KOTESOL International Conference 2016
(Concurrent Session)
Anne C Ihata, Musashino University, Tokyo
How Are Pronunciation, Lexical Access Speed, and Reading Comprehension Linked?
Abstract
The research reported here examined possible connections between learners' vocabulary size, phonemic distinction ability, lexical access speed, and reading comprehension ability. It developed from an earlier study that found evidence which indicated a link between phonemic awareness and reading comprehension ability, but a weaker effect for vocabulary knowledge.
It seemed that speed of lexical access could be the key to understanding how pronunciation affects reading comprehension. If the sound of words is well-known, it was theorized, then lexical access should be quicker, and comprehension improved, since phrases or sentences could be more easily interpreted within the limits of working memory.
All four variables were measured and the results were examined for any possible correlations, and what they might tell us.
Biographicals
Anne C Ihata grew up in Warwickshire, England. She obtained an MA in French from the University of Edinburgh, and a second MA, in TESOL, from Teachers College, Columbia University. She gained a PhD in Applied Linguistics from Birmingham University (UK) in 2008, for doctoral study on reading in English as a foreign language, which she has specialized in for more than fifteen years now. She is married to a Japanese national, and has lived in Japan since 1978, teaching English in a variety of contexts, from kindergarten children to businesspeople and graduate students from many fields. She has taught at Musashino University, Tokyo, for more than 30 years and is a fully tenured professor of English Language and Linguistics at undergraduate and graduate levels there.
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