Researchers have demonstrated a much-needed shift in pedagogical practices to incorporate literacy strategies. This dissertation provides additional empirical evidence to expand the body of research by utilizing a comparative readability analysis that examines the academic language of a popular calculus textbook. A sample from the published…

Prelingually and profoundly deaf individuals learn to read without complete access to the sounds of language. Nevertheless, many become proficient readers, and the neurocognitive underpinnings of deaf readers' processes differ from those of hearing readers, particularly in orthographic processing. In English, morphological structure is relatively…

Individuals with aphasia (IWA) often exhibit challenges in single word reading as well as in reading comprehension. Recently, eye-tracking technology has become instrumental in delving deeper into reading behaviors. Specifically, it has illuminated the differences in word reading and comprehension abilities among aphasic English speakers. However,…

This study examined the significance of the mode of delivery--aural versus written--in second language (L2) vocabulary knowledge and L2 comprehension skills. One of the unique aspects of listening comprehension that sets it apart from reading comprehension is the mode of delivery--language input is delivered not visually but aurally. Somewhat…

Recent studies have examined the use of culturally relevant passages in reading interventions for African American students. Research in the area of reading interventions for Latino students is limited. This study compared the use of culturally relevant and non-culturally relevant passages in reading interventions using repeated reading. The study…

This three-manuscript dissertation attempts to answer the question: "How does students' English language proficiency (ELP) inform the availability, structure, and use of English language accommodations and intervention to support the academic achievement of English learner (EL) students?" The question is addressed using three independent…

The problem addressed through this study was the low levels of reading comprehension of literary and informational texts among fourth-grade students statewide. The reading workshop model and the guided reading approach are two different instructional methods used to teach reading to fourth-grade students at two school districts in Texas. The…

The literacy instruction that adolescent emergent bilingual (EB) students currently receive is insufficient to improve their writing proficiency (Graham et al., 2021; National Center for Education Statistics, 2012). To promote improvements in EBs' writing, evidence-based practices that are culturally and linguistically responsive must be provided…

Semantic illusions are recognition errors that occur when an individual fails to notice that information contradicts their prior knowledge (Barton & Sanford, 1993; Erickson & Mattson, 1981). For example, after hearing the question, "If a plane crashes while flying over state lines, where should the survivors be buried?" many…

Formative assessment may assist teachers in identifying gaps in learning for individual students, thereby providing an avenue for teachers to adjust instruction accordingly. The problem addressed in this study is the insufficient achievement in literacy for English language learners. English language learners may have an even greater need for…

Researchers have investigated the promise of unimodal and bimodal input in enhancing vocabulary learning from meaning-focused activities. Compared to unimodal input, the simultaneous presentation of written and aural input in bimodal input has been argued to direct L2 learners' attention to words and enhance the form-meaning links for new…

This study aimed to determine if metacognitive strategies help increase reading comprehension in fifth grade students. Participants included a control group of 31 fifth grade students who were not taught metacognition reading strategies, and a comparable treatment groups of 43 fifth grade students who were taught metacognition reading strategies.…

The performance measures from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study revealed no measurable growth in the U.S. average reading scores of 4th graders for the period between 2011 and 2016. Therefore, the diverse learning needs of students need to be customized if the education system is to accomplish its goal to graduate well-informed…

Second language (L2) writing has been determined to be influenced by what is read, with language learners tending to borrow words and short phrases from input texts while writing (e.g., Wang & Wang, 2015). This phenomenon is referred to as lexical alignment. Only one empirical study has investigated the influence that the linguistic complexity…

Research on secondary student reading comprehension performance is scant, yet demands for improved literacy at college and career levels indicate that an understanding of trends and growth patterns is necessary to better inform teaching and learning for high school students. To improve understanding of reading performance at the secondary level,…