The present study examined a six-component theoretical model of word reading acquisition in 449 Spanish-speaking children from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Measures of phonological awareness (PA), rapid automatized naming (RAN), vocabulary, letter name-sound knowledge, and parent education were obtained at the beginning of kindergarten and a…

Out-of-class learning is an additional vital component in successful English language acquisition among proficient ESL users. Thus, this study employed a quantitative research approach to investigate out-of-class English language practice by Malaysian ESL post-secondary students. 106 first-semester Diploma in Tourism Management students at a…

This study examines the impact of WebQuests on the vocabulary and reading skills of ESL students in Saudi Arabia's technical colleges. The primary objectives of the study are to determine whether WebQuests can improve the vocabulary and reading skills of ESL learners and to explore their perceptions regarding the use and impact of WebQuests on…

The first stage in the learning process is