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This article was downloaded by: [Temple University Libraries]On: 17 November 2014, At: 07:07Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number:1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street,London W1T 3JH, UK
Journal of Reading, Writing,and Learning DisabilitiesInternational: OvercomingLearning DifficultiesPublication details, including instructions forauthors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/urwl19
Remediating ReadingProblems in a HispanicLearning Disabled Childfrom a PsycholinguisticPerspective: A Case StudyDiana Rivera VieraPublished online: 28 Jul 2006.
To cite this article: Diana Rivera Viera (1986) Remediating Reading Problemsin a Hispanic Learning Disabled Child from a Psycholinguistic Perspective: ACase Study, Journal of Reading, Writing, and Learning Disabilities International:Overcoming Learning Difficulties, 2:1, 85-97, DOI: 10.1080/0748763860020108
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0748763860020108
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Remediating Reading Problems in a HispanicLearning Disabled Child from aPsycholinguistic Perspective:
A Case Study
Diana Rivera Viera
From a psycholinguistic perspective, readingis viewed as an interaction between languageand thought. In this interaction, the readerbrings his/her acquired skills in language useto the reading situation. He uses these skillsto make predictions about printed material. Inthis process the reader uses three basic kindsof information: grapho/phonic, syntactic andsemantic cues. The reader makes choices whichhe or she thinks fit the semantic, syntacticand grapho/phonic constraints of the languagein an effort to comprehend. Comprehension isthe ultimate goal of reading. Therefore, readingproficiency must be defined in terms of thereader's efficiency in using the cue systemsavailable to construct meaning.
Findings in miscue research, which examinereading from a psycholinguistic perspective,suggest that the use of reading strategies varyin poor and proficient readers. Poor readersdepend most on grapho/phonic and syntactic cuesin the text. Proficient readers use syntacticand semantic cues more extensively and withgreater success (Goodman and Burke, 1970). YettaGoodman (1967) suggested that the types of mis-cues change qualitatively as reading abilitydevelops and comprehension tends to increaseas the percentage of syntactically and seman-tically acceptable miscues increase.
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Goodman and Burke's study (1969) found thatmiscues don't always result in changes in mean-ing. They re-emphasized the importance of analyz-ing miscues in terms of how they affect a reader'scomprehension of the material. By analyzinga reader's oral reading miscues, it is possibleto determine what reading strategies he/she isusing to understand a text and their effective-ness.
Many studies in miscue research have focusedon the differences in the use of cue systemsby typical nonproficient and proficient readers.Several studies have examined the use of thesecue systems in nonproficient and learning dis-abled readers. Gutknecht's study (1971) of iden-tified perceptually handicapped children madea significant contribution by questioning themyth that perceptually handicapped children pro-cess reading in a different way than so-called"normal" children. The data indicated that thesame patterns were evident in the perceptuallyhandicapped child's oral reading behavior. Rivera-Viera (1983) found no significant differencesbetween oral reading patterns of typical nonpro-ficient and learning disabled Hispanic readers.
In 1972, Yetta Goodman and Carolyn Burkedeveloped the Reading Miscue Inventory (RMI)as a diagnostic and evaluation instrument forreading. The instrument provides quantitativeas well as qualitative information of a reader'soral reading miscues. By analyzing oral miscuesmade when reading a story, the teacher obtainsa reader's profile of strengths and weaknessesin the use of reading strategies. The profileis an aid in developing a reading program fora particular child. It assists the teacher inselecting materials and activities which willimprove reading comprehension and the effective
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use of the cue systems available while reading.The instrument can also be used as a pre- andpost-test to evaluate the student's progress.
Based on the review of the literature inmiscue research, a study was designed to usethe RMI as the basis for developing a remedialreading program for a Hispanic learning disabledchild. The purpose of the study was to determineif the RMI was a useful instrument in workingwith learning disabled (ID) readers.
