This research is a description of word learning early in the process of learning to read. Children's eye movements during the identification of familiar and unfamiliar words are examined in an attempt to further describe children's scanning of words, and to select from the various explanations of the learning process afforded by the word identification literature. In particular, evidence is examined concerning the issues of the locus of the learning process (perceptual learning vs. a change in how perceived information is processed during word identification) and of the generality of what is learned (i.e., does the child learn about specific words, or does he learn about groups of words, or general stategies for word identification?). The results of this study provide additional explanation for Taylor, Frackenpohl, and Pettee's (1960) findings of developmental differences in children's eye movements during reading. In addition, these results demonstrate the very different strategies children employ for the purposes of different reading tasks, and show how children's eye movements on words change as those words become more familiar. Finally, there is evidence that children's learning of words affects both their perception and their processing of information during word identification, and involves the acquisition of both word-specific information and word-general strategies for identification.
Education, Educational Psychology, Education, Reading, Psychology, Developmental
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign