Oral comprehension, written comprehension and learning disorders. A research project conducted in lower secondary school
Francesca Zanon, Daniele De Stefano
This research project aims to investigate in students with learning disorders attending lower secondary school what effect tiredness has in understanding written texts, through the administration of two sequential trials, involving an intense, protracted (approximately one hour of activity) and uninterrupted cognitive load. The correlation between the tests of understanding written texts and oral texts (listening tests) was also investigated in these individuals. Examination of the data relating to the identified sample induces the following reflections on pupils with SLD compared to pupils with normal development. These pupils show: increased tiredness in the understanding of written texts, caused by prolonged cognitive effort, but only a slight increase compared to pupils with normal development (this effect can be seen only in year one and two pupils, not in year three pupils); a lower performance in comprehension of written texts, compared to children with normal development, even without taking into account the tiredness effect; a lower performance in understanding oral texts (listening) than pupils with normal development; a more pronounced deficit in understanding written texts, compared to texts presented using the listening mode.
Keywords
Oral comprehension, written comprehension, SLD, lower secondary school.