Low-Literate Adult Learners and Morphological Processes: A Multi-skills Approach

描述（由申请人提供）：这是一个为期三年的项目，旨在确定成人基础教育（ABE）项目中学生阅读和写作困难的来源。根据2003年NALS的研究，相当多的成年人在努力达到足够的阅读水平，以有效地在我们的社会中发挥作用。成人文盲问题对就业、公民参与和知情获得医疗保健有重大的负面影响。不足为奇的是，对这部分读者群体的研究虽少，但越来越多的研究表明，他们的阅读行为与阅读成绩匹配的孩子有很大不同。不幸的是，与儿童学习阅读的情况相比，针对成人学习阅读的独特特征建立评估和干预工具的基础研究基础仍然非常贫乏（NICHD, 2001）。因此，ABE项目中使用的大部分干预和评估材料都是基于我们对儿童的了解。该项目将扩大必要的基础研究基础，以建立针对这一人群特定需求的有效评估和干预计划。该项目将比较两组参与者的阅读和写作行为（目前参加ABE项目的阅读水平低于7年级的成年人和阅读能力匹配的儿童）。这两个群体将根据社会经济因素、民族和种族背景进行匹配。虽然语音意识被许多人视为识字习得的最重要方面，但英语写作系统不是纯粹的字母，而是语素；在写作中，单词是根据它们的意思和发音来表示的。因此，这个项目将集中在形态因素的贡献，因为他们涉及到阅读和写作的发展。我们将使用多技能方法来了解复杂单词的形态结构如何促进口语阅读中的单词识别，在监测眼球运动的情况下无声阅读中的视觉单词识别，以及这两组学习者的写作。将比较两组学生的表现，以更详细地了解成人学习阅读的独特特征。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This is a three year project designed to identify sources of reading and writing difficulty for students in adult basic education (ABE) programs. According to the 2003 NALS study, a significant number of adults struggle to read at a level adequate to function effectively in our society. The problem of adult illiteracy has a significant negative impact on job acquisition, civic participation, and informed access to healthcare. Not surprisingly, the small but growing body of research on this population of readers suggests that their reading behavior differs in significant ways from that of children matched on reading achievement. Unfortunately, the basic research foundation upon which to build assessment and intervention tools targeted to the unique characteristics of adults learning to read is still greatly impoverished in relation to what is known about children learning to read (NICHD, 2001). Thus, much of the intervention and assessment material used in ABE programs is based upon what we know about children. This project will expand the basic research foundation necessary to build effective assessment and intervention programs targeted to the specific needs of this population. This project will compare the reading and writing behavior of two groups of participants (adults with less than a 7th grade reading level who are currently enrolled in ABE programs and children who are matched on reading ability). Both groups will be matched on socio-economic factors and ethnic and racial background. While phonological awareness is seen by many as the most important aspect of literacy acquisition, the English system of writing is not purely alphabetic, rather, it is morphophonemic; words are represented in writing according to their meanings as well as the way they sound. Thus, this project will focus on the contributions of morphological factors as they relate to reading and writing development. We will use a multi-skills approach to understand how the morphological structure of complex words contributes to word recognition in oral reading, visual word recognition in silent reading while eye movements are monitored, and writing in these two groups of learners. Performance across the two groups will be compared to gain a more detailed understanding of the unique characteristics of the adult learning to read. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The problem of adult illiteracy serves as a barrier to health care and social support services. Adults are likely to encounter a number of health literacy tasks in their daily lives: fill a prescription, read preventative health articles, understand health insurance forms, and tend to their children's health care. The 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy specifically addressed health literacy in their survey and found that 49% of adults who did not graduate from high school scored in the Below Basic category of health literacy compared to 15% who did have a high school diploma and 3% who graduated from college.