William E Nagy
Biographic Data
| ID | 3446406 |
|---|---|
| NAME | William E Nagy |
| GIVEN NAMES | William E |
| FAMILY NAME | Nagy |
| SIGNATURE | NAGY W E |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 15 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 450 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 15 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1984 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| H-INDEX | 8 |
Morphological Knowledge and Literacy Acquisition
The purpose of this special issue of the Journal of Learning Disabilities is to bring to the attention of researchers and educators studies on morphology and literacy that either involve students with learning difficulties or have educational implications for teaching such students. In our introduction, we first provide background information about morphological knowledge and consider the role of morphology in literacy, focusing on findings that …
Words as Tools
There is a growing awareness of the importance of academic vocabulary, and more generally, of academic language proficiency, for students’ success in school. There is also a growing body of research on the nature of the demands that academic language places on readers and writers, and on interventions to help students meet these demands. In this review, we discuss the role of academic vocabulary within academic language, examine recent research o…
Growth in Phonological, Orthographic, and Morphological Awareness in Grades 1 to 6
Contributions of morphology beyond phonology to literacy outcomes of upper elementary and middle-school students
Using structural equation modeling the authors evaluated the contribution of morphological awareness, phonological memory, and phonological decoding to reading comprehension, reading vocabulary, spelling, and accuracy and rate of decoding morphologically complex words for 182 4th- and 5th-grade students, 218 6th- and 7th-grade students, and 207 8th- and 9th-grade students in a suburban school district. Morphological awareness made a significant u…
Integration of Information From Context and Word Elements in Interpreting Novel Kanji Compounds
S This study examines the degree to which English‐speaking students learning Japanese utilize information from word elements and contextual clues in interpreting novel kanji compounds (i.e., words consisting of two or more Chinese characters). Fifty‐nine college students inferred the meanings of novel compounds consisting of familiar characters under three conditions (i.e., words in isolation, contextual clues only, and both). Students were most …
Understanding the Definitions of Unfamiliar Verbs
S Two experiments examined students' ability to understand definitions of novel verbs. In both experiments, upper elementary students were given definitions of pseudowords paired with sentences using those words, and asked to evaluate whether the use of the word in the sentence was consistent with the meaning given in the definition. The sentence was either appropriate for the definition, consistent with a fragment of the definition but not the d…
Spanish-English Bilingual Students' Use of Cognates in English Reading
A study was conducted to determine how Hispanic bilingual students' knowledge of Spanish vocabulary and ability to identify Spanish-English cognates relate to their comprehension of English expository text. Subjects, 74 upper elementary Hispanic students able to read in both Spanish and English, were tested for Spanish and English vocabulary knowledge, and after reading each of four expository texts containing English words with Spanish cognates …
Cross-language transfer of phonological awareness
A study investigated the factors influencing the English word identification performance of Spanish-speaking beginning readers. Beginning readers were administered tests of letter naming, Spanish phonological awareness, Spanish and English word recognition, and Spanish and English oral proficiency. Multiple-regression analyses revealed that the readers' performance on EngIish word and pseudoword recognition tests was predicted by the levels of bo…
The acquisition of English derivational morphology
Morphological Families in the Internal Lexicon
William Nagy, Richard C. Anderson, Marlene Schommer, Judith Ann Scott, Anne C. Stallman, Morphological Families in the Internal Lexicon, Reading Research Quarterly, Vol. 24, No. 3 (Summer, 1989), pp. 262-282
The semantic‐pragmatic distinction in the investigation of mental state words
The semantic uses of mental state words used by children 41⁄2 to 5 years of age were compared. The children were from two racial (black and white) and two social class (working and professional) groups. The sample of language was collected in 10 different temporal situations which were subsumed under two broad categories of situation (home or school). The total corpus of language consisted of one million words. A racial difference in the use of m…
Incidental Acquisition of Word Meaning from Expositions with Varied Text Features
THE AUTHORS investigated how text features may influence the amount of vocabulary knowledge acquired incidentally while reading expositions. Three sets of text features were identified from studies on comprehension: (a) features associated with the macrostructure, (b) features associated with logical and temporal relations in the microstructure, and (c) features associated with explanations of concepts and relations between them. Two natural expo…
Learning Word Meanings from Context during Normal Reading
This study investigated incidental learning of word meanings from context during normal reading. A total of 352 students in third, fifth, and seventh grades read either expository or narrative passages selected from grade-level textbooks, and after six days were tested on their knowledge of difficult words from the passages. Small but reliable gains in knowledge of words from the passages read were found at all grade and ability levels. Effects o…
Learning Words from Context
SCHOOL CHILDREN appear to increase their vocabularies by thousands of words per year. Many have hypothesized that a large proportion of this growth occurs through incidental learning from written context. However, experimental research has until now failed to provide unequivocal support of this hypothesis. The present study attempted to determine whether students do acquire measurable knowledge about unfamiliar words while reading natural text. F…
