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1
The Mnemonic Value of Orthography for Vocabulary Learning
Linnea EhriProgram in Educational PsychologyCUNY Graduate Center
3
The Mnemonic Value of Orthography for Vocabulary Learning
Collaborator: Julie Rosenthal
Mnemonic value – improving memory Orthography – spellings of words
Two Ways to read words
DECODING MEMORY
rume ocean
rane iron
taik yacht
gote tongue
yung sugar
interpossism
subharkible
contorrention
5
Ways to Read Words
UNFAMILIAR WORDSBy Decoding:
– Graphemes -> Phonemes
– Larger units: spelling patterns for syllables or morphemes
FAMILIAR WORDSBy Memory or Sight
– Note: All words when practiced become read from memory
Reading Words from Memory
Process of forming connections
Spelling
Meaningglue
Pronunciation
Knowledge of the grapheme-phoneme system provides the glue connecting spellings to pronunciations in memory
7
Examples of connections for regularly spelled words
S T O P CH E CK
/s/-/t/-/a/-/p/ /c/-/E/-/k/
G I GG LE B IR D
/g/-/I/-/g/-/L/ /b/-/r/-/d/
8
Examples of connections for irregularly spelled words
I S* L A N D S W* O R D
/ay/-/L/-/ae/-/n/-/d/ /s/ - /o/ - /r/ - /d/
L I S T* E N S I G* N
/L/-/I/-/s/-/t/-/e/-/n/ /s/ - /I/ - /n/
9
Knowledge needed to form connections
Phoneme segmentation – To analyze pronunciations into phonemes
Grapheme-phoneme correspondences– To access constituents of the writing system (the glue)
Grapho-phonemic matching – To connect graphemes to phonemes within specific words
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Connections for Specific Words are Learned Quickly
Reitsma (1983)- Taught 1st graders to read words
- Minimum of 4 practice trials to read words from memory
Share (2004) – self teaching mechanism- 1 exposure to words in text for 3rd graders
- Memory for letters persisted one month
11
Application to Vocabulary Learning
Examined connection forming process as it contributes to vocabulary learning
Explicit Word Learning Task: – Students rehearsed pronunciations and meanings of new words
over several trials Procedure:
– Initial study trial: words and meanings were introduced Pictures and defining sentences
– Several test trials with feedback followedExperimental Manipulation– Treatment condition: spellings of words were shown during study
and feedback periods but NOT when recall of words was tested– Control condition: same except spellings of words were not
shown
12
Hypothesis and Explanation
Hypothesis: Students will learn the pronunciations and meanings of words more readily when they are exposed to spellings of the words during study periods than when they are not exposed to spellings.
Explanation: Grapheme-phoneme connections are activated by spellings and will better secure the words in memory.
First Experiment N = 20 2nd graders, Mean age = 7yrs. 7 monthsPretests Woodcock word identification: M = 2.2 grade-equivalent CVC nonword reading (M=55%) and spelling (M=53%)Word Learning Conditions They were taught two sets of 6 concrete nouns and their
meanings– One set: spellings of words accompanied learning– The other set: spellings did not accompany learning
Counterbalancing Examples:
– Gam – family of whales– Cur – a homeless dog– Sod – wet, grassy ground– Fet – big, fun party– Nib – tip of a pen– Yag – fake jewelry
(picture)
gam
yag
sod
fet (picture)
nib
(picture)
(picture)
(picture)
Spelling Seen Condition:Initial study trial: Student hears each word and a defining sentence, sees picture and written word,
repeats word and sentence
(picture)
yag
(picture)
(picture)
(picture)
(picture)
(picture)
Spelling Seen Condition:Word Recall Test Trial: Student sees each picture and
recalls word. Then word is seen, pronounced, and heard in a sentence. Students repeats the word and its
sentence.
