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Effects of word frequency and length in discrete and serial word reading.

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Title: Effects of word frequency and length in discrete and serial word reading.
Authors: Romero, Sandra1 (AUTHOR) sromeroc@ualberta.ca, Georgiou, George K.1 (AUTHOR) georgiou@ualberta.ca, Altani, Angeliki2,3 (AUTHOR), Protopapas, Athanassios2,4 (AUTHOR)
Source: Reading & Writing. Dec2025, Vol. 38 Issue 10, p2897-2928. 32p.
Subject Terms: *Word frequency, *Word recognition, *Spanish-speaking students, *Reading speed, *Reading, Frequency (Linguistics)
Abstract: When encountering sequences of familiar words ("serial reading"), skilled readers are thought to take advantage of the presentation format by processing multiple words simultaneously in a "cascaded" manner. This is possible when individual words are read "by sight," similar to naming letters or digits. Accordingly, previous studies have shown that as readers become more experienced, fluent reading increasingly parallels serial naming of familiar symbols, while reading individual words ("discrete reading") parallels discrete naming. However, most studies have focused on high-frequency, short words, which are more amenable to cascaded processing; different performance patterns across presentation formats (serial vs. discrete) would be expected for longer, less frequent words. Therefore, in this study, we examined how word frequency and length influence the effect of word presentation format and the relation of word reading with serial and discrete digit naming. We tested 201 Spanish-speaking children in Grades 2 and 5 on serial and discrete digit naming and serial and discrete word reading of eight sets of words varying in length (two vs. four syllables) and frequency (high vs. low). Results showed that the serial word presentation format benefitted reading rates across word sets, particularly for short, high-frequency words and more strongly among fifth graders. Furthermore, the difference between serial and discrete reading and its interaction with word length and frequency were more closely associated with serial naming than discrete naming. The pattern of findings supports the hypothesis that readers employ cascaded processing to the extent individual words in the serial reading task are automatized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Reading & Writing is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Effects of word frequency and length in discrete and serial word reading.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Romero%2C+Sandra%22">Romero, Sandra</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> sromeroc@ualberta.ca</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Georgiou%2C+George+K%2E%22">Georgiou, George K.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> georgiou@ualberta.ca</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Altani%2C+Angeliki%22">Altani, Angeliki</searchLink><relatesTo>2,3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Protopapas%2C+Athanassios%22">Protopapas, Athanassios</searchLink><relatesTo>2,4</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Reading+%26+Writing%22">Reading & Writing</searchLink>. Dec2025, Vol. 38 Issue 10, p2897-2928. 32p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Word+frequency%22">Word frequency</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Word+recognition%22">Word recognition</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Spanish-speaking+students%22">Spanish-speaking students</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Reading+speed%22">Reading speed</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Reading%22">Reading</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Frequency+%28Linguistics%29%22">Frequency (Linguistics)</searchLink>
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  Data: When encountering sequences of familiar words ("serial reading"), skilled readers are thought to take advantage of the presentation format by processing multiple words simultaneously in a "cascaded" manner. This is possible when individual words are read "by sight," similar to naming letters or digits. Accordingly, previous studies have shown that as readers become more experienced, fluent reading increasingly parallels serial naming of familiar symbols, while reading individual words ("discrete reading") parallels discrete naming. However, most studies have focused on high-frequency, short words, which are more amenable to cascaded processing; different performance patterns across presentation formats (serial vs. discrete) would be expected for longer, less frequent words. Therefore, in this study, we examined how word frequency and length influence the effect of word presentation format and the relation of word reading with serial and discrete digit naming. We tested 201 Spanish-speaking children in Grades 2 and 5 on serial and discrete digit naming and serial and discrete word reading of eight sets of words varying in length (two vs. four syllables) and frequency (high vs. low). Results showed that the serial word presentation format benefitted reading rates across word sets, particularly for short, high-frequency words and more strongly among fifth graders. Furthermore, the difference between serial and discrete reading and its interaction with word length and frequency were more closely associated with serial naming than discrete naming. The pattern of findings supports the hypothesis that readers employ cascaded processing to the extent individual words in the serial reading task are automatized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Reading & Writing is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1007/s11145-024-10620-w
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      – SubjectFull: Spanish-speaking students
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      – TitleFull: Effects of word frequency and length in discrete and serial word reading.
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              M: 12
              Text: Dec2025
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              Y: 2025
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