How Many Words Are There in Printed School English
THE PURPOSE of this research was to determine the number of distinct words in printed school English. A detailed analysis was done of a 7,260 sample from the Carroll, Davies and Richman, Word Frequency Book. Projecting from this sample to the total vocabulary of school English, our best estimate is that there are about 88,500 distinct words. Furthermore, for every a child learns, we estimate that there are an average of one to three additional re…
How Many Words Are There in Printed School English
THE PURPOSE of this research was to determine the number of distinct words in printed school English. A detailed analysis was done of a 7,260 sample from the Carroll, Davies and Richman, Word Frequency Book. Projecting from this sample to the total vocabulary of school English, our best estimate is that there are about 88,500 distinct words. Furthermore, for every a child learns, we estimate that there are an average of one to three additional re…
Contributions of morphology beyond phonology to literacy outcomes of upper elementary and middle-school students
Using structural equation modeling the authors evaluated the contribution of morphological awareness, phonological memory, and phonological decoding to reading comprehension, reading vocabulary, spelling, and accuracy and rate of decoding morphologically complex words for 182 4th- and 5th-grade students, 218 6th- and 7th-grade students, and 207 8th- and 9th-grade students in a suburban school district. Morphological awareness made a significant u…
Cross-language transfer of phonological awareness
A study investigated the factors influencing the English word identification performance of Spanish-speaking beginning readers. Beginning readers were administered tests of letter naming, Spanish phonological awareness, Spanish and English word recognition, and Spanish and English oral proficiency. Multiple-regression analyses revealed that the readers' performance on EngIish word and pseudoword recognition tests was predicted by the levels of bo…
Learning Words from Context
SCHOOL CHILDREN appear to increase their vocabularies by thousands of words per year. Many have hypothesized that a large proportion of this growth occurs through incidental learning from written context. However, experimental research has until now failed to provide unequivocal support of this hypothesis. The present study attempted to determine whether students do acquire measurable knowledge about unfamiliar words while reading natural text. F…
Words as Tools
There is a growing awareness of the importance of academic vocabulary, and more generally, of academic language proficiency, for students’ success in school. There is also a growing body of research on the nature of the demands that academic language places on readers and writers, and on interventions to help students meet these demands. In this review, we discuss the role of academic vocabulary within academic language, examine recent research o…
Learning Word Meanings from Context during Normal Reading
This study investigated incidental learning of word meanings from context during normal reading. A total of 352 students in third, fifth, and seventh grades read either expository or narrative passages selected from grade-level textbooks, and after six days were tested on their knowledge of difficult words from the passages. Small but reliable gains in knowledge of words from the passages read were found at all grade and ability levels. Effects o…
Growth in Phonological, Orthographic, and Morphological Awareness in Grades 1 to 6
Morphological Families in the Internal Lexicon
William Nagy, Richard C. Anderson, Marlene Schommer, Judith Ann Scott, Anne C. Stallman, Morphological Families in the Internal Lexicon, Reading Research Quarterly, Vol. 24, No. 3 (Summer, 1989), pp. 262-282
Integration of Information From Context and Word Elements in Interpreting Novel Kanji Compounds
S This study examines the degree to which English‐speaking students learning Japanese utilize information from word elements and contextual clues in interpreting novel kanji compounds (i.e., words consisting of two or more Chinese characters). Fifty‐nine college students inferred the meanings of novel compounds consisting of familiar characters under three conditions (i.e., words in isolation, contextual clues only, and both). Students were most …
Incidental Acquisition of Word Meaning from Expositions with Varied Text Features
THE AUTHORS investigated how text features may influence the amount of vocabulary knowledge acquired incidentally while reading expositions. Three sets of text features were identified from studies on comprehension: (a) features associated with the macrostructure, (b) features associated with logical and temporal relations in the microstructure, and (c) features associated with explanations of concepts and relations between them. Two natural expo…
Understanding the Definitions of Unfamiliar Verbs
S Two experiments examined students' ability to understand definitions of novel verbs. In both experiments, upper elementary students were given definitions of pseudowords paired with sentences using those words, and asked to evaluate whether the use of the word in the sentence was consistent with the meaning given in the definition. The sentence was either appropriate for the definition, consistent with a fragment of the definition but not the d…
The semantic‐pragmatic distinction in the investigation of mental state words
The semantic uses of mental state words used by children 41⁄2 to 5 years of age were compared. The children were from two racial (black and white) and two social class (working and professional) groups. The sample of language was collected in 10 different temporal situations which were subsumed under two broad categories of situation (home or school). The total corpus of language consisted of one million words. A racial difference in the use of m…
How Many Words Are There in Printed School English
THE PURPOSE of this research was to determine the number of distinct words in printed school English. A detailed analysis was done of a 7,260 sample from the Carroll, Davies and Richman, Word Frequency Book. Projecting from this sample to the total vocabulary of school English, our best estimate is that there are about 88,500 distinct words. Furthermore, for every a child learns, we estimate that there are an average of one to three additional re…
