This study follows a small group of learners in the UK to the end of a graded reading program using the Cambridge Readers and investigates whether this particular graded reading series provides a bridge to reading unsimplified novels for pleasure. The participants' reading comprehension, reading rates, vocabulary text coverage, and overall…

Extensive reading is gaining credibility as an effective way of boosting students' affect especially in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context where access to a second language (L2) input is minimal. This study uses a pattern-matching, single case study research design to examine an adult reader's motivation and anxiety shifts…

The paper reports on a long-term, multi-case study examining the motivations of avid readers in an extensive reading program at a private Japanese high school. Using an ethnographic approach to case study research, the project explores nine participants--their motivations for reading and what English study means for them. The two and a half year…

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…

Repeated reading, a procedure involving repetition of the same text, has received copious attention from first language reading research providing highly converging evidence of its potency for reading fluency, accuracy, and comprehension. In contrast, second language research on repeated reading has been scarce. The very few studies extant have,…

The study investigated how second language (L2) learners self-assessed word knowledge on a page of text taken from a graded reader. The case study subjects were five Thai high school learners of English. They were asked to assess their word knowledge using a page of continuous text. Data gained through observation, interviews, self-assessment and…

This longitudinal case study tracks an adult second-language (L2) learner's quality and quantity of encounters with 20 vocabulary items in an English for Academic Purposes course over 3 months. The learner completed pretest and posttest vocabulary knowledge interviews, submitted course materials and notes for analysis, and was observed during…

This paper reports findings from a case study of the amount of explicit vocabulary focus (EVF) that occurred in a week of classes for one group of upper intermediate students in an intensive English program (IEP). To assess EVF, instruction from a total of 25 hours of classes was analyzed to see if the number of EVF events was more connected with…

This case study investigates whether teachers model reading in 1 Singapore primary school during an exercise called "uninterrupted sustained silent reading" (USSR) carried out in the classroom. Even though reading is an important determinant of a student's growth in language skills and ability, and modeling the act of reading is essential in…

In this paper the academic English reading proficiency of 578 Norwegian university students was quantitatively examined. Self-assessment items were used to measure reading proficiency in Norwegian and English and validated using an International English Language Testing System Academic Reading Module. The study found that about 30% of the…

This study investigated the effects of linguistic simplification and content schemata on reading comprehension and recall. The participants, 240 Iranian male students of English as a foreign language (EFL), were divided into 4 homogeneous groups, each consisting of 60 participants (30 with high proficiency and 30 with low proficiency). To elicit…

Research has shown that extensive reading offers a wide range of learning benefits to second language (L2) learners. However, most studies on L2 extensive reading are conducted collectively on groups of learners and do not provide a detailed picture of individual experience. Moreover, there are few studies conducted on the reading experiences of…

A number of studies have shown that second language learners acquire vocabulary through reading, but only relatively small amounts. However, most of these studies used only short texts, measured only the acquisition of meaning, and did not credit partial learning of words. This case study of a learner of French explores whether an extensive…

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…

A 21-year-old female English-as-a-Second-Language learner underwent a program of reading strategy instruction and detailed observation. Verbal data from the learner during reading sessions and her answers to a questionnaire and interviews described her reaction to the program. The example shows that teachers must identify students' strategies…