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…

Previewing a text is a key global reading strategy. Previewing may increase comprehension as it can activate schema, increase global awareness of the text, and enhance the use of other reading strategies. Despite its importance, an explicit focus on previewing skills has been lacking and previous research on the reading strategies of second…

Graphic novels in the K-12 classroom are most often used to motivate marginalized readers because of the lower text load and assumption of easy reading. This assumption has thus far been unexplored by reading research. This qualitative multiple-case study utilized think-aloud protocols in a new attention-mapping activity to better understand how…

In this study, we examined whether Chinese character structure influenced readers' saccadic targeting in Chinese reading. Readers' eye movements were recorded when they read single sentences containing one-character or two-character target words. Both the one-character words and the two constituent characters of two-character words either had a…

Planning, conducting, and reporting leading-edge research requires professionals who are capable of highly skilled reading. This study reports the development of an empirically informed computer-based learning environment designed to foster the acquisition of reading comprehension strategies that mediate expertise in the social sciences. Empirical…

This article considers the role of reader characteristics in processing and learning from informational text, as revealed in think-aloud research. A theoretical framework for relevant aspects of readers' processing and products was developed. These relevant aspects included three attentional foci for processing (comprehension, monitoring, and…

Examines the ability of children to evaluate their comprehension of text using lexical, external, and internal consistency standards. Finds that children more often use lexical and external consistency than internal consistency and that the results of verbal report measures are inconsistent with performance measures. (RS)

States that although the think-aloud method (TAM) is being used with increasing frequency in studying text comprehension, some skepticism of its value remains. Discusses assumptions behind TAM, aspects of comprehension it can reveal, and directions for research using TAM. Argues that TAM is a useful technique for tracking changes in the contents…

The present study used latent semantic analysis (LSA) to analyze verbal protocols that were collected while participants read expository passages. In the study, participants were asked to type their thoughts after reading each sentence of 2 scientific texts. The semantic similarity between the protocols and the current sentence and prior causal…

Provides a rationale for using verbal protocols in discourse processing. Argues that readers construct a text representation and then use it to "tell a story" about their understanding--this story reveals important information about the processes involved in text comprehension as well as about constructing a message to be understood in a…

Builds up a profile of causal development in 10-year-olds based on their recall of history and science texts in which the amount of causal connectivity differed. Finds that causal connections play an important role in expository text recall, and that subjects who have a strong causal profile also, generally, perform well in English. (PA)

In the present study, we examined the reading activities of young readers, while reading an expository text. A total of 24 third-graders was administered a think-aloud task on two occasions. Their protocols were analysed by a coding system that captured two levels of the reading process: the word identification level and the reading comprehension…

The purpose of this paper was to investigate how young (second grade) L2 readers constructed intertextual meaning and how to relate their conceptions or beliefs about reading to their intertextuality. L2 readers who moved to America might be influenced by their cultural background which might further affect their reading processes. Though current…

Examines the strategies spontaneously used by Norwegian university law students as they tried to understand multiple expository texts as part of their normal reading and studying. Finds that students' strategic processing changed over time, with some of the changes associated with changes in students' perception of the nature of the reading task.…

Examines the influence of language proficiency and comprehension skill on situation-model construction during narrative comprehension. Studies 12 college students who thought aloud reading French and English stories for comprehension and who performed a verb-clustering task after reading each text. Finds that the students generated more…