An Investigation into How Word Learning Modality Influences Subsequent Word Processing During Sentence Reading

This dissertation executed a novel rare word learning paradigm to investigate whetherlearning words via different modalities (i.e., auditory vs. visual) influences subsequent word knowledge. The study was split across two days. On day one, adult participants learned the definitions or pronunciations of 90 rare words via different modalities. On day two, participants read these 90 learned words in semantically congruent and semantically incongruent contexts, while behavioral and neural measures of word knowledge were collected. Additional factors that were expected to influence the relationship between word learning modality and subsequent word knowledge, like reading comprehension ability, phonological decoding skills, phonological recoding skills, and orthographic transparency, were examined. Behavioral results indicated word learning modality influenced word identification accuracy and orthographic transparency influenced word identification speed. Further, the interaction between phonological recoding skills and word learning modality impacted word identification speed. Preliminary ERP results are discussed. This dissertation provides information on how word learning modality as well as person and word characteristics impact vocabulary learning and subsequent word processing during sentence reading.

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Alabama Libraries

Year dc:date.issued

2023

Author dc:creator

• Hughes-Berheim, Sarah S

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Morett, Laura M

Contributors dc:contributor

• Cheimariou, Spyridoula
• Newman, Sharlene D
• Scofield, Jason
• Shelley-Tremblay, John F

• Comprehension
• ERP
• Sentence Reading
• Word Learning
• Word Learning Modality

Statement dc:rights

• All rights reserved by the author unless otherwise indicated.

Language dc:language.iso

en_US, English

Dc Identifier Other

http://purl.lib.ua.edu/188254
u0015_0000001_0004773
HughesBerheim_alatus_0004D_15319

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ir.ua.edu:123456789/12760