Assessing affix knowledge using both pseudoword and real-word measures
Document Type
Article
Date of Original Version
1-1-2014
Abstract
PURPOSE: Growth in morphological skills has been documented during mid-elementary grades, but little research has examined knowledge of affix morphemes separate from whole words. This study evaluated affix knowledge using a combination of real-word and pseudoword tasks. METHODS: Forty-five third-grade and 32 fifth-grade students participated. Students were assessed on word identification, vocabulary knowledge, and affix proficiency. Sixteen prefixes and 16 suffixes were studied using real-word and pseudoword stimuli. RESULTS: Analyses indicated variability in which affixes were known. Vocabulary and word-reading abilities accounted for substantial variance in affix knowledge. On almost half of the pairs of real-word and pseudoword items, students' performed significantly differently, accurately responding on only one. CONCLUSIONS: Performance on the 2 types of morphology tasks (real-word and pseudoword) varied for a noteworthy portion of the affixes studied. These results indicate that using both types of measures may be important for investigations of morpheme knowledge. Copyright © 2014 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Publication Title, e.g., Journal
Topics in Language Disorders
Volume
34
Issue
3
Citation/Publisher Attribution
Mitchell, Alison M., and Susan A. Brady. "Assessing affix knowledge using both pseudoword and real-word measures." Topics in Language Disorders 34, 3 (2014): 210-227. doi: 10.1097/TLD.0000000000000020.