Anne Castles
Biographic Data
| ID | 5707674 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Anne Castles |
| GIVEN NAMES | Anne |
| FAMILY NAME | Castles |
| SIGNATURE | CASTLES A |
| AFFILIATIONS | School of Psychological Sciences Macquarie University Sydney New South Wales Australia |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-8228-8260 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 12 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 2 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 12 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2004 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Oral vocabulary and learning to read morphologically complex words
Relationships Between Morphological Knowledge, Spelling and Writing in Adolescents
Background Spelling proficiency is crucial for expressing abstract ideas in writing. In secondary school, students are increasingly required to spell morphologically complex, subject‐specific words, but such words are challenging to spell, and few studies have investigated how morphological knowledge contributes to spelling and writing performance in secondary students. Methods Two hundred and sixty‐six Year 7 students (M = 13 years, 1 month; SD …
Eye Tracking and Simulating the Spacing Effect During Orthographic Learning
Spreading out study opportunities over time improves the retention of verbal material compared to consecutive study, yet little is known about the influence of temporal spacing on orthographic learning specifically. The current study addressed four questions: (1) do readers' eye movements during orthographic learning differ under spaced and massed conditions? (2) is the spacing effect observed in offline post‐tests? (3) can readers' eye movements…
Using orthographic support to reduce the impact of noise on oral vocabulary learning in adults
Background Although most prevalent in childhood, the acquisition of new words in oral vocabulary takes place right across the lifespan. Of the many factors that influence oral vocabulary learning, one extrinsic factor is the listening environment. The current study aimed to examine whether the presence of noise impacts oral vocabulary learning in adult native speakers of English and, if so, whether this can be alleviated by the incidental presenc…
An experimental comparison of additional training in phoneme awareness, letter‐sound knowledge and decoding for struggling beginner readers
BACKGROUND: Despite evidence that synthetic phonics teaching has increased reading attainments, a sizable minority of children struggle to acquire phonics skills and teachers lack clear principles for deciding what types of additional support are most beneficial. Synthetic phonics teaches children to read using a decoding strategy to translate letters into sounds and blend them (e.g., c-a-t = "k - ae - t" = "cat"). To use a decoding strategy, chi…
Acquisition of orthographic forms via spoken complex word training
This study used a novel word-training paradigm to examine the integration of spoken word knowledge when learning to read morphologically complex novel words. Australian primary school children including Grades 3–5 were taught the oral form of a set of novel morphologically complex words (e.g., (/vɪbɪŋ/, /vɪbd/, /vɪbz/), with a second set serving as untrained items. Following oral training, participants saw the printed form of the novel word stems…
The Effect of Spacing Versus Massing on Orthographic Learning
Distributing study opportunities over time typically improves the retention of verbal material compared to consecutive study trials, yet little is known about the influence of temporal spacing on orthographic form learning specifically. This experiment sought to obtain and compare estimates of the magnitude of the spacing effect on written word form learning across three different outcome measures, administered between participants. Skilled adult…
Nap effects on preschool children’s learning of letter-sound mappings
This study explored whether a daytime nap aids children's acquisition of letter-sound knowledge, which is a fundamental component for learning to read. Thirty-two preschool children in Sydney, Australia (Mage = 4 years;3 months) were taught letter-sound mappings in two sessions: one followed by a nap and the other by a wakeful period. Learning was assessed by explicit letter-sound mappings (“Which sound does this letter make?”) and knowledge gene…
Tracking the Relations Between Children’s Reading and Emotional Health Across Time
There is good evidence for an association between poor reading and anxiety, but the mechanisms responsible for this association are currently unknown. In this study, we used structural equation modeling of four large longitudinal databases from the United Kingdom ( n = 7,870), the United States ( n s = 8,001 and 7,160), and Australia ( n = 768) to explore relations between reading and emotional health across childhood. We found that emotional hea…
Variations in the use of simple and context-sensitive grapheme-phoneme correspondences in English and German developing readers
Learning to read in most alphabetic orthographies requires not only the acquisition of simple grapheme-phoneme correspondences (GPCs) but also the acquisition of context-sensitive GPCs, where surrounding letters change a grapheme’s pronunciation. We aimed to explore the use and development of simple GPCs (e.g. a ➔ /æ/) and context-sensitive GPCs (e.g. [w]a ➔ /ɔ/, as in “swan” or a[l][d ] ➔ /o:/, as in “bald”) in pseudoword reading. Across three e…
Ending the Reading Wars
There is intense public interest in questions surrounding how children learn to read and how they can best be taught. Research in psychological science has provided answers to many of these questions but, somewhat surprisingly, this research has been slow to make inroads into educational policy and practice. Instead, the field has been plagued by decades of “reading wars.” Even now, there remains a wide gap between the state of research knowledge…
Is there a causal link from phonological awareness to success in learning to read?
