The role of verbal patterns in Arabic reading acquisition: insights from cross-modal priming

This study is the first to address the issue of verbal pattern priming among young developing Arabic speakers. Second and fifth graders performed a lexical decision task using cross-modal priming in which target words primed by the same verbal pattern as the target (/tanaffasa/- /tamahhala/ 'breathed-slowed') were compared to words primed with a different verbal pattern than the target while preserving phonological similarity (e.g.,/tana:qa ʃa/ - /tamahhala/'discussed-slowed'). The findings showed facilitation for target words on accuracy rates among fifth graders only. No facilitation in lexical decisions was observed in reaction times in either grade. These findings show that the verbal pattern acts as a binding agent at a more advanced stage of reading acquisition enhancing representation quality in terms of accuracy. With regard to speed, more reading experience, linguistic knowledge, and exposure to the written language are apparently required.
Source: Reading and Writing - Category: Child Development Source Type: research