Summary:
According to Maridaki (1998), a systematic effort to establish the technique of repeating pseudowords as a way to assess pre-school and primary school age children language skills, was made by S. Gathercole and co-workers. The survey findings reveal the technique of repeating pseudowords as the most reliable means of evaluation language skills. Specifically, there is a correlation between pseudowords repetition ability and reading ability. Survey findings color the prospect of using the technique of repetition pseudowords to improve the reading skills during childhood. Wagner & Torgesen, (1987) also point to the importance of phonological awareness on reading ability, while Hester & Hodson highlight the role of phonological awareness on reading decoding.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between performance on pseudowords and reading ability of second grade, primary school aged children.
Twenty four, second grade children participated in the current survey, who had not been formally diagnosed with any disorder.
Children were selected randomly after having their guardians consent and both pr imary teachers cooperation
Questionnaires were given to their teachers in order to collect data, concerning the behavior of the children who were going to participate in the survey. Two groups were created, the Control group and the Experimental group. The first one was composed of the good readers and the second one was composed of the poor readers.
The questionnaires were designed to investigate children’s ability in the following: expression, vocabulary and not the participation in class. Pseudowords reading test was given to the children at the same time.
Then, an evaluation of Control Group and Experimental Group variables, was held.
The statistical analysis showed that, the performance of both groups in these variables differs statistically significantly.
Finally, the survey showed that there is a correlation between reading ability and pseudowords, especially in good readers group. Therefore, pseudowords repetition could be described as a good technique which contributes towards improving reading ability.
This survey is confirmed through other survey, while aspiring to supplement the results of other studies on the correlation between reading ability and pseudowords repetition.
Basic test materials were the following: Expressive vocabulary test created by I.. Vogindrouka, A. Protopappa, C. Sideridis. Greek version of Word Finding Vocabulary Test (Renfrew, 1995). is composed of 50 words corresponding to 50 cards. LogoTest (Detection Speech Disorders in school-age children), is composed of 6 trials. Pseudowords repetition (Detection and investigation Readers Disabilities Test), created by Constantine D. Porpoda.
Sentence repetition, where the child has to repeat the sentences exactly the way he/she heard them. Writing, where the child is asked to write something about his/her family (1-2 sentences).
Finally, teacher’s questionnaire, where teachers had to complete the given questionnaire and come to a conclusion about children’s behavior in the classroom.
The results came from the survey, declare that the performance of the Control Group (Good Readers) and performance of the Experimental Group (Poor Readers) vary, as far as, the LOGO (Detection Speech Disorders), ΕΨ (Sentence repetition) and ΓΡΑΠΤΟ (Writting) variables, are concerned.
Keywords:
ανάγνωση, φωνολογική ενημερότητα, μοντέλα ανάγνωσης, ψευδολέξεις
