A popular idea in Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) is to use multimodal annotated texts, with annotations typically including embedded audio and translations, to support L2 learning through reading. An important question is how to create the audio, which can be done either through human recording or by a Text-To-Speech (TTS) synthesis…

A gloss refers to a short definition or explanation of the meaning of a word in a text that can assist learners in reading comprehension and vocabulary learning. This study aims to investigate how glosses in English academic texts affect the reading behaviour of ESL undergraduates while reading is taking place. In addition, it also examines the…

We propose to use reading time as a metric to report progress in language learning applications. As a case study we use a web-based application that enables learners of a foreign language to read texts from the web and practice vocabulary with interactive exercises generated based on their past readings. The application captures generic…

Learning and Reading Assistant (LARA) is an open source platform that enables conversion of plain texts into an interactive multimedia form designed to support second- and foreign-language (L2) learners. In this workshop, we illustrate the open source aspects using collaborative work carried out during a six-week summer project at the Árni…

This research was aimed at investigating L1 Thai learners' English word stress production in two aspects of English words -- 1) English words with different suffixes: suffixes affecting stress shift, i.e. '-ic' (e.g. 'fantástic'), '-ity' (e.g. 'idéntity') and '-tion / -sion' (e.g. 'eléction') and suffixes demanding stress, i.e. '-oon' (e.g.…

In real-life contexts, when we read anything, be it a newspaper article or a supermarket brochure, we usually have some reasons and expectations about what we are going to read or we want to know something because we are just curious. Rarely do we read without any purpose and expectations, and we often know something about the topic that we are…

This study explores the role of glosses and working memory capacity (WM) in second language (L2) learners' recall and comprehension in electronic reading. Glosses were investigated in terms of the type of information they provided (lexical versus topic-level) and their location on the screen (pop-up window versus separate window). One…

Academic reading circles can be adapted from in class to an online platform where students can work collaboratively. This paper outlines how reading circles are used online with Second Language Learners. A description of the stages and necessary roles is provided. [For the complete proceedings, see ED579395.]

Nineteenth- and twentieth-century models of first and second language reading are examined and compared. Figures are provided of six models that propose relationships among visual input and processes, auditory input, phonological processes, and comprehension. These models illustrate the processes that may be operating in persons who achieve their…

A study investigated the reading behaviors of proficient second language (L2) readers through their oral retellings. Subjects, 12 advanced English-as-a-Second-Language students who were native speakers of Spanish (10 from Spain, 2 from Central America), read two passages from a college-level expository text and gave two oral retellings which were…

Observation of machine or production operators in a Singapore factory for insight into their need for English language skills, existing skills, and the results of a basic English language program in which many were enrolled revealed that, although the workers were generally poorly educated and had minimal English skills, they were able to decode…

An adequate description of the total reading process would have to deal with reading in at least three dimensions comprising three different sets of relationships. A model of the process might well take the form of three concentric spheres: an outer, sociolinguistic shell in which text and reader respectively could be related to a particular…

Reflexivity, defined as the self-applied process of learning, the use of self and others as active signs in the learning process, is examined through relevant literature in English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) instruction. When EFL learners are encouraged to stand back and examine the way they learn and why they learn this way, reflexivity…

A technique for teaching skills in reading in a foreign language is based on the assumptions that the development of foreign-language reading skills is similar to the development of native-language reading skills, that the purpose of reading is to integrate new and existing knowledge, and that the reader's knowledge, opinions, or experience should…

A case study addressed (1) the relationship between language ability and the use of top-level organizational strategies that focus on the macrostructure of written text, and (2) the comparative use of these strategies when reading expository texts in native language (L1) and second language (L2). Subjects were five Hispanic English as a second…