This study investigates the processing of long-distance syntactic dependencies by native speakers of Slovenian (L1) who are advanced learners of Italian as a second language (L2), compared with monolingual Italian speakers. Using a self-paced reading task, we compare sensitivity of the early-acquired L2 learners to syntactic anomalies in their L2…

Separating text into meaningful language chunks, as with visual-syntactic text formatting, helps readers to process text more easily and language learners to recognize grammar and syntax patterns more quickly. Evidence of this exists in studies on native and non-native English speakers. However, recent studies question the roll of VSTF in certain…

This study attempted (1) to determine the ability of children to translate four basic sentence patterns varied according to three levels of structural complexity (single words, clauses, and phrases filling sentence pattern slots), and (2) to determine whether this knowledge is related to their reading comprehension. A test of grammatical structure…

Due to the deviance in language and the ideational fusion characteristic of poetry, the reader is engaged in a specialized form of information processing differing markedly from the reading of prose. Understanding occurs when the reader restructures his concept of reality to conform to that of the poem. (Author/SJL)

To enhance reading comprehension and critical reading skills, more attention should be placed on patterns inherent in the English language. (JH)

TRADITIONALISTS FREQUENTLY MAINTAIN THAT AUDIOLINGUAL TECHNIQUES, IN THEIR DEEMPHASIS OF GRAMMATICAL THEORY, TEND TO BE SUPERFICIAL AND UNSCHOLARLY. ADVOCATES OF THE NEWER METHODOLOGIES COUNTER BY INSISTING UPON THE NECESSITY OF WELL-CONSTRUCTED DRILL MATERIAL IN ABUNDANCE AT THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL. THE DIFFERENCE IN THE APPROACHES DERIVES FROM TWO…

The results of this study argue . . . for a gradation within (basal reading) texts of sentence patterns and of elements used to fill the slots in those patterns"; based on author's doctoral dissertation, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1968. (Editor/RD)

This paper describes an innovative method for teaching reading comprehension in a second language. The underlying assumption of this method is that a student who reads in his native language does not need to learn a theoretical system of grammar rules in the traditional sense of the term, since he already possesses the ability to recognize words…

In the past, writers have chosen stylistic devices within the parameters of the traditional grammar of style, "Grammar A," characterized by analyticity, coherence, and clarity. But many contemporary writers are creating a new grammar of style, "Grammar B," characterized by synchronicity, discontinuity, and ambiguity, which…

This study addressed the following three questions: Among the grammatical patterns that first graders are expected to be able to read, are there any which are particularly easy or particularly difficult to interpret? Can these grammatical patterns be mastered with equal ease by students of varying reading ability? Do these grammatical patterns…

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…

This study compared a grammar program using a linguistic approach with one using a traditional approach to determine how each affects children's ability (1) to construct sentences which have variety in structure, and (2) to comprehend silent reading. Five experimental and five control classes of fourth-grade children were randomly selected from…

This workbook in Spanish accompanies the reader that is part of an ungraded language arts and reading program that can be used in classes from upper elementary through high school. The program is designed around reading selections which present aspects of history, culture, and present-day experiences of special relevance to the Mexican-American…