditory modality. Both group and single-case analyses of the response time data also indicated that people with aphasia experience more difficulty with reading than listening. Conclusion: Sentence comprehension in people with aphasia is influenced by word frequency and presentation modality. (Contains 5 tables, 2 figures and 2 footnotes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Test Items; Disabilities; Cognitive Ability; Cognitive Psychology; Testing Accommodations; Predictor Variables; Outcomes of Education; Performance Based Assessment; Knowledge Level; Linguistic Competence; Linguistic Performance; Lexicology; Reading Tests; Grammar; Text Structure

Abstract:
Assessments developed and field tested for the mainstream student population may not be accessible for students with disabilities (SWDs) as a result of the impact of extraneous variables, including cognitive features, such as depth of knowledge required, grammatical and lexical complexity, lexical density, and textual/visual features. This study investigates the impact of these features on the performance outcomes of SWDs in the United States. Live test items from two different states with large numbers of SWDs were evaluated for their level of depth of knowledge features, linguistic complexity, two types of lexical features, and textual and visual characteristics. Results suggest that textual features have the greatest impact on the performance of students with different types of disabilities. (Contains 5 tables and 2 notes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Semantics; Cognitive Processes; Experiments; Morphology (Languages); Cost Effectiveness; English; Lexicology

Abstract:
Six lexical decision experiments were conducted to examine the influence of complex structure on the processing speed of English compounds. All experiments revealed that semantically transparent compounds (e.g., "rosebud") were processed more quickly than matched monomorphemic words (e.g., "giraffe"). Opaque compounds (e.g., "hogwash") were also processed more quickly than monomorphemic words. However, when the experimental materials and/or procedure encouraged decomposition/integration, this advantage disappeared. This research suggests that morphological decomposition initiated by the existence of complex structure results in the availability of both the lexical and semantic representations of compound constituents, regardless of whether the compounds are transparent or opaque, and that meaning composition is attempted. This meaning composition further speeds up transparent compound processing beyond lexical facilitation but slows down opaque compound processing because the computed meaning for opaque compounds conflicts with the retrieved meaning. (Contains 7 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Attention Control; Attention; Experiments; Semantics; Pictorial Stimuli; Word Recognition; Task Analysis; Identification; Reaction Time; Content Analysis; Conflict; Computer Software; Language Processing; Cognitive Processes; Phonology; Lexicology

Abstract:
E. Dhooge and R. J. Hartsuiker (2010) reported experiments showing that picture naming takes longer with low- than high-frequency distractor words, replicating M. Miozzo and A. Caramazza (2003). In addition, they showed that this distractor-frequency effect disappears when distractors are masked or preexposed. These findings were taken to refute models like WEAVER++ (A. Roelofs, 2003) in which words are selected by competition. However, Dhooge and Hartsuiker do not take into account that according to this model, picture-word interference taps not only into word production but also into attentional processes. Here, the authors indicate that WEAVER++ contains an attentional mechanism that accounts for the distractor-frequency effect (A. Roelofs, 2005). Moreover, the authors demonstrate that the model accounts for the influence of masking and preexposure, and does so in a simpler way than the response exclusion through self-monitoring account advanced by Dhooge and Hartsuiker. (Contains 1 figure.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Semantics; Eye Movements; Monolingualism; Language Processing; Word Frequency; Lexicology; Reading Skills; Language Proficiency; English (Second Language); Spanish Speaking; Bilingualism; English; Pictorial Stimuli; Reading Processes; Cognitive Processes; Foreign Countries; Undergraduate Students; Context Effect; Vocabulary; Reaction Time; Incidence

Abstract:
To contrast mechanisms of lexical access in production versus comprehension we compared the effects of word frequency (high, low), context (none, low constraint, high constraint), and level of English proficiency (monolingual, Spanish-English bilingual, Dutch-English bilingual) on picture naming, lexical decision, and eye fixation times. Semantic constraint effects were larger in production than in reading. Frequency effects were larger in production than in reading without constraining context but larger in reading than in production with constraining context. Bilingual disadvantages were modulated by frequency in production but not in eye fixation times, were not smaller in low-constraint contexts, and were reduced by high-constraint contexts only in production and only at the lowest level of English proficiency. These results challenge existing accounts of bilingual disadvantages and reveal fundamentally different processes during lexical access across modalities, entailing a primarily semantically driven search in production but a frequency-driven search in comprehension. The apparently more interactive process in production than comprehension could simply reflect a greater number of frequency-sensitive processing stages in production. (Contains 4 tables, 5 figures and 4 footnotes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Semantics; Cognitive Processes; Emotional Response; Concept Formation; Language Usage; Regression (Statistics); Context Effect; Lexicology; English; Familiarity; College Students; Affective Behavior; Word Recognition

Abstract:
Although much is known about the representation and processing of concrete concepts, knowledge of what abstract semantics might be is severely limited. In this article we first address the adequacy of the 2 dominant accounts (dual coding theory and the context availability model) put forward in order to explain representation and processing differences between concrete and abstract words. We find that neither proposal can account for experimental findings and that this is, at least partly, because abstract words are considered to be unrelated to experiential information in both of these accounts. We then address a particular type of experiential information, emotional content, and demonstrate that it plays a crucial role in the processing and representation of abstract concepts: Statistically, abstract words are more emotionally valenced than are concrete words, and this accounts for a residual latency advantage for abstract words, when variables such as imageability (a construct derived from dual coding theory) and rated context availability are held constant. We conclude with a discussion of our novel hypothesis for embodied abstract semantics. (Contains 7 footnotes, 3 tables, and 9 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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