The Subject
The subject (S) was a seven-year-old PuertoRican male from a middle-class family. He wasreferred to the learning disabilities specialistfor an educational evaluation by a psychologist.The S's first grade teacher had recommended hebe retained in the first grade due to readingproblems.
A summary of results provided by the psycho-logist's evaluation indicated that the S wasimpulsive, highly disorganized and very distract-ible. He showed an attentional deficit and hadserious reversal problems when reading. Hisvisual and grapho-motor skills were those ofa five-year-old. His major strengths were above-average intellectual ability, verbal and quanti-tative reasoning and linguistic development ingeneral which was the level expected for an eight-year-old.
The reading material used for testing withthe RMI was selected from the first grade readerAprendemos a leer from the Laidlaw Reading SeriesPor el mundo del cuento y la aventura developedfor Puerto Rico and other Hispanic countriesin 1971. This series is used extensively by
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the public education system in Puerto Rico. Theresults of the reading profile indicated thathe was ineffective in the use of reading strate-gies and had a 15.20 comprehension score of apossible 100 points. In terms of the use ofthe basic cue systems, there was a great de-pendence on grapho/phonic cues to the exclusionof syntactic and semantic cues. Self-correctionattempts were almost nonexistent. Punctuationmarks were generally ignored. His reading wasmerely "word calling" with no concern for tryingto make sense of what was being read. His readingwas so cumbersome and difficult that by the endof the story he began introducing charactersand events from a previous reading primer whichhe had memorized. Reading was a painful exper-ience.
The Remedial Reading Program
The program consists of one hour sessionstwice a week for the duration of the school year.The S worked with the learning disabilitiesteacher (LDT) in a separate room in the schoolduring his language arts class. Periodic meet-ings were scheduled with his classroom teacherand parents to share materials and strategiesused. His parents observed some of the sessionsand others were recorded on tape so that theycould model the intervention strategies usedwhen working with him at home.
Oral reading exercises. The initial RMIprofile suggested that the S was "calling outwords" as best he could with no regard for thefact that there was a message printed which heshould try to comprehend. He became very anxiouswhen asked to read. However, he had above-averagelanguage skills and was very articulate. Heloved storytelling and his parents, who were
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both avid readers, had instilled in him a lovefor books. He had an extensive collection ofchildren's books at home. Bedtime stories werea regular part of his nightly routine. Due tothese factors, initial sessions began with oralexercises in which two of Kenneth Goodman's rulesof thumb were implemented. Goodman has statedthat nonproficient readers must be taught toask themselves two questions while reading: Doesthis make sense? and Does it sound like language?During the first sessions, oral games were played.The LDT said to the S:
"While we talk I will say some thingswhich don't make sense. When I saysomething which doesn't sound rightyou will say, 'I caught you'."
Whenever the S "caught" the LDT in a mistake,he was asked to explain why it was wrong. Theseinitial sessions involved very obvious syntacticerrors such as incorrect gender correspondenceor mistakes in the use of verb tense. Later,semantic errors were added. The game was thenapplied to mistakes made by the LDT when readingorally to the S. Once the S became aware ofthe importance of identifying mistakes whichdidn't sound right or make sense, other activi-ties were introduced.
The S's attention span when reading wasapproximately five minutes at the beginning ofthe remedial program. This required a greatdeal of variation in activities within each onehour session. He would bring in toys and talkabout them while he played. He also talked aboutactivities which occurred in school and at home.While he talked, the LDT would write short para-graphs in simple language structures. The Swould then be asked to read them applying the
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the rules of thumb learned previously. He shouldreread anything that didn't sound right or makesense with no intervention from the LDT. Ini-tially there was a tendency to look at the LDTwhenever he was faced with a difficult word.He was encouraged to try to figure words outby saying, "You mentioned that word when youtalked a while ago. Try to think of what yousaid. You can do it."
The use of this modified and simplifiedversion of the language experience approach wasused extensively over the school year. The class-room teacher was encouraged to use this approachinstead of the reading series when working withthe S. Reading time was increased to fifteenminute period with five minute recess sessionsby the end of the second month.
