Effects of Segmented and Whole-Word Sound Feedback on Learning to Read Single Words

• Published in: The Journal of educational research (Washington, D.C.) Vol. 84; no. 4; pp. 204 - 214
• Main Authors: Spaai, Gerard W. G., Ellermann, Henk H., Reitsma, Pieter
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC Routledge 01.03.1991; Heldref Publications; Public School Pub. Co. for the University of Illinois, Bureau of Educational Research
• Subjects: Assessment and knowledges control; Aural learning; Beginning Reading; Docimology; Educational sciences; Feedback; Foreign Countries; Grade 1; Learning procedures; Memory; Netherlands; Oral Reading; Phonemes; Phonics; Posttests; Pretests; Primary Education; Reading; Reading instruction; Reading Skills; Reading tables; School work. Docimology. Guidance; Sight Method; Teaching Methods; Training; Netherlands; Segmentation (Linguistics); Reading Aloud; Feedback; Correction; Primary Education
• ISSN: 0022-0671; 1940-0675
• DOI: 10.1080/00220671.1991.10886017

Two experiments were conducted in which two ways of dealing with reading mistakes by beginning readers were systematically examined. In one condition (whole word), the whole correct word sound was provided when a reading error was made or when the pupil did not read the word within a certain time limit. In another condition (segmented feedback, the correct word sound was produced phoneme-by-phoneme when a reading error or an omission occurred. Learning effects, as measured by differences in reading times and the number of errors made in the pretest and the posttest, were compared with a control condition in which children received no feedback. The two experiments differed in terms of subjects (first graders with 9 months vs. 4 months of reading experience) and the rate of presenting the phonemes in the segmented-feedback condition (the phonemes were presented at a rate of 250 msec vs. 750 msec). The results of both experiments consistently showed a significant learning effect for the whole-word condition with regard to reading accuracy. In the first experiment, we found a reliable difference between the segmented-feedback and the control condition: more was learned in the segmented-feedback than in the control condition. In the second experiment, we found a significant difference between the whole-word condition and the segmented-feedback condition: more was learned in the whole-word condition than in the former condition. Thus, whole-word sound feedback was most helpful in both experiments, and the learning effects of segmented-feedback were intermediate between those of the whole-word condition and the control condition. Along with possible explanations, the results are discussed in terms of their implications for oral reading practice and the appropriate use of synthesized speech in independent computer-based reading exercises.