This study illustrates, in the context of vocabulary assessment research, a procedure for analysing a single subject's variability of response times (RTs) in a simple, timed lexical decision task. Following the interpretation developed in Segalowitz and Segalowitz (1993) for RT variability as reflection of the automatic/controlled nature of underlying processing mechanisms, it was possible to draw conclusions about the extent to which second language English word recognition in this subject was subserved by automatic as opposed to controlled processes. The study also examined the development of automaticity in word recognition skill for a small, selected vocabulary as a function of reading experience during a three-week testing period. The general implications of this methodology for assessing vocabulary skill in a single case are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Besner, D. and Johnston, J.C.1989: Reading and the mental lexicon: on the uptake of visual information. In Marslen-Wilson, W. , editor, Lexical representation and process. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
2.
Colley, A.1987: Text comprehension. In Beech, J.R. and Colley, A.M., editors, Cognitive approaches to reading. New York : Wiley.
3.
Cooksey, R. and Freebody, P.1987: Aspects of a computer-managed test of children's reading vocabulary: reliability, validity and characterization of knowledge.Reading Psychology: AnInternational Quarterly8, 103-18.
4.
Craik, F.I.M. and Lockhart, R.1972: Levels of processing: a framework for memory research. Journal of VerbalBehaviour11, 671-84.
5.
den Heyer, K., Goring, A., Gorgichuk, S., Richards, L. and Landry, M.1988: Are lexical decisions a good measure of lexical access? Repetition blocking suggests the affirmative. Canadian Journal of Psychology42, 274-96.
6.
Favreau, M., Komoda, M. and Segalowitz, N.1980: Second languagereading: implications of the word superiority effect in skilled bilinguals. Canadian Journal of Psychology34, 370-80.
7.
Favreau, M. and Segalowitz, N.1983: Automatic and controlled processes in the first and second language reading of fluent bilinguals. Memory and Cognition11, 565-74.
8.
Fodor, J.A.1983: Modularity of mind. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
9.
Forster, K.1989: Basic issues in lexical processing. In Marslen-Wilson, W., editor, Lexical representation and process. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
10.
Gatbonton, E. and Segalowitz, N.1988: Creative automatization: principles for promoting fluency within a communicative framework. TESOL Quarterly88, 473-92.
11.
Graesser, A.C., Hoffman, N.L. and Clark, L.F.1980: Structural components of reading time. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behaviour19, 135-51.
12.
Graves, M., Ryder, R., Slater, W. and Calfee, R.1987: The relationship between word frequency and reading vocabulary using six metrics of frequency. Journal of Educational Research81, 81-90.
13.
Hashtroudi, S.1983: Types of semantic elaboration and recall. Memory and Cognition11, 476-84.
14.
Henderson, L.1982: Orthography and word recognition in reading. New York: Academic Press.
15.
Herrington, R., Kennelly, K., Hall, C. and Baggett, M.1994: Practice and the lognormal distribution. Presentation at the TENNET V conference, Montreal, Quebec.
Jacoby, L.1991: A process dissociation framework: separating automatic from intentional uses of memory. Journal of Memory andLanguage30, 513-41.
18.
Levene, H.1960: Robust tests for the equality of variance. In Olkin, I., editor, Contributions to probability and statistics. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 278-92.
19.
Meara, P. and Buxton, B.1987: An alternative to multiple choice vocabulary tests . Language Testing4, 142-54.
20.
O'Brien, R.1981: A simple test for variance effects in experimental designs . Psychological Bulletin89, 570-74.
21.
Perfetti, C.1985: Reading ability. New York: Oxford University Press.
22.
Perfetti, C. and McCutchen, D.1982: Speech processes in reading. In Lass, N., editor, Speech and language. Vol 7. New York: Academic Press, 237-69.
23.
Quinlan, P.T.1992: The Oxford psycholinguistic database. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
24.
Segalowitz, N.1986: Second language reading. In Vaid, J., editor, Language processing in bilinguals: psycholinguistic and neuropsychological perspectives. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 3-19.
25.
— 1991: Does advanced skill in a second language reduce automaticity in the first language? Language Learning41, 59-83.
26.
Segalowitz, N. and Hébert, M.1990: Phonological recoding in the first and second language reading of skilled bilinguals. Language Learning40, 503-38.
27.
Segalowitz, N., Poulsen, C. and Komoda, M.1991: Lower level components of reading skill in higher level bilinguals: implications for reading instruction. AILA Review8, 15-30.
28.
Segalowitz, N.S. and Segalowitz, S.J.1993: Skilled performance, practice, and the differentiation of speed-up from automatization effects: evidence from second language word recognition. Applied Psycholinguistics14, 369-85.
29.
Stanovich, K.1980: Toward an interactive-compensatory model of individual differences in the development of reading fluency. Reading Research Quarterly16, 32-71.
30.
— 1991: Word recognition: changing perspectives. In Barr, R., Kamil. M.L., Mosenthal, P. and Person, P.D., editors, Handbook of reading research. Volume II. New York : Longman , 418-52.
31.
Taft, M.1991: Reading and the mental lexicon. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
32.
Tulving, E.1979: Relation between encoding specificity and levels of processing . In Cermak, L. and Craik, F., editors, Levels of processing in human memory . Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 405-28.
33.
Watson, V.1993: The development of skill: the coefficient of variation as an index of skill acquisition. Unpublished MA thesis, Concordia University.
