This study aimed to explore the role of inference making in the relation between vocabulary knowledge (breadth and depth) and reading comprehension for 487 ninth-grade Chinese EFL students who were categorized as either struggling or adequate. Path analysis was used to examine both direct and mediated effects. The results indicated a statistically…

This study in Kano State, Nigeria, uses a quasi-experimental design to investigate the effectiveness of two teacher training programmes (ESSPIN and Jolly Phonics) in 536 government primary schools. In total, 5,449 children were tested using the phonics screening check to determine which teacher training programme positively affects learning. The…

Reading Thai and English is an essential skill for students in rural areas. This R&D research studies three levels of reading enhancement of upper elementary, junior high school, and vocational certificate students in rural areas of Nakhon Phanom. The sample group consisted of 108 students. Quantitative and qualitative research methods were…

Rapid automatized naming (RAN) robustly predicts early reading abilities across languages, but its underlying mechanism remains unclear. This study found that RAN associated significantly with processing speed but not with phonological awareness or orthographic knowledge in 89 Hong Kong Chinese second-graders. RAN overlaps more with processing…

The present study was an elaboration on the effect of foreign language anxiety on reading comprehension achievement of Iranian EFL learners. The participants comprised 100 BA students, doing General English Course in different academic fields at Islamic University of Neyshabur. The participants took a reading proficiency test of TOEFL and answered…

The development of a scale for measuring self-perception for readers of English as a foreign language is discussed in this paper. The scale was developed from the four dimensions of self-efficacy theory proposed by Bandura (1977a): progress, observational comparison, social feedback and physiological states. A 36 item scale was developed to…

Although language experience is a key factor in successful foreign language (FL) learning, many FL learners fail to achieve performance levels that were predicted on the basis of their FL experience. This retrospective study investigated early cognitive and linguistic correlates of learning English as a foreign language (FL) in a group of…

The current study investigated the differences across the varying levels of EFL learners in the frequency and choice of learning strategies. Using a reading test, questionnaire, and parametric statistical analysis, the findings yielded up discrepancies among the participants in the implementation of language-learning strategies concerning their…

According to the big-fish-little-pond (BFLP) model, the self-concept is not only influenced in a positive way by one's own achievement, but also in a negative way by one's relative achievement in comparison with one's immediate peers. This study investigates whether the BFLP effect also holds for second language acquisition. A random sample of…

How proficiency in reading the first language (L1) influences proficiency in reading in the second language (L2) was explored in this study. Reading scores in Mandarin Chinese (L1) and in English (L2) for 30,000 Taiwanese ninth-grade students were randomly selected from all who took the national Basic Competency Test during a 6-year period in…

This paper presents an effectiveness study of a computer-based English reading program, the Waterford Early Reading Program (WERP), among first and second grade students in Israel. Students who used the program were compared to a control group only receiving English as a foreign language (EFL) instruction as part of the school curriculum. First…

This study examined the reliability and validity of administering Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) to adult basic education (ABE) students. Ninety ABE participants were administered DIBELS measures, the Woodcock-Johnson III Broad Reading (WJ III BR) measures, and four orthographic ability tests. Since ABE students are a…

Research into the factors that contribute to reading performance decrement in L2 reading among ESL university students is still being extensively researched in the context of ELT. This is because successful academic performance is highly dependent on good reading ability. While it is widely accepted that poor reading performance is due to lack of…

English language predictors of English and French reading development were investigated in a group of 140 children who were enrolled in French immersion programs. Children were first tested in kindergarten, and their reading achievement was tested yearly in both English and French from Grades 1 to 3, with word-level and passage-level measures that…

The present study provides a data-driven approach to identifying groups of schools based on the concentration of at-risk students the school serves. The percentage of English language learners, minority students, and students eligible for free or reduced priced lunch were used as indicators in a latent profile analysis of 569 schools. The goal of…