Background: Although comprehending illustrated texts is essential, adult readers in this era may not have acquired reading comprehension strategies. Eye-movement modelling example (EMME) is promising for helping less-skilled learners master these strategies; however, its benefits for adults remain unknown. Another understudied factor in the EMME…

Reading involves mapping combinations of a learned visual code (letters) onto meaning. Previous studies have shown that when visual word recognition is challenged by visual degradation, one way to mitigate these negative effects is to provide "top-down" contextual support through a written congruent sentence context. Crowding is a…

Low literacy among adolescents and adults worldwide remains a serious problem, even in economically developed countries. The consequences of low reading proficiency levels can be harmful in many ways for both the individuals concerned and their communities in terms of health, political, social and economic outcomes. While large-scale international…

To learn to read, the brain must repurpose neural systems for oral language and visual processing to mediate written language. We begin with a description of computational models for how alphabetic written language is processed. Next, we explain the roles of a dorsal sublexical system in the brain that relates print and speech, a ventral lexical…

This pilot study is a mixed-methods sequential explanatory study that investigated the effects of watching text-relevant video segments supported by the Schematic Information-Processing (SIP) model of reading comprehension on reading comprehension of adult speakers of English as a Second Language (ESL) in terms of text familiarity and the…

This paper presents an exploratory-interpretive study of two multilingual adults acquiring Norwegian through extensive reading. The study examined social and cognitive aspects of language acquisition, and individual factors, such as the language learning behaviors, experiences, attitudes, and beliefs of the participants. The data were collected…

Research has identified a number of linguistic features that influence the reading comprehension of young readers; yet, less is known about whether and how these findings extend to adult readers. This study examines text comprehension, processing, and familiarity judgment provided by adult readers using a number of different approaches (i.e.,…

We describe a multiple-route model of reading development in which coarse-grained orthographic processing plays a key role in optimizing access to semantics via whole-word orthographic representations. This forms part of the direct orthographic route that gradually replaces phonological recoding during the initial phases of reading acquisition.…

Many explanations of the difficulties associated with interpreting object relative clauses appeal to the demands that object relatives make on working memory. MacDonald and Christiansen [MacDonald, M. C., & Christiansen, M. H. (2002). "Reassessing working memory: Comment on Just and Carpenter (1992) and Waters and Caplan (1996)." "Psychological…

A STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO DETERMINE HOW ADULTS ADAPT TO DIFFERENT PASSAGE ORGANIZATIONS AND STIMULI WHICH PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN GOVERNING READING BEHAVIOR. A MODEL OF READING IS DESCRIBED WHICH STATES THAT SUBJECTS ENTER A MINIMAL SET OF STIMULI INTO MEMORY WHICH GOVERNS SUBSEQUENT FEEDBACK CONTROL, AND THAT SUBJECTS ALLOW PASSAGE ORGANIZATION TO…

Examines eye movement patterns of adult readers as they encounter cross-sentence contradictions. Finds that both readers informed of the existence of contradictions and those not informed were aware of inserted contradictions, and that instructions to search for contradictions caused readers to alter their reading behavior. (RS)

Reviews several lines of convergent research to discuss the relationship between developmental dyslexia and slow symbol naming speed. Describes the interactive development of orthographic and phonological codes, and methodological problems leading to underestimation of the importance of individual differences. Argues that an understanding of…

Two experiments using the same design and subjects drawn from the same populations tested two accounts of schema-directed text processing, the selective attention hypothesis that suggests readers identify text elements as important or unimportant on the basis of an engaged, operative, or subsuming schema; and the slot-filling hypothesis that…

This study investigated the effects of linguistic simplification and content schemata on reading comprehension and recall. The participants, 240 Iranian male students of English as a foreign language (EFL), were divided into 4 homogeneous groups, each consisting of 60 participants (30 with high proficiency and 30 with low proficiency). To elicit…

This research study investigated the theoretical reading orientation (sound-centered, word-centered, or meaning-centered) and reading performance of 20 students of various language backgrounds and proficiency levels in an adult English-as-a-second-language program. The research attempted to test the hypothesis that these readers would be able to…