A Study of the Relationships Among Chinese Multicharacter Words, Subtypes of Readers, and Instructional Methods. (January 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ho, Fuk-chuen; Siegel, Linda S.
• Is Part Of: Journal of learning disabilities. Volume 49:Number 1(2016)
• Page Start: 97
• Page End: 110
• Publication Date: 2016-01
• Subjects: intervention -- reading -- cross-language aspects -- dyslexia; Learning disabilities -- Periodicals; 371.905
• DOI: 10.1177/0022219414529334
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-2194

Abstract

This article reports the results of two studies examining the effectiveness of the whole-word and analytic instructional methods in teaching different subtypes of readers (students with normal reading performance, surface dyslexics, phonological dyslexics, and both dyslexic patterns) and four kinds of Chinese two-character words (two regular [RR], two irregular [II], one regular, one irregular [RI], and one irregular, one regular [IR]). The approaches employed were the analytic method, which focuses on highlighting the phonological components of words, and the whole-word method, which focuses on learning by sight. Two studies were conducted among a sample of 40 primary school students with different reading patterns. The aim was to examine the relationships among different subtypes of readers, two-character words, and instructional methods. In general, students with a surface dyslexic pattern benefited more from the analytic methods. Regarding combinations of different kinds of two-character words, all subtypes of students performed better in reading RR words than in reading II words.