The Effect of Spacing Versus Massing on Orthographic Learning
Distributing study opportunities over time typically improves the retention of verbal material compared to consecutive study trials, yet little is known about the influence of temporal spacing on orthographic form learning specifically. This experiment sought to obtain and compare estimates of the magnitude of the spacing effect on written word form learning across three different outcome measures, administered between participants. Skilled adult…
Tracking the Relations Between Children’s Reading and Emotional Health Across Time
There is good evidence for an association between poor reading and anxiety, but the mechanisms responsible for this association are currently unknown. In this study, we used structural equation modeling of four large longitudinal databases from the United Kingdom ( n = 7,870), the United States ( n s = 8,001 and 7,160), and Australia ( n = 768) to explore relations between reading and emotional health across childhood. We found that emotional hea…
Is there a causal link from phonological awareness to success in learning to read?
Ending the Reading Wars
There is intense public interest in questions surrounding how children learn to read and how they can best be taught. Research in psychological science has provided answers to many of these questions but, somewhat surprisingly, this research has been slow to make inroads into educational policy and practice. Instead, the field has been plagued by decades of “reading wars.” Even now, there remains a wide gap between the state of research knowledge…
Variations in the use of simple and context-sensitive grapheme-phoneme correspondences in English and German developing readers
Learning to read in most alphabetic orthographies requires not only the acquisition of simple grapheme-phoneme correspondences (GPCs) but also the acquisition of context-sensitive GPCs, where surrounding letters change a grapheme’s pronunciation. We aimed to explore the use and development of simple GPCs (e.g. a ➔ /æ/) and context-sensitive GPCs (e.g. [w]a ➔ /ɔ/, as in “swan” or a[l][d ] ➔ /o:/, as in “bald”) in pseudoword reading. Across three e…
Nap effects on preschool children’s learning of letter-sound mappings
This study explored whether a daytime nap aids children's acquisition of letter-sound knowledge, which is a fundamental component for learning to read. Thirty-two preschool children in Sydney, Australia (Mage = 4 years;3 months) were taught letter-sound mappings in two sessions: one followed by a nap and the other by a wakeful period. Learning was assessed by explicit letter-sound mappings (“Which sound does this letter make?”) and knowledge gene…
Tracking the Relations Between Children’s Reading and Emotional Health Across Time
There is good evidence for an association between poor reading and anxiety, but the mechanisms responsible for this association are currently unknown. In this study, we used structural equation modeling of four large longitudinal databases from the United Kingdom ( n = 7,870), the United States ( n s = 8,001 and 7,160), and Australia ( n = 768) to explore relations between reading and emotional health across childhood. We found that emotional hea…
Acquisition of orthographic forms via spoken complex word training
This study used a novel word-training paradigm to examine the integration of spoken word knowledge when learning to read morphologically complex novel words. Australian primary school children including Grades 3–5 were taught the oral form of a set of novel morphologically complex words (e.g., (/vɪbɪŋ/, /vɪbd/, /vɪbz/), with a second set serving as untrained items. Following oral training, participants saw the printed form of the novel word stems…
The Effect of Spacing Versus Massing on Orthographic Learning
Distributing study opportunities over time typically improves the retention of verbal material compared to consecutive study trials, yet little is known about the influence of temporal spacing on orthographic form learning specifically. This experiment sought to obtain and compare estimates of the magnitude of the spacing effect on written word form learning across three different outcome measures, administered between participants. Skilled adult…
Using orthographic support to reduce the impact of noise on oral vocabulary learning in adults
Background Although most prevalent in childhood, the acquisition of new words in oral vocabulary takes place right across the lifespan. Of the many factors that influence oral vocabulary learning, one extrinsic factor is the listening environment. The current study aimed to examine whether the presence of noise impacts oral vocabulary learning in adult native speakers of English and, if so, whether this can be alleviated by the incidental presenc…
An experimental comparison of additional training in phoneme awareness, letter‐sound knowledge and decoding for struggling beginner readers
BACKGROUND: Despite evidence that synthetic phonics teaching has increased reading attainments, a sizable minority of children struggle to acquire phonics skills and teachers lack clear principles for deciding what types of additional support are most beneficial. Synthetic phonics teaches children to read using a decoding strategy to translate letters into sounds and blend them (e.g., c-a-t = "k - ae - t" = "cat"). To use a decoding strategy, chi…
Eye Tracking and Simulating the Spacing Effect During Orthographic Learning
Spreading out study opportunities over time improves the retention of verbal material compared to consecutive study, yet little is known about the influence of temporal spacing on orthographic learning specifically. The current study addressed four questions: (1) do readers' eye movements during orthographic learning differ under spaced and massed conditions? (2) is the spacing effect observed in offline post‐tests? (3) can readers' eye movements…
Oral vocabulary and learning to read morphologically complex words
Relationships Between Morphological Knowledge, Spelling and Writing in Adolescents
Background Spelling proficiency is crucial for expressing abstract ideas in writing. In secondary school, students are increasingly required to spell morphologically complex, subject‐specific words, but such words are challenging to spell, and few studies have investigated how morphological knowledge contributes to spelling and writing performance in secondary students. Methods Two hundred and sixty‐six Year 7 students (M = 13 years, 1 month; SD …
Reading and Literacy Development (11 works) · Psychology (10 works) · Linguistics (7 works) · Cognitive psychology (6 works) · Computer Science (6 works) · Reading (process) (6 works) · Second Language Acquisition and Learning (4 works) · Artificial Intelligence (3 works) · Language Development and Disorders (3 works) · Literacy (3 works)