The Longitudinal Effect Of Oral Vocabulary On Reading Comprehension In Lower Primary Chinese Childern: The Role Of Word Reading Ability

As the most important means and effective way for individuals to engage in learning and acquire information,the development of reading ability plays a crucial role in the survival and development of individuals.Research on Chinese children’s reading comprehension development has been the focus of attention in the field of language cognition.Among them,oral vocabulary is an important predictor of Chinese children’s reading comprehension ability.However,there is no systematic research on the characteristics of the role of oral vocabulary on reading comprehension,the relationship between it and reading comprehension,the dynamic evolution patterns in the development of both,and the possible ways in which oral vocabulary affects reading comprehension among lower elementary school Chinese students.This study followed 147 first-grade children in elementary school for two years,testing them four times in total,with each test given at six-month intervals.This dissertation consists of three studies.In Study 1,using the model comparison idea,analyzed and compared the characteristics of the role of oral vocabulary in reading comprehension,and examined the possible relationship between oral vocabulary and reading comprehension in detail.In Study 2,the trajectories of oral vocabulary development and reading comprehension development were firstly depicted using latent variable curve model analysis;then,the impact of changes in oral vocabulary on reading comprehension development of lower elementary school Chinese children was explored using parallel latent variable growth model analysis.In Study 3,a longitudinal mediation model was used to analyze the mediating effect of word reading ability(including word reading accuracy and word reading fluency)between oral vocabulary and reading comprehension.Considering rapid naming,reading cognitive skills such as general cognitive ability and phonological awareness as important factors influencing the relationship between oral vocabulary and reading comprehension were controlled as control variables in the above study.The main findings were as follows:(1)Of the four relationships explored between oral vocabulary and reading comprehension,the relationship between oral vocabulary and reading comprehension was found to be a unidirectional effect relationship,with oral vocabulary having a predictive effect on the development of reading comprehension and reading comprehension having a nonsignificant predictive effect on the development of oral vocabulary.(2)In the lower elementary grades,both oral vocabulary and reading comprehension developed significantly,and the overall development showed an upward trend,with differences in the developmental trajectories of oral vocabulary and reading comprehension.The development rate of oral vocabulary gradually slowed down,and the development rate of reading comprehension showed a linear development trajectory.The initial level of oral vocabulary was significantly negatively correlated with the growth rate,indicating that individuals with high initial levels of oral vocabulary slowed their subsequent growth;a similar pattern was found in reading comprehension.The initial level of oral vocabulary significantly and positively predicted the growth rate of reading comprehension,i.e.,individuals with high initial levels of oral vocabulary developed reading comprehension more rapidly.(3)Word reading accuracy and word reading fluency partially mediated the relationship between children’s oral vocabulary and reading comprehension.