This study explored the role of vocabulary breadth and depth in second language learners' performance in IELTS academic reading tests in China. Sixty-two Chinese learners of English as a foreign language completed a vocabulary size test, a vocabulary depth test, and an IELTS reading test. Results showed that vocabulary breadth and depth both…

The cloze technique can be used to help word-by-word readers acquire more mature reading strategies. This article provides suggestions for creating and using cloze exercises which vary in difficulty and focus. Recommendations are made for introducing and directing cloze training. Sample exercises are given. (Author/PJM)

Effective classroom implementation of the cloze procedure to teach second language reading depends on careful text selection, preparation, and presentation by the language teacher. Effective teaching of this technique helps students to develop reading strategies and reading comprehension. (CB)

Two methods of teaching advanced English as second language reading were compared in a sample of 24 Asian college students who were non-native speakers of English. The subjects were divided into three matched groups, each with one of two different teachers using different teaching methods, but both using the same text. It was hypothesized that all…

Cloze-like exercises are effective and integrative tasks that allow students to operate meaningfully on authentic foreign language materials. Examples are presented of several exercises, including: predicting content from fragments, focusing on syntactic (rather than lexical or semantic) issues, and restoring deleted markers of function and…

This paper reports on a project aimed at finding out what students do when working cloze passages on computer. To generate data, a computer-based cloze program, "Super Cloze," was configured so that all student keypresses would be recorded. This was worked by several classes of students at Sultan Qaboos University (Oman) during their…

This volume of a publication devoted to providing ideas and guidance for teachers of English as a second language includes articles on teaching reading, vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, and culture. (MN)

Describes an experiment in which rhetorically different texts, with identical subject matter were read by 490 Hong Kong Chinese school children, studying in English as a Second Language. Comprehension was measured by a cloze procedure and by recall protocols. Results showed a clear difference in comprehension between the text types and suggests…

Describes a computer program developed for students learning Korean as a foreign language and reports on a small study concerned with the evaluation of the program. Presents practical considerations for the development and use of the program called "Reading & Dragging" and attempts to answer questions about students' behavior during the computer…

Fourth semester students of Spanish as a foreign language at the university level in the US participated in two kinds of comprehensible-input based instruction, an extensive reading class that combined assigned and self-selected reading, and a "Reading-Discussion" class that consisted of assigned reading, debates and discussions. Students in both…

Reading and understanding a text presents a variety of processing problems for L2 learners. The organizational pattern of a text has been considered by some researchers to have an important influence in this process. This article describes an experimental study of a group of Hong Kong schoolchildren and presents evidence that learners reading in…

Strategies for facilitating the reading of scientific textual materials are described, including establishing the reading level of the text, decoding figures and illustrations, recognizing the text's organization, inferring and remembering word meanings, sampling the text and inferring meaning, reading attentively to verify predictions, and…

The multicultural pattern in recent Australian immigration poses a pressing issue for reading instruction. Students coming from homes where only English is spoken, or English and a Northern European language are spoken, perform better on reading tests than do students from homes where other languages are spoken. There is also little reflection…

Selected papers from the state conference of the Illinois Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages include two plenary session presentations and six concurrent session presentations. The plenary session presentations are "Who's In Charge Here?" by Jesan Handscombe and "So What Do You Do In There Anyway?" by Dennis Terdy. The concurrent…

The guide contains 25 useful techniques for teaching literacy. It is designed for basic literacy instruction but may also be used in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction; three of the tools are specific to ESL students. Published sources that provide a fuller explanation of the techniques are listed after each entry and in a bibliography…