Today there is an increasing amount of research promoting the effectiveness of extensive reading (ER) towards increasing learners' vocabulary, comprehension, reading speed, and motivation towards reading. However, little has been done to measure the effects of ER on learners' reading levels. This quantitative study examined the effects…

Mastery of English in China has gathered increased prominence due to the need to foster cultural, political, and economic connections worldwide. Reading is an obvious skill of vital importance for advancing efforts as a player in the world economy. The present article examines research published in academic journals in Chinese and English to…

A variety of computer-based models of Extensive Reading have emerged in the last decade. Different Information and Communication Technologies online usually support these models. However, such innovations are not feasible in contexts where the digital breach limits the access to Internet. The purpose of this paper is to report a project in which…

This study analyzed the effects of the implementation of the readers' workshop on students' reading levels and comprehension skills in a first-grade, mixed-ability classroom in Lebanon. The instruments used at the beginning were running records and reading continuums, and at the end of the academic year, teachers' professional notebooks and notes…

The purpose of this study was to develop a new Greek phonological awareness test for preschool and primary school age children (ages 5-7) in Greece and Cyprus. A new phonological awareness test with 168 items was individually administered to 132 students (60 students in Cyprus and 72 students in Greece) from five urban, five semi-rural, and three…

Reading is thought to be a crucial skill in the EFL learning process, and Extensive Reading a very useful strategy. However, very few teachers implement it on a regular basis. The process of introducing Extensive Reading (ER) is considered far too expensive, complicated, and time-consuming. One way to encourage its use would be to more deeply…

Over the last years, in many countries worldwide, there has been a decline in the reading skills of upper secondary school students, and their ability to read and understand advanced literature. Seeing this as an alarming change for the worse, governments, educational bodies and interested groups have taken various measures to address the issue.…

Many course books for learners of English as a second or foreign language now claim to contain a strong lexical component. Other practitioners meanwhile continue to advocate the use of graded readers to augment vocabulary development. This article reports the findings of vocabulary profiling and analysis of both course books and graded readers and…

Discusses the use of electronic glossaries in learning second language vocabulary. Examines important technological and pedagogical factors that should be considered to fully exploit the potential of an electronic glossary. (Author/VWL)

Provides practical suggestions for teachers to integrate cultural pluralism in three reading strategies: (1) reading workshops; (2) writing workshops; (3) language experience approaches that make a valuable contribution to students of all cultural backgrounds. (Author/VWL)

Presents how Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics can be used to analyze readers' responses to an American literature text. Readers are Brazilian college students reading a text by the American author, Amy Tan. (Author/VWL)

Studied the effects of text familiarity, task type, and language proficiency on university students' language for specific purposes test and task performances. Students majoring in electronics took the the Task Based Reading Test. Analyses indicated that text familiarity, task type, and language proficiency resulted in significant differences in…

Describes dictogloss, an integrated skills technique for language learning in which students work together to create a reconstructed version of a text read to them by their teacher. Dictogloss is situated in relation to eight current overlapping trends in second language teaching and description is provided of how the literature on cooperative…

Describes a study in which an English-as-a-Second-Language reading instructor worked with a group of intermediate students that focused on schema theory-based pre-reading activities. Highlights the students' impressions on the strategies covered during the term. (Author/VWL)

Investigates the self-reported reading habits and levels of ability in reading of ten heritage speakers of Spanish enrolled in Spanish classes at Purdue University. Results warrant more explicit focus on form instruction and activation of background knowledge for heritage speakers. (Author/VWL)