A Comparison of Elementary Students with Reading Disabilities to Students without Disabilities on Word Recognition Accuracy and Speed

Kim, Ae Hwa; Choi, Kyung Soon; Jung, Hyun Seung; Kim, Min Jung

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Commun Sci Disord. 2012;17(3): 508-519.

Ae Hwa Kim^` , Kyung Soon Choi^` , Hyun Seung Jung^` , and Min Jung Kim^`

김애화(Ae Hwa Kim)| 최경순(Kyung Soon Choi)| 정현승(Hyun Seung Jung)| 김민정(Min Jung Kim)

ABSTRACT

Background & Objectives
This study compared word recognition accuracy and speed of elementary students with reading disabilities to students without reading disabilities.
Methods
A total of 43 elementary students (27 students without reading disabilities and 17 students with reading disabilities) participated in a battery of 6 word recognition tests (high-frequency regular word, high-frequency phonological change word, low-frequency regular word, low-frequency phonological change word, regular non-word, and phonological change non-word). A two-way MANOVA of the group (2) x grade (2) was conducted.
Results
Major results are summarized as follows: First, word recognition accuracy showed significant differences in 4 out of 6 tests by group. Second, while reaction time in correct responses showed significant differences in all 6 tests by group, reading time in correct responses showed no significant differences in all 6 tests by group. Third, there were no significant differences in reaction time between correct and erroneous responses.
Discussion & Conclusion
Based on the results, the Hangul characteristics and its implications for elementary students with reading difficulties are further discussed in the present study.