reading 1 - DRC

Question 1

mental representation for speech and reading comprehension (input to output)

Answer 1

input = speech

activate –> existing mental representations of sound/written words
link to –> meaning

output = comprehension

Question 2

building blocks for speech comprehension

Answer 2

speech input –>

form (phonology) –>

syntax + morphology –>

semantics

Question 3

building blocks for written word comprehension

Answer 3

written word input –>

form (phonology + orthography) –>

syntax + morphology –>

semantics

Question 4

form - orthography - 3 system types

Answer 4

alphabet - graphemes represent phonemes e.g. english

logographic system - characters represent words - e.g. mandarin

alphabetic language that looks like a logographic system - letters represent words but are grouped like characters - e.g. korean

Question 5

form - phonology - is this necessary in reading

Answer 5

much debate over this

most agree activation of form occurs when reading

helps understanding

unconscious

Question 6

different routes to comprehend written word

Answer 6

input –> output via 4 potential activations

• activate letters
• activate phonemes (via letters)
• activate orthographic form
• activate phonological form

1. letters –> phonemes –> phonological form
2. letters –> orthographic form –> phonological form
3. letters –> orthographic form

Question 7

triangle model of reading processing

Answer 7

semantics - orthography - phonology

meaning - written form - word sound

Question 8

testing DRC model

Answer 8

adjust the strength of connections computationally

provide input
process input through model
assess output of model against human performance

• computational modelling allows us to ask very specific questions
• test the results
• but rarely able to model all the variables and parameters at work
• not likely to get an absolute answer
• but excellent to test specific questions

Question 9

DRC model of reading aloud

Answer 9

dual route cascaded model of visual word recognition and reading aloud

combination of excitatory and inhibitory connections from print to speech

from print/visual features / letters to speech output

lexical and non-lexical routes

Question 10

DRC 2 routes

Answer 10

‘non-lexical’ route converts letters into sounds to activate a phonological representation that links to meaning

‘lexical’ route activates an orthographic representation that is linked directly to meaning

Question 11

DRC - lexical route

Answer 11

1. written word
2. orthographic lexicon (whole word orthographic representations)
3. semantics

Question 12

DRC - non-lexical routes

Answer 12

1. written word
2. spelling to sound correspondence (grapheme-phoneme correspondence - GPC)
3. phonological lexicon (whole word phonological representations)
4. semantics

phonological lexicon can check for irregularities of words - have to take lexical route

Question 13

DRC - interaction between lexical and non-lexical routes

Answer 13

phonological lexicon can activate orthographic lexicon and vice versa

Question 14

spelling to sound correspondences

Answer 14

relationship between letters and sounds = grapheme phoneme correspondence

could be key to understanding problems with dyslexia

single grapheme = single phoneme
grapheme can be made up of many letters

1 letter grapheme = f
2 letter grapheme = th
3 letter grapheme = igh
4 letter grapheme = ough

Question 15

regular and irregular words (grapheme phoneme correspondence)

Answer 15

regular = follow a set of rules that dictate how a grapheme should be pronounced = aligns with graphemes most frequent pronunciation

MINT is a regular word
PINT is an irregular word

both words contain the grapheme ‘i’
In MINT the pronunciation is regular /ɪ/
In PINT it is irregular /aɪ/

native english speakers learn regularities implicitly

Question 16

transparent vs opaque orthographics

Answer 16

transparent = lots of regular correspondences e.g. dog, print, cobweb

transparent language = shallow orthography e.g. finnish, italian

opaque = few regular correspondences e.g. yacht, knight, colonel

opaque language = deep orthography e.g. English

Question 17

which route of DRC has to be taken for irregular words

Answer 17

lexical route

word sound used to then attribute meaning to it - needs to use different rule

Question 18

advantages of DRC model (4)

Answer 18

• 2 routes for processing written word
• orthographic lexicon and phonological lexicon
• processing of regular and irregular words
• encountering new or novel words, can be processed via grapheme-phoneme correspondence

Question 19

is spelling to sound correspondence important in learning to read

Answer 19

“to appreciate the relationship between letters and sounds is necessary and non-negotiable when learning to read in alphabetic writing systems” - Castle et al (2018)

Question 20

self-teaching hypothesis

Answer 20

Share (1995)

children ‘de-code’ words using an understanding of how letters correspond to sounds

existing phonological representations are a
accessed – used to access meaning

phonological representation is used to develop an orthographic lexicon of whole words

they teach themselves to read

Question 21

self-teaching and the DRC model - requirements for this

Answer 21

Share (1995) - children use phonological representations to develop an orthographic lexicon

necessary to have:

• lots of phonological representations
• good verbal language
• lots of exposure to printed word
  in order to build orthographic lexicon

Question 22

self-teaching DRC (Pritchard et al., 2018)

Answer 22

‘non-lexical’ route is used to decode words and access an existing phonological representation

contextual cues are used to select the target word from a list of many spoken word candidates – select best match from context

exposure to print facilitates the development of an orthographic lexicon – lots of reading on a regular basis necessary

Question 23

skilled readers difference in DRC

Answer 23

link between orthographic and phonological lexicon becomes less strong as reading becomes more skilled

e.g. reading the words “path” instantly triggers the meaning without needing to sound it out first

Question 24

self-teaching hypothesis - struggles with this

Answer 24

de-coding words to access phonological representations is necessary for development of an orthographic lexicon

children who struggle to link graphemes with phonemes might not be able to teach themselves to read