Lexical reading in dysfluent readers of German

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  • Melanie Gangl
    University of Graz
  • Kristina Moll
    University Hospital Munich
  • Manon W. Jones
  • Chiara Banfi
    University of Graz
  • Gerd Schulte-Körne
    University Hospital Munich
  • Karin Landerl
    University of Graz
Dyslexia in consistent orthographies like German is characterized by dysfluent reading, which is often assumed to result from failure to build up an orthographic lexicon and overreliance on decoding. However, earlier evidence indicates effects of lexical processing at least in some German dyslexic readers. We investigated variations in reading style in an eye-tracking paradigm with German dysfluent 3rd and 4th graders. Twenty-six TypFix-readers (fixation counts within the range of 47 age-matched typical readers) were compared with 42 HighFix-readers (increased fixation counts). Both groups showed lexical access: Words were read more efficiently than nonwords and pseudohomophones. TypFix-readers showed stronger reliance on lexical reading than HighFix-readers (smaller length effects for number of fixations and total reading time, stronger lexicality effects for gaze duration, stronger word-pseudohomophone effects for mean saccade amplitude). We conclude that in both groups, sublexical and lexical reading processes were impaired due to inefficient visual-verbal integration.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)24-40
JournalScientific Studies of Reading
Volume22
Issue number1
Early online date25 Jul 2017
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2018

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