The use of orthographic knowledge in beginning reading

The purpose of the present study was to determine the relationship between word recognition ability, knowledge of orthographic structures, and use of orthographic knowledge in word recognition. Fifty-six first and second graders were admini-stered a word recognition test, two tests of orthographic knowledge, and two search tasks. The results indicated that when searching for multiple word targets children with word recognition levels of less than 2-2 searched similarly through all fields, whereas children with word recognition levels of 2-2+ searched faster through pseudowords and nonwords than through words. When searching for members of a category, children with word recognition levels below 2-1 searched faster through nonwords and pseudowords than through words providing no evidence for the use of orthography in word search. Children with word recognition levels above 2-1 searched faster through nonwords than through pseudowords and words, demonstrating a generalized effect of orthographic structure. Rumelhart's (1977) interactive model of reading proposed that readers utilize several knowledge sources (featural, graphic, phonemic, syntactic, orthographic, lexical, semantic) in word recognition. In contrast to earlier serial processing theories, the interactive model suggested that the knowledge sources were operating simultaneously, independent of level. As such, semantic processes constrain alternatives at the feature analytic level but are themselves constrained by feature analysis. In an extension of the interactive model designed to accommodate individual differences in reading fluency, Stanovich (1980) proposed that a deficit in any knowledge source would result in a heavier reliance on other knowledge sources, regardless of the level in the processing hierarchy. For example, the model predicts that readers who have difficulty with feature extraction may rely more heavily on other sources of information in word recognition. Stanovich foun