In describing reading proficiency--the relative difficulty or ease that an individual reader experiences reading a particular text--researchers have recognized the importance of both text- and reader-based factors. This digest focuses on the factor of purpose, as determined by the reader or the instructional context. Having a purpose means having…

Discusses materials in the ERIC system that deal with the concept of scaffolding, building on children's natural language, and ways teachers have translated the concept into instructional strategies. (HTH)

This volume of measurement instruments in the English language arts is the second one produced by the Research Instruments Project (TRIP), which was designed to collect and evaluate research instruments in language arts, language and language development, literacy, literature, oral language, reading, teacher knowledge/attitudes, and writing. The…

Direct Instruction (DI) is a pedagogical method that has come to be seen as the principal alternative to whole language reading instruction. Its development is attributed to Siegfried Engelmann, from the University of Illinois, in the mid-1960s. DI was originally developed as an instructional method in both mathematics and reading. This topical…

This is the fifth annual compilation of graduate theses and dissertations in English as a second language (ESL). This series is intended to provide researchers in ESL, bilingual education, and related fields with specific information on current graduate-level studies. Each of the sixty-nine entries provides the writer's name, thesis or…

Some of the major reading and writing practices currently in use in adult English-as-a-Second-Language programs are described in this digest. Reading activities for such learners are similar to those used in adult basic education classes. At the beginning level, students dictate stories to the teacher or give an oral account of an experience.…

This is the fourth annual listing of graduate theses and dissertations in English as a second language (ESL). The studies cited here were completed during the academic year 1978-79. The listing is intended to provide graduate students and others doing research in ESL and related fields with specific, comprehensive data on current graduate-level…

Presents the opposing viewpoints on grammar study, phonics and whole language instruction, and the role of information in English language arts. (SRT)

During the 1970s direct phonics instruction was the preferred method of reading instruction. In the 1980s the whole language concept caught on and phonics instruction was considered defunct. In the 1990s the pendulum, in the process of swinging back, was intercepted before it went to the extreme of "all phonics," by a balanced approach…

A state of the art report on the development of native and second language reading skills in nonnative English speakers begins with a review of the reading process and the relationship of language to the reading process. The second chapter reviews various levels of language and relates them to reading and learning to read a first and second…

This digest discusses the concept of "phonemic/phonological awareness"--the awareness that spoken language is made up of discrete sounds. The digest also discusses why this concept is so important to early childhood educators, its relation to the debate on the best type of reading instruction, and teaching methods that may help children…

The controversial field of semiotics has been criticized for its "unwillingness to respect boundaries" and its "conviction that everything is a sign." The central concerns of this wide-ranging field, however, can be defined, and its implications for teaching can be outlined. Semiotics is the study of signs (symbols, icons, and…

This brief describes how literacy in the first language (L1) can affect the acquisition of reading skills in English, examining ways that instruction should be developed. It explains that learning to read is especially difficult for adults learning to read in a second language. According to the research, all English language learners (ELLs),…

Discusses background information about the deaf that may be useful to reading teachers working with older deaf students; suggests additional sources of information on sign language and reading instruction for the deaf. (MKM)

Offers seven annotations of books and journal articles (published between 1992 and 1994) from the ERIC database on the topic of language and literacy in upper elementary grades. (SR)