Word reversals were frequent. Particularlywith the words:
se for esle for elsol for losal for la
These words are used frequently in Spanish.
When faced with these reverals, the LDTwould say: "Sometimes our eyes play tricks onus. Use the questions in your mind and decideif that word fits in that sentence."
Reading storybooks from home. The S wasasked to bring in four or five of his favoritebooks from home. The LDT rewrote the text, sim-plifying the language structure. This was veryimportant not only because of his difficultiesin reading, but also because most books written
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in Spanish are published in Mexico, Spain orArgentina and include many regional variationsof the Spanish language. In order to facilitatehis application of the questions which wouldserve as guides, it was necessary to make thetext sound like the Spanish which is used inPuerto Rico. The simplified language structureswere then pasted over the original text. Thesestories were then used as the basic materialsfor a number of sessions.
When first used, the S tended to "read"the text as he had memorized it from hearinghis parents read to him. When this occurred,the LDT would say:
"What's written in print now has thesame message but some of the wordshave been changed. You know what isgoing to happen because you are familiarwith the story. Use that informationto try to make out the words."
This strategy was very successful in improvingthe S's self-esteem, since he was now takingbooks home to read to his parents. Several varia-tions of this strategy were introduced. First,some paragraphs were left in the original text.Then, whole pages were left in the original,and the S and LDT would take turns reading variousparagraphs and pages. Reading periods were in-creased to twenty minutes with five minute per-iods for recess by the end of the fourth month.
Cloze exercises. Cloze exercises were de-signed using the stories which had been modifiedpreviously. Some of the initial exercises in-volved deletion of specific function words (i.e.,verbs, adjectives). Others involved the deletionof every nth word (i.e., 9th, 5th). Initially,
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the S would only accept as correct the exactword in the text. Through guided discussionshe began to understand the differences in wordsthat altered the meaning of the text and thosethat did not. Cloze procedure exercises inter-ested him a great deal and increased his aware-ness of his skills as a language user.
Special activities for specific difficulties.As sessions progressed, some special word attackskills were introduced to reduce the reversalsand to aid in the production of sound variationswhich were particularly difficult. However,it should be emphasized that these activitieswere introduced after five months of readingin context and that at no time did they occupymore than 20 percent of the hour session. Wordswere rarely presented in isolation.
Reading material was designed for specificword reversals. These words were used sparinglywithin a text. Visual cues such as arrows weredrawn over these words. Later, arrows were eli-minated and substituted by verbal cues such as"Remember, don't drive against traffic." Graphswere kept to chart his progress whenever thisactivity was used.
There were certain sound variations whichconfused him. These were singled out for speci-fic exercises. One example of this is the soundof the letter c in Spanish. When followed bya as in casa (house), o as in cordon (rope),or u as in cuello (neck), it is pronounced likek. When followed by e as in cesped (grass),or i as in cielo (sky), it is pronounced likes. Once the rule was explained and learned,reading exercises containing these sound varia-tions were developed to provide practice.
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Use of the reading series. By the eighthmonth of work, textbooks were introduced. Thefirst book used was a second grade science book.It was selected because reading material wasshort and had questions for discussion at theend. This allowed for reading as well as someconversation after reading. It also allowedfor showing the S that he was capable of reading"advanced" materials even though he was repeatingfirst grade.
During the ninth and last month of work,the reading series was reintroduced. He wasretested with material from the second gradereader Del campo al pueblo from the Laidlaw Read-ing Series, Por el mundo del cuento y la aventura.
When retested with the RMI, results indi-cated that the S was using reading strategieswhich were moderately effective and his compre-hension score was that of a proficient reader.The percentage of miscues which were syntacticallyand semantically acceptable increased, as didreading comprehension. Self-correction was pre-sent in a higher percentage than in the pre-test.In general it was demonstrated that the remedialreading program was successful, and the S wasnow reading with greater proficiency in termsof reading comprehension as well as in the effec-tive use of reading strategies.
