The constructive feedback on the author's article has helped him to expand his knowledge on the topic. He would like to clarify here that the purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of extensive reading on the development of Japanese high school learners' linguistic knowledge and reading abilities. The findings revealed that the…

Intertextuality is a vital component of college reading and writing. In order to write a paper that requires the synthesizing of readings, students must recognize the intertextual connections among all their sources. Instruction that fosters intertextual awareness in basic writers can help them overcome their tendency to compartmentalize what they…

In this article, the author talks about "Developing Early Literacy," the report of the National Early Literacy Panel. The panel, which consisted of nine experts, was convened by the National Institute for Literacy to synthesize the research on the development of literacy from birth through age 5. Over the eight years of their work, only 190…

Discusses previous articles in this journal issue and addresses issues concerning the acquisition of specific social knowledge. (FL)

In this analysis of prior knowledge and bilingual literacy, it is suggested that the basis upon which cognitive decisions are made and nonvisual inferences are drawn comes from the background knowledge that the reader possesses as tacit or prior knowledge. It is claimed that the only model that can account for the pluralistic nature of language is…

Outlines how contemporary reading theorists conceptualize reading fluency, discussing why it is a good indicator of reading process efficiency. Suggests ways to foster development of reading fluency. Children must acquire the automatic word and phrase processing that enables fluent reading and lets them allocate cognitive capacity to…

The validity of the Scholastic Aptitude Test reading comprehension section is examined in light of recent research finding that students who had not read the related passages were able to answer comprehension questions on a better than chance basis. The roles of prior knowledge and general verbal skills in reading comprehension are emphasized. (DB)

Defining reading as a constructive process involving an interaction of the reader, the text, and the context, this paper offers a model of student cognitive processing that incorporates research in reading, thinking, teaching, and instructional materials. The first section of the paper provides the theoretical context for developing the model,…

Develops an understanding of the interactive nature of the reading process with a focus on vocabulary learning and formulates criteria, based on this understanding, to evaluate approaches to vocabulary development. (HOD)

Separates the effects of prior knowledge and topic interest on second language reading comprehension. English-as-a-Second-Language students in an English for academic purposes program read passages and took multiple-choice comprehension tests on topics for which they had all four possible combinations of high and low topic interest and high and…

Considerable attention has been devoted in recent years to theories of text comprehension and recall that stress the importance of preexisting knowledge structures or schemata. While the valuable contribution such research has made to the understanding of the reading process and the various disabilities that often attend its acquisition must be…

Noting that conceptions of the cognitive representations and processes involved in discourse comprehension and production recently have undergone an important shift in orientation, this paper points out the importance of the shift to the conception of the nature of texts, of text understanding, and of cognitive processes in knowledge creation and…

A 2003 survey of principals found that middle and high schools were more likely to increase social studies and science instruction than decrease it. This suggests that districts are not cutting social studies and sciences entirely but merely "deferring" those subjects until the secondary grades. This strategy provides more time for reading…

Teaching literature as a basis for teaching writing affords a paradigm for teaching structure and meaning. While a truly integrated English department would put equal emphasis upon composition, language, literature, and reading, two-year college curricula have emphasized composition and challenged literature's place. A reader-based model for…