This study explores the integration of multiple sign systems within the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) reading curriculum for undergraduates in Taiwan, addressing varied learning styles that are often overlooked by conventional curricular methods. The purpose is to investigate how incorporating semiotics can enhance learning engagement and…

Challenges associated with reading in the disciplines are well documented. In this article, we report on a small-scale study that was part of a larger school-university design-based research collaboration focused on improving literacy learning in Australian high schools. We discuss Paired Wide Reading (PWR), an instructional innovation designed to…

In Japan, the workshop-style approach for teaching reading has drawn recent attention. However, the obligation to use Ministry of Education-approved textbooks makes applying this method in classes difficult. In this study, we aimed to investigate the possibilities of incorporating workshop-style lessons into a Japanese language arts class and its…

In this article I present recent educational reforms implemented in Mexico and their implications for literacy instruction; in particular, I analyze changes to upper secondary education that seemingly want to promote the development of "disciplinary competences" among students enrolled in different educational tracks. The debates among…

Though some research has shown what applying a culturally relevant framework entails in an American context, and occasionally in an EFL setting, there is still too little research on how students respond to critical, culturally responsive pedagogy. More insight is needed into the specific challenges and benefits of critical approaches in diverse…

This article explores the use of digital poetry in a secondary English classroom and its implications for adolescents' multimodal composition and identity development. The authors--an English teacher and a library media specialist--collaborated over the course of three years to design, implement, and reiterate a digital poetry curriculum. Through…

Christine Garbe, a professor at the Institute for German Language and Literature Education at Leuphana University in Lueneburg, Germany, initially focused her research on youth's socialization as readers. Her professional textbooks in this area are innovative. International comparisons of youth's reading achievement drew her attention to…

In this study the author charts the trajectory of an adolescent student's identity, from being a struggling reader to a competent reader and successful young actor. The author argues that reading is central to our ability to make sense of both our inner selves and our surroundings, and that it is therefore imperative that unskilled readers are…

This article reports on findings from a school-based action research project with aboriginal adolescent students attending an alternative school in Canada. As a Freirean response to these marginalized students' school failures, the researcher engaged students in a critical multiliteracies approach to language and literacy learning. Based on…

Students often enter preservice teacher literacy curriculum and pedagogy classes with conflicting and certainly varied notions about which literacy practices matter in middle years classrooms. Debates about authentic learner-centered tasks versus basic skill acquisition circulate in the media, in school curricula, and in the talk of teachers and…

This study examined the progress of Hayder, a high school student, in becoming a reader within an English language learner (ELL) reading program. The authors delve into the relationships between this young man's masculinity as a Yezidi Kurdish refugee, the reading instruction he received, his attempts to stay in school, and his successful literacy…

Finds that Chilean students (grades 4-8) rarely related what they were reading to what they had just read, integrated meanings assigned to the text with prior knowledge, or used textual cues to attain a coherent interpretation. Finds that these problems are related to methods of reading instruction, opportunities they are given to develop…

Describes the importance of understanding that engaged readers can make commitments or promises to understand other readers' perspectives of a text and their interests in using it. Describes how the author's demonstration lesson to a group of Kazakstan educators was transformed into a site for exploring the educators' practices for using a…

Focuses on the impact of a family reading project on parents and library staff in an English borough and the partnerships it fostered between organizations involved in the initiative. Considers the project's impact on parents, public libraries and schools. Notes that one of the most important benefits of the partnership courses was pleasure…

Describes how the Centre of Excellence for Literacy and Literacy Education in Nigeria strives to promote reading clubs at the grass-roots level to foster literacy empowerment. Shows how these reading clubs enhance democratic participation and critical thinking. Offers a sample of material for discussion and discussion questions for mature readers.…