Research on textual enhancement (TE) has given rise to several factors that may play a role in generating learners' noticing of target forms, one of which pertains to the nature of the target form(s). In particular, results have suggested that learners are more likely to notice more meaning-bearing forms than less meaning-bearing forms.…

This article reports a study that sought to determine whether non-native sentence comprehension can show sensitivity to two different types of Spanish case marking. Sensitivity to case violations was generally more robust with indirect objects in ditransitive constructions than with differential object marking of animate direct objects, even among…

This study builds on the concept that aural-written verification helps L2 learners develop auditory discrimination skills, refine word recognition and gain awareness of form-meaning relationships, by comparing two modes of aural input: reading while listening (R/L) vs. listening only (L/O). Two test tasks (sequencing and gap filling) of 95 items,…

A technique was devised for constructing a text story which subjects agreed matched the dialogueless movie "The Red Balloon" in episodic structure. It relies partly on subjects judging where episodes and their components were located in the stories. Differences in content in movie and text recall are discussed. (SW)

Presents data on the impact of oral and silent reading on reading comprehension. Hypothesizes that reading comprehension is enhanced significantly by silent, rather than oral reading, and that re-reading is an effective mode for increasing comprehension in either mode. (EKN)

Defines the issues involved and surveys the major literature concerning the relationship between listening and reading comprehension. (Author/JT)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION FOR RESPONSES TO MULTIPLE-CHOICE ITEMS ON READING COMPREHENSION TESTS AND THE EFFECTS OF CONTENT WORDS AND FUNCTION WORDS IN SUPPLYING INFORMATION FOR THE CORRECT COMPLETION OF MULTIPLE-CHOICE ITEMS WERE STUDIED IN AN EXPERIMENT AT CAMPBELL COLLEGE. PARAGRAPHS WITH ACCOMPANYING MULTIPLE-CHOICE ITEMS SAMPLED FROM READING…

An earlier study of the sources of native speakers' perception of incoherence in English text produced by nonnative speakers was extended. Eighty subjects were tested using microcomputers rather than paper-and-pencil and again showed a strong effect for miscues and less significant effect for order of ideas. (Contains 32 references.) (Author/LB)

The ability of the Rasch model computer program BIGSTEPS to perform concurrent calibration and differences in the outcomes between vertical equating using a common item anchoring method and a common item concurrent calibration method was examined. The data for the investigation came from two Chinese language tests that researchers wished to…

Comparison of the reading strategies and resulting reading comprehension and recall of native and advanced non-native adult speakers of Japanese found that reading strategy significantly affected comprehension and recall, with non-native readers with limited language command paying more attention to vocabulary and grammar than native readers, who…

The problem of lack of information regarding the relationship among second language students' language ability, metacognition, and reading materials is examined. The study investigates how reading strategies transfer from the native language to the second language within an interactive and compensatory processing model framework. It examines the…

This study, consisting of two experiments, investigated the role of verb information in resolving ambiguous noun phrases (NPs) in reading comprehension. Both experiments extended earlier studies. The first measured and compared reading time for sentences containing temporarily ambiguous subject complements and unambiguous complements, which were…

Examines the source of poor readers' comprehension failures in spoken sentences containing complex syntactic structures. Although research literature indicates that the difficulties poor readers display are usually associated with some aspect of phonological processing, other components of language processing may be involved. (58 references)…

In a study of children's reading processes in English, 261 pupils from a Hong Kong Anglo-Chinese school and from an urban comprehensive school in England were given different versions of a text in English and asked to read it silently in preparation for a memory test sometime in the future. Three weeks later, they were tested on story recall.…

The effects of specific guidelines in the taking and rating of tests of language summarizing ability were investigated, as well as interrater agreement regarding the rating of specific ideas within the summaries. The tests involved respondents reading source texts and providing written summaries as a measure of their reading comprehension and…