A writing system in which the pronunciation of words is often not directly or consistently predictable from their written form.

The written form of a language - how speech sounds are standardly represented within a language.

The smallest unit of sound that changes meaning, such as the element p in “tap,” which separates that word from “tab,” “tag,” and “tan”  Examples: /t/. /ks/, /p/ etc.

The ability to keep track of the position within a string of information between breaks in attention, for example, when looking up and down during copying tasks.

In a qualitative assessment, the information (data) collected is usually in the form of words and images.  It is a subjective method of data collection using the observation of performance and interviews etc.  The data is less generalisable, i.e. we can draw fewer general conclusions from findings than we can when using statistical methods.

'Meaningful' - linking to facts and knowledge we have of the world and its contents.

A string of information - separate bits of information that do not blend together to form meaning units so are processed one at a time.

A writing system in which the pronunciation of words is usually directly or consistently predictable from their written form.

The number of orthographic units (letters/symbols) that a person can process at a glance.

A situation where the volume of visual information is off-putting or confusing for the person perceiving it.