Blackwell Reference Online

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Linguists are primarily concerned with the structure and processing of spoken language. In this chapter, the focus changes to written language. The goal of the chapter is to review what is known about the processes involved in reading and in learning to read. Topics to be discussed include the controversies about the best way to teach children to read and the reasons why some apparently normal children have great difficulty mastering this skill. Another question is whether knowledge of written language changes people's basic intellectual or linguistic abilities. Researchers from a variety of disciplines, including cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, and education, have been active in research on reading. This mix reflects the fact that the study of reading is both theoretically interesting and practically important. Reading is a domain in which experimental psychologists study fundamental questions such as how knowledge and experience affect perception. Reading is also a domain in which research findings have implications for important social issues, such as the education of children. It is no wonder, then, that a large amount of research has been carried out on reading. The discussion of this research begins with a consideration of the cognitive processes that are involved in skilled reading. In the case of reading, as with other cognitive processes, psychologists have ... log in or subscribe to read full text