Table 1 shows the reader's profile beforeand after treatment. Figure 1 summarizes thepercentage of miscues in terms of the degreeof loss of comprehension they produced beforeand after treatment.
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Table 1
RMI Profile Before and After Treatment
Reader Profile
Comprehension Score
Syntactically AcceptableMiscues
Semantically AcceptableMiscues
Self-correction Attempts
Summary and Conclusions
Pre-test
15.20
4%
3%
1%
Post-test
82.70
42%
41%
47%
The RMI was found to be a useful instrumentin developing a remedial reading program fora Hispanic learning disabled child. By examiningthe use of reading strategies used by the LDreader, it was possible to select reading activi-ties and materials to improve his reading compre-hension. The study suggests that a reader'sprofile and not a learning disabilities categori-zation is a more useful guide in the selectionof remedial reading activities.
The examination of reading behavior froma psycholinguistic perspective is an alternativefor professionals working with the learning dis-abled. More studies applying a psycholinguisticmodel of reading to learning disabled readerswould allow broadening the generalization ofits usefulness in working with this population.
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Before Treatment
p.s51
COMPREHENSION PATTERNl •>! t*iaUo«Mblpl of No
p K n Um to PvlliJC-omprehrnalon hum to
t i V
HI|Mr K •Q•
COMTREHENSION rATTERNh n r t «l ntelVnahl^ ct MoCom|mlMii»l»« Lna lo fafUd
ll lMtl|Sli>t>|W
D•
I I 31 • I
UOS5
•I M 101
LOSS
! " • -I 4-RETEUINQ1CORE | 5 - 2 O
After Treatment
II 31 41 M'• I I II It IM
NO LOSS• • ! • • • • ! • • • • | . i . . | . . . < |
LOSS
j-*-«-.-J
RETElllNS icnnr Ri. . 1 O
Figure 1
Percentage of Miscues Made During Oral Readingwhich Caused no loss, Partial or Total Loss ofComprehension
s
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Goodman, K. S., and Burke, C. L. A study oforal reading miscues that result in grammati-cal re-transformations. (U.S.O.E. FinalReport, Project No. 7-E-219) Contract No.OEG-0-8-070219-2806(010). Washington, D.C.:U.S. Department of Health, Education andWelfare, June 1969.
Goodman, K. S., and Burke. C. L. When a childreads: A psycholinguistic analysis. Elemen-tary English, 1970, 47, 121-129.
Goodman, Y. M. A psycholinguistic descriptionof observed oral reading phenomena inselected young beginning readers. Unpub-lished doctoral dissertation, Wayne StateUniversity, 1967.
Goodman, Y. M., and Burke, C. L. Reading MiscueInventory: Procedure for Diagnosis andEvaluation. New York: Macmillan, 1972.
Gutnecht, B. A psycholinguistic analysis ofthe oral reading behavior of selected child-ren identified as perceptually handicapped.Unpublished doctoral dissertations, WayneState University, 1971.
Por el mundo del cuento y la aventura. PaloAlto, CA: Laidlaw Brothers, 1971.
Rivera-Viera, D. Lectura oral de ninos con prob-lemas de aprendizaje. Apuntes, 1983, 4(2),24.
* * *
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About the Author:
Dr. Diana Rivera Viera is an Associate Pro-fessor in the Special Education Program, Facultyof Education, University of Puerto Rico. Shealso teaches courses at the doctoral level forthe Doctoral Program in Educational Psychologyfor Temple University in consortium with theSocial Sciences Program of the University ofPuerto Rico. Current president of the PuertoRico Chapter of the International Reading Associa-tion and member of the Caribbean Committee ofthe International Reading Association, she wasa former Federal Consultant in Bilingual Educationfor the Springfield Public School System in Massa-chusetts and served as consultant for the Bilin-gual Education Council in Boston.
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