(picture)
sod
nib
gam
cur
fet
Spelling Seen Condition:Definition Recall Test Trial: Student hears and sees each word and recalls its meaning. Then meaning is given, and student repeats the word and its meaning.
yag
18
No-Spelling Condition:
Procedures are the same as in the Spelling Condition– Except:
Spellings of words are never shown Students pronounce the words extra times
Summary of word learning events
Each child learns one set of vocabulary words with spellings and another set without spellings
One initial study trial to introduce words Followed by trials to test recall of words and
definitions Word recall trials are interleaved with definition
recall trials Maximum of 9 trials are provided to learn words and
meanings Note: Spellings of words are not shown when words
are tested, so recall depends upon having the spellings of words in memory.
Mean number correct by trial
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
1 2 3 4 5Trial number
Num
ber o
f wor
ds/d
efini
tions
Recall
Words /spell not seen
Words / spell seen
Definitions / spell not seen
Definitions / spell seen
(Study with 2nd graders)
Recall of words and definitions during the learning trials
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Words Definitions
Percent of students reaching a criterion of 3 perfect successive
trials within a maximum of 9 trials
Spell Seen
Spell Not Seen
Recall Measure
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Words Spellings Definitions
Mean Percent Correct on Posttests
Spell Seen
Spell Not Seen
Posttest Measures
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Conclusion and explanation
Conclusion: 2nd graders learned vocabulary words and their meanings better when they were exposed to spellings of the words than when they only practiced speaking the words
Explanation: – Pronunciations were unfamiliar.– Grapho-phonemic connections better secured
their representations in memory– Stronger base for attaching meanings
Second Experiment N = 32 5th graders, Mean age = 10 yrs. 11 monthsPretests
Reading words and nonwords; spelling words; vocabulary test;Reader Ability Groups (word reading task)
Higher Readers (7.3 GE) vs. Lower Readers (4.6 GE)Word Learning Conditions They were taught two sets of 10 concrete nouns and their meanings
– One set: spellings accompanied word learning– One set: spellings did not accompany word learning– Maximum of 8 trials to achieve 3 perfect successive trials
Examples:– Barrow: a small hill– Tandem: a horse-drawn carriage– Fribble: a foolish shallow person– Tamarack: a big tree found all over America– Proboscis: a really big nose
25
Word-recall training/feedback card in the spellings present vs. spellings absent conditions.
Tamarack
26
Hypotheses
Spellings will help 5th graders learn the pronunciations and meanings of new vocabulary words
Students with stronger orthographic knowledge (hi readers) will benefit more from spellings than students with weaker orthographic knowledge (lo readers)
Recall of Words by 5th Graders (10 max)Hi Readers,Spell seen
Lo Readers,Spell seen
Hi Readers,Spell not seen
Lo Readers,Spell not seen
Hi Readers
Lo Readers
0%20%40%60%80%
100%
WordsHi Rs
WordsLo Rs
Defin Hi Rs
DefinLo Rs
Percent of high readers and lo readers reaching a criterion of 3 perfect successive trials within 8
trials
Spell Seen
Spell Not Seen
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Hi Rs Lo Rs Hi Rs Lo Rs Hi Rs Lo Rs
Mean Percent Correct on Posttests
Spell
No Spell
Recall Words Write Spellings Fill Cloze Sentences
31
Conclusions
Seeing spellings helped 5th graders learn the pronunciations and meanings of new vocabulary words more than not seeing spellings.
Students with strong orthographic knowledge benefited more from seeing spellings than students with weak orthographic knowledge
Matthew Effect: rich getting richer over time
Explanation: grapho-phonemic connections better secured pronunciations of words in memory; better specified pronunciations provided a stronger base for learning meanings.
Effect incidental: no attention directed at spellings; no instruction to decode words; automatic activation of mapping relations
32
Implications for Vocabulary Instruction and Learning
Grapho-phonemic instruction: - It is important for students to acquire strong
orthographic knowledge as they learn to read
Strategy instruction:– When students encounter new vocabulary words,
they should be taught to examine the spellings of the words as they pronounce them aloud or as they listen to someone else pronounce them