Extensive reading (ER) has been found to have an assortment of positive effects on various aspects of second/foreign language learning. However, few studies have investigated its impacts on learners of Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL), especially early beginning learners. To address this gap, this study reports an intervention of extensive…

A growing number of studies have focused on uncovering linguistic and cognitive skills predictive of reading comprehension. Vocabulary knowledge (VK) and morphological awareness (MA) are two important linguistic variables for reading comprehension. In contrast, working memory (WM) is an essential cognitive variable for reading comprehension. The…

L2 extensive reading (ER) research primarily studies intermediate and upper-intermediate learners, but few studies investigate beginners. This study addresses this gap by reporting on beginner Japanese as Foreign Language (JFL) learners' attempts to do ER according to Waring and McLean's (2015) ER principles. In this study, 13 second-semester…

This study investigated the relative contributions of English morphological and vocabulary knowledge to second language (L2) reading comprehension among 100 adult Japanese English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. The study also investigated the extent to which the roles of morphological and vocabulary knowledge in L2 reading comprehension…

This experimental study examined the effect of answering strategic adjunct questions (AQs) on L2 reading comprehension and strategy use. Participants were 124 Chinese intermediate advanced EFL learners from a large public university in China. Of them, 24 and 100 participated in the pilot study and formal study, respectively. Participants read two…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a multimodal approach in which an additional camera was used to deliver online explicit reading strategy instruction. Targeting 20 Japanese beginner-level EFL college students taking online Zoom lessons during one academic semester, two research questions were investigated: (a) To what…

This study examined the effects of relevance instructions on English as a foreign language (EFL) readers' text processing and memories. The participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: the experimental condition, where they read texts to identify a specific category of information, and the control condition, where they read texts…

In second language (L2) reading strategy research, two concerns need addressing: (1) the discrepancy in assessing strategy use between written surveys and verbal reports, and (2) the effect of using strategies on readers' comprehension outcomes when different types of comprehension tasks are utilized. The present study addressed these concerns by…

This study investigated types of oral reading miscues and their relationship with silent reading comprehension among college-level Chinese as a second language (L2) learners, as well as these students' perspectives toward classroom oral reading practice, at three U.S. universities. Altogether, 80 students were selected randomly to participate in…

This research compared the contributions of lexical inferencing, decoding, and listening comprehension to reading comprehension in Chinese-speaking learners of English as a second language (ESL) enrolled in university bridging programs in the U.S. and Chinese-speaking university learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) in mainland China.…

This study examines the difficulty shown by Spanish-speaking university students in decoding pre-modified noun phrases (NPs) in English. NPs carry a heavy lexical and conceptual load and foreign language (L2) readers may be challenged by first language (L1) crosslinguistic influence triggered by cognate NPs. Therefore, this study also attempts to…

This study takes the initiative to use structural equation modeling (SEM) to explore the interrelationships among metacognitive knowledge, first language (L1) reading ability, second language (L2) proficiency and L2 reading comprehension. Data were collected using an L2 proficiency test, L1 and L2 reading tests and strategy questionnaires with 268…

We compared three methods for increasing reading amount and reading self-efficacy among L2 learners. (1) We required a word-target group to read at least 2,500 words a week outside class. (2) We required a sustained silent reading (SSR) group to do (a) in class SSR for 15 minutes every week, and (b) to read one book per week. (3) We required a…

This study examined the foreign language (FL) reading anxiety level of learners of Chinese as a FL (n = 76) in the United States. Data from an FL reading anxiety survey, a background information survey and a face-to-face interview indicated that there was no significant difference in reading anxiety level among four course levels. In general,…

This paper reports a study of the reading strategies used by twelve Arabic-speaking undergraduates at a major Gulf university when reading texts in English. The procedure employed was a think-aloud protocol followed by a semi-structured interview. Three research questions were addressed: (a) What are the primary comprehension problems encountered…