To promote independent reading in middle school, teachers must understand why adolescents choose to read or not read a specific book. Yet, there is limited research on the factors that students consider when evaluating books that teachers have introduced them to in class. This study aimed to describe factors that 43 Grade 7 and 8 students noted as…

Students with high reading proficiency typically achieve better results in science assessments, indicating the importance of reading proficiency. Since the process of reading is a complex interaction between properties of a text and a reader, the linguistic demands of a text might affect text comprehension. Certain linguistic features, such as…

Previous research has demonstrated that negated text (i.e., text that contains words such as "no," "not," or "never") presents considerable challenges to accurate reading comprehension. Furthermore, while metacomprehension judgements have indicated an awareness of this challenge on the readers' part, this insight has…

Background: During digital reading on internet-connected devices, students may be exposed to a variety of on-screen distractions. Learning by reading can therefore become a fragmented experience with potentially negative consequences for reading processes and outcomes. Objectives: This study investigated the effects of on-screen distractions, as…

Purpose: The present study examined the effect of Directed Activity Related to Texts (DARTs) and gender on student achievement in qualitative analysis in chemistry. It focused on the qualitative analysis component of the Chemistry course, which for students has been perceived as being the most difficult aspect of their mastery of the subject.…

Purpose: Complex features of science texts present idiosyncratic challenges for middle grade readers, especially in a post-Common Core educational world where students' learning is dependent on understanding informational text. The primary aim of this study was to explore how middle school readers process science texts and whether such…

When students arrive at university there is an expectation that they come already equipped with the skills they need to read academic texts. In contrast, many students have low confidence in their ability to read challenging texts, often experiencing this as a barrier to engaging with academic practices. Recent research has identified the…

This study investigates the effects of the text difficulty of extensive reading materials on the reading comprehension and reading motivation of English as a foreign language (EFL) vocational high school students in Taiwan. Two experimental groups were assigned, on an individual basis, to read graded readers at either one level below ('i-1') or…

Hauptman (2000) proposed a modern view about the easy/difficult nature of second language (L2) reading, proposing five factors: background knowledge, signaling, language, discourse, and length. Little research, however, has explored the hypotheses empirically. To fill this gap, this qualitative case study investigates: 1) What are the factors…

Different from other elaborate proses, academic writing needs a clear language to extend its scope of audience. Intending to be seen intellectual, competent, or more attractive, writers may inflate their manuscripts with unnecessary complicated words and pompous frills unique to specific jargons; however, such texts, called flowery writing, in an…

Conjoint processing of text and pictures is assumed to possess an inherent asymmetry, because text and pictures serve fundamentally different but complementary functions. Conjoint processing is assumed to start with general, coherence-oriented mental model construction. When certain tasks have to be solved, the mental model is adjusted to the task…

The combination of print materials and augmented reality in education is increasingly accessible due to advances in mobile technologies. Using familiar paper-based activities overlaid with digital items, also known as interactive print, educators can create a custom learning experience for students. There is very little guidance on the design of…

Nowhere is the need for handling complexity more pertinent than in addressing environmental issues. Our study explores students' situated constructs of complexity in unfolding discourses on socio-scientific issues. Students' dialogues in two group-work episodes are analysed in detail, with tools from Systemic Functional Linguistics. We identify…

The study investigates how learner experience with applications (apps) and how app types (native vs. non-native) influence performance in reading comprehension. Twenty-five high school students used different apps to read four texts. The students were asked to use the annotation feature of the apps to facilitate their reading. Ease of use,…

A model-based approach for matching language learners to texts of appropriate difficulty is described. Results are communicated to test takers via a targeted reading range expressed on the reporting scale of an automated text complexity measurement tool (ATCMT). Test takers can use this feedback to select reading materials that are well matched to…