This feature offers an archive of articles and books published in other venues during the past year and serves as a valuable tool to readers of "Reading in a Foreign Language" ("RFL"). It treats any topic within the scope of "RFL" and second language reading. The articles are listed in alphabetical order by author, each with a complete reference…

This paper aims to be an introduction to the General Service List (GSL) that brings together descriptive data with material otherwise dispersed throughout the literature. The discussion first provides an historical overview of the work that scholars, researchers, and educators used as foundations for the manufacturing of the GSL. Following, a…

This feature offers an archive of articles and books published in other venues during the past year (2009) and serves as a valuable tool to readers of "Reading in a Foreign Language" (RFL). It treats any topic within the scope of "RFL" and second language reading. The articles are listed in alphabetical order, each with a complete reference as…

"I was grabbed early [by vocabulary] and never let go. That's why it's difficult to explain why I enjoy working in this area. I just love doing it," said Paul Nation (in Coxhead, 2005, p. 46). How many people get grabbed by an area of research, teaching, and learning that continues to engage interest and cause excitement after 30 years? In this…

Paul Nation's talents and interests extend well beyond vocabulary to include research on speaking, writing, classroom learning and teaching, reading, and fluency. In keeping with Nation's interests in fluency, extensive reading, and reading instruction, I outline current perspectives on reading fluency and its role as a key component of reading…

This paper identifies a general limitation on printed text as a source of input for language acquisition. The paper contends that printed material can only serve as a source of linguistic input to the extent that the learner is able to make use of phonological information in reading. Focusing on evidence from the acquisition of spoken language and…

This article describes the implementation of an extensive reading (ER) program with 43 first language (L1) and second language (L2) adult literacy students. Among them, 16% were nonnative speakers of English. The main principles considered in the design of the program were (a) purpose of reading, (b) reading tactics, (c) material used, and (d) …

Effective second language vocabulary acquisition is particularly important for English as a foreign language (EFL) learners who frequently acquire impoverished lexicons despite years of formal study. This paper comprehensively reviews and critiques second language (L2) reading vocabulary research and proposes that EFL teachers and administrators…

Describes exploratory classroom research with a group of Italian university students to gain insight into the effect of metadiscourse on English for specific purposes reading comprehension. Findings suggest that a more pronounced use of metadiscourse may be associated with improved comprehension in some cases. (Author/VWL)

Describes an experiment in which rhetorically different texts, with identical subject matter were read by 490 Hong Kong Chinese school children, studying in English as a Second Language. Comprehension was measured by a cloze procedure and by recall protocols. Results showed a clear difference in comprehension between the text types and suggests…

Outlines a case study of how one teacher attempted to incorporate strategy training into his secondary school English reading classes. The teacher attempted strategy training in questioning, clarifying, and predicting strategies and vocabulary recognition techniques for less proficient English students with mixed success. The teacher was…

Describes a self-access extensive reading project for students studying through the medium of English using graded readers. The project sought feedback from the students who were tested over three university terms. Results indicate that test scores correlate positively with the amount of reading done and that students rated the project favorably.…

Outlines the characteristics of graded readers and their contribution to foreign language teaching and suggests uses of these readers. Analyzes the grading systems and levels of published titles in terms of their readability. Presents a bibliography of beginning to intermediate level readers and gives advice for starting a library of graded…

Discusses the need for reader orientation to the text and procedures for working through discourse to encourage selection and organization of main ideas. Students can summarize more effectively if they process and reformulate the text first. Sample text and student summmaries are appended. (Author/LMO)

Considers a three-phase approach to reading in the second-language classroom, with particular attention given to the prereading phase, where students' existing content schemata can be activated in an attempt to enhance motivation to read. (Author/CB)