S10 E1: The (not so) Simple View of Reading, with Wesley Hoover, Ph.D.

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Sep 10, 2025

Wesley Hoover, Ph.D., a psycholinguist from the University of Texas at Austin, dives deep into the complexities of the Simple View of Reading. He explains how reading comprehension hinges on both word recognition and language comprehension. Discover the impact of these factors on student struggles and misconceptions surrounding the model. Wesley also highlights the importance of assessing reading frameworks against research while advocating for the value of language comprehension instruction in lifelong learning.

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ANECDOTE

Path To The Simple View

Wesley Hoover traced his interest in reading to a philosophy of language course and meeting Phil Gough at UT Austin.
He used data from work at SEDL to run the first empirical test of the Simple View.

INSIGHT

Reading Comprehension Is A Product

Reading comprehension equals the product of word recognition and language comprehension, so both are necessary and neither is sufficient alone.
If either component is zero, reading comprehension collapses regardless of the other component's strength.

INSIGHT

Language Depends On Knowledge And Structure

Language comprehension combines formal linguistic skills with world knowledge to derive literal and inferred meaning from language.
Strong background knowledge boosts inference and deep understanding beyond syntax alone.

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In this episode of Science of Reading: The Podcast, Susan Lambert is joined by Wesley Hoover, a psycholinguist at the University of Texas at Austin, to discuss the Simple View of Reading and how it can serve as the basis for our understanding of comprehension. Wesley digs into all the complexities of this model—which is only simple at a high level—including the meaning of language comprehension vs. reading comprehension, the impact of word recognition, and using the simple view to identify struggling students. He’ll even address the limitations of the simple view of reading, untangle common misconceptions, and give you tools for assessing the value of any model for reading that you might encounter.

Show notes:

Submit your questions on comprehension!
Access free, high-quality resources at our brand-new, companion professional learning page: http://amplify.com/science-of-reading/professional-learning
Resources:
- Listen: Science of Reading Essentials: Comprehension
- Read: The Primacy of Science in Communicating Advances in the Science of Reading
Join our community Facebook Group: www.facebook.com/groups/scienceofreading
Connect with Susan Lambert: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-lambert-edd-b1512761/
Check out Season 2 of the Beyond My Years podcast at.amplify.com/bmy

Quotes:

"Language comprehension is unbounded… the knowledge of the world and being able to express the knowledge of the world in language—that's always a key difficulty you work on for your entire life.” —Wesley Hoover, Ph.D.

“If you're a teacher thinking about language comprehension, whatever time you devote to helping people understand language, if you can be effective in doing that, you'll never waste a kid's time.” —Wesley Hoover, Ph.D.

"To be a reader, you have to be good at two things: word recognition and language comprehension. Both of them are necessary components of reading, but neither one of them is sufficient on its own.”—Wesley Hoover, Ph.D.

Episode timestamps*
03:00 Introduction: Wesley Hoover and the simple view of reading
06:00 What is the simple view of reading?
08:00 What is language comprehension?
10:00 What is word recognition?
11:00 Defining reading comprehension
12:00 Dr. Gough’s big A-Ha! Moment
15:00 Reading competency
16:00 Misconceptions of the simple view of reading
21:00 Changing the size of the boxes
23:00 Extension of the simple view
26:00 Using the simple view to identify kids that are struggling
29:00 What the simple view does or does not address
33:00 Navigating models of reading comprehension
35:00 Is the simple view outdated?
38:00 Why is comprehension worth exploring?
41:00 Final advice
*Timestamps are approximate, rounded to nearest minute