Learning Words from Context
SCHOOL CHILDREN appear to increase their vocabularies by thousands of words per year. Many have hypothesized that a large proportion of this growth occurs through incidental learning from written context. However, experimental research has until now failed to provide unequivocal support of this hypothesis. The present study attempted to determine whether students do acquire measurable knowledge about unfamiliar words while reading natural text. F…
The semantic‐pragmatic distinction in the investigation of mental state words
The semantic uses of mental state words used by children 41⁄2 to 5 years of age were compared. The children were from two racial (black and white) and two social class (working and professional) groups. The sample of language was collected in 10 different temporal situations which were subsumed under two broad categories of situation (home or school). The total corpus of language consisted of one million words. A racial difference in the use of m…
Incidental Acquisition of Word Meaning from Expositions with Varied Text Features
THE AUTHORS investigated how text features may influence the amount of vocabulary knowledge acquired incidentally while reading expositions. Three sets of text features were identified from studies on comprehension: (a) features associated with the macrostructure, (b) features associated with logical and temporal relations in the microstructure, and (c) features associated with explanations of concepts and relations between them. Two natural expo…
Learning Word Meanings from Context during Normal Reading
This study investigated incidental learning of word meanings from context during normal reading. A total of 352 students in third, fifth, and seventh grades read either expository or narrative passages selected from grade-level textbooks, and after six days were tested on their knowledge of difficult words from the passages. Small but reliable gains in knowledge of words from the passages read were found at all grade and ability levels. Effects o…
The acquisition of English derivational morphology
Morphological Families in the Internal Lexicon
William Nagy, Richard C. Anderson, Marlene Schommer, Judith Ann Scott, Anne C. Stallman, Morphological Families in the Internal Lexicon, Reading Research Quarterly, Vol. 24, No. 3 (Summer, 1989), pp. 262-282
Spanish-English Bilingual Students' Use of Cognates in English Reading
A study was conducted to determine how Hispanic bilingual students' knowledge of Spanish vocabulary and ability to identify Spanish-English cognates relate to their comprehension of English expository text. Subjects, 74 upper elementary Hispanic students able to read in both Spanish and English, were tested for Spanish and English vocabulary knowledge, and after reading each of four expository texts containing English words with Spanish cognates …
Cross-language transfer of phonological awareness
A study investigated the factors influencing the English word identification performance of Spanish-speaking beginning readers. Beginning readers were administered tests of letter naming, Spanish phonological awareness, Spanish and English word recognition, and Spanish and English oral proficiency. Multiple-regression analyses revealed that the readers' performance on EngIish word and pseudoword recognition tests was predicted by the levels of bo…
Understanding the Definitions of Unfamiliar Verbs
S Two experiments examined students' ability to understand definitions of novel verbs. In both experiments, upper elementary students were given definitions of pseudowords paired with sentences using those words, and asked to evaluate whether the use of the word in the sentence was consistent with the meaning given in the definition. The sentence was either appropriate for the definition, consistent with a fragment of the definition but not the d…
Integration of Information From Context and Word Elements in Interpreting Novel Kanji Compounds
S This study examines the degree to which English‐speaking students learning Japanese utilize information from word elements and contextual clues in interpreting novel kanji compounds (i.e., words consisting of two or more Chinese characters). Fifty‐nine college students inferred the meanings of novel compounds consisting of familiar characters under three conditions (i.e., words in isolation, contextual clues only, and both). Students were most …
Contributions of morphology beyond phonology to literacy outcomes of upper elementary and middle-school students
Using structural equation modeling the authors evaluated the contribution of morphological awareness, phonological memory, and phonological decoding to reading comprehension, reading vocabulary, spelling, and accuracy and rate of decoding morphologically complex words for 182 4th- and 5th-grade students, 218 6th- and 7th-grade students, and 207 8th- and 9th-grade students in a suburban school district. Morphological awareness made a significant u…
Growth in Phonological, Orthographic, and Morphological Awareness in Grades 1 to 6
Words as Tools
There is a growing awareness of the importance of academic vocabulary, and more generally, of academic language proficiency, for students’ success in school. There is also a growing body of research on the nature of the demands that academic language places on readers and writers, and on interventions to help students meet these demands. In this review, we discuss the role of academic vocabulary within academic language, examine recent research o…
Morphological Knowledge and Literacy Acquisition
The purpose of this special issue of the Journal of Learning Disabilities is to bring to the attention of researchers and educators studies on morphology and literacy that either involve students with learning difficulties or have educational implications for teaching such students. In our introduction, we first provide background information about morphological knowledge and consider the role of morphology in literacy, focusing on findings that …
Linguistics (13 works) · Psychology (13 works) · Reading and Literacy Development (11 works) · Philosophy (7 works) · Second Language Acquisition and Learning (6 works) · Computer Science (5 works) · Mathematics education (5 works) · Educational Strategies and Epistemologies (4 works) · Writing and Handwriting Education (4 works) · Cognitive and developmental aspects of mathematical skills (3 works)