Effects of induced orthographic and semantic knowledge on subsequent learning: A test of the partial knowledge hypothesis.

ABSTRACT: Word learning can build the high-quality word representations that support skilled reading and language comprehension. According to the partial knowledge hypothesis, words that are partially known, also known as "frontier words" (Durso & Shore, 1991), may be good targets for instruction precisely because they are already familiar. However, studies investigating this question have produced mixed findings, and individual differences in baseline knowledge have complicated results both within and across studies. We present two studies that took a different approach, controlling both familiarity and the nature of the familiarizing episode. We controlled familiarity with novel words through pre-exposure ("pre-familiarization") in isolation, to induce form-based familiarity, or in sentences that

SUBMITTER: Adlof S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5073868 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature