This paper examines learners' fluency development in L2 silent reading rate and comprehension. In both L1 and L2 readings, a positive relationship between readers' silent reading rate and comprehension has not been as firmly established as theories might propose. Based on Wallot et al. (2014), the paper indicates the need to look at readers'…

This report summarizes the results of more than 10,000 individual judgments, carried out in five related studies, all concerned with perceived reading efforts of text on visual displays and printouts. Students and personnel in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Stockholm served as study subjects. In experiments in which…

Discusses a study of fast and slow adult readers' textual organization subprocesses. Reveals that title and text type variables were manipulated in the study. Concludes that fast and slow readers processed textual organization similarly and showed identical comprehension performances. Calls for research into the characteristics of good…

This study examined effects of intrasyllabic units on lexical decision performance in 15 normal reading (NR) children and 15 children with reading disabilities (RD) in a transparent orthography (Spanish). Findings suggest that Spanish children with RD do not use correspondences based on higher level units (onsets and rimes) in visual word…

This article argues for widening the research base on reading from the specific constraints of reading in alphabetic scripts to a larger database covering a variety of scripts. Several recent studies on reading the alphasyllabaries of India are reviewed. Findings indicate that alphasyllabaries are not processed in the same manner as alphabets.…

In recent years, there has been increasing emphasis on the idea of reading as a "socio-cultural" phenomenon, derived from the idea that reading is not an isolated skill but is necessarily related to the purposes reading will be put to in particular social and cultural contexts. This collection of essays acknowledges the undoubted…

Edited by three authorities in the field, this "Handbook" presents contributions from experts across the world who report the cutting-edge of international research. It is ground-breaking in its holistic, evidence-informed account that aims to synthesize key messages for policy and practice in English, language and literacy teaching. A…

The first paper in this collection summarizes 21 years of research into reading and presents a list of developments in the field and their implications for practice. The developments include: (1) reading is a process influenced by the text and the purpose; (2) the developmental context in which literacy is acquired is important, as is the…

States that there is concern in Western nations that literacy rates are falling. Asserts Reading Recovery programs can reverse this trend. Reports on evaluation studies of Reading Recovery and contends that the short-term gains that result from Reading Recovery programs require further research. (CFR)

Presents results from 2 British studies relating preschool reading skills and reading attainment reached by age 11. Substantiates and extends earlier research that correlated early letter identification with reading ability at age seven. Also indicates no support for hypothesis that letter sounding rather than naming predicts subsequent reading…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which problem analysis facilitated the subsequent processing of expository text, both for novices and a comparison group. A text on osmosis consisted of six-pages and was used as reading material. The ninth-grade students were considered novices because they were unfamiliar with the…

In this study we examined how good and weak students of literature interact with short literary stories. We focused on differences in the use of cognitive and affective reading activities, and in the extent to which good and weak students adapt their activities to (parts of) the story they are reading. 19 Dutch tenth-grade students from 8 classes…

Papers on French linguistics, most in French, address the following topics: micro structural treatment of regionalisms in three French dictionaries; effects of the use of Quebec French on the intelligibility of synthesized speech; reading comprehension as a constructive process; acoustic markers of the utterance in Quebec French; constraints and…