👤 Élise Lefèvre

The current study investigated the development of single word processing and multiple word processing skills in French-speaking children from Grade 2 to Grade 6. A total of 150 children participated in two tasks: a Lexical Decision Task (LDT) and a Grammatical Decision Task (GDT). The LDT was used to test single word processing abilities, whereas the GDT was used to test multiple word processing abilities, with stimuli presented at varying display times (LDT: 83-300 ms; GDT: 150-700 ms). Signal detection theory analysis revealed that all children performed well in the LDT, whereas only Grade 4 and Grade 6 children performed above chance in the GDT. A cluster analysis was used to investigate the different types of relation between sensitivity (d') in the LDT and GDT. The analysis revealed two clusters that differed in reading fluency and sensitivity in both tasks. Children from Cluster 2, who exhibited the highest sensitivity in the LDT, were the only ones to perform on average above the chance level in the GDT. Moreover, a strong correlation (r = .64) between LDT and GDT performance was found in this group. Finally, we found that a sensitivity of 1.95 in the LDT almost perfectly predicted cluster membership. Such sensitivity was achieved at Grade 3, suggesting that the ability to process multiple word sequences first requires sufficient efficiency in processing words in isolation. Once this turning point is reached, single word processing skills support the development of multiple word processing, which could take several years to mature fully. Show less

We examined the reliance on phonological decoding and morpho-orthographic decomposition strategies in developing and skilled readers of French. A lexical decision experiment was conducted where the critical stimuli were four types of nonwords, all derived from the same base word, such as the French word visage (face) in the following examples: (a) pseudo-homophone (PsH) nonwords (e.g., visaje), (b) orthographic controls for PsH nonwords (e.g., visape), (c) pseudo-morphemic (PsM) nonwords (e.g., visageable), and (d) orthographic controls for PsM nonwords (e.g., visagealle, where alle is not a suffix in French). Responses to PsH and PsM nonwords and their controls were studied in three groups of school children (Grades 1, 2, and 5) and one group of skilled adult readers. PsH interference effects (i.e., more errors to PsH nonwords than to the corresponding controls) decreased during reading acquisition to become nonsignificant in skilled readers. Interestingly, the opposite pattern was seen in PsM interference effects (also measured in terms of accuracy), which were already significant in Grade 1 and increased during reading development to reach their maximum in skilled readers. These results point toward opposing learning trajectories in the use of phonological and morphological information when learning to silently read for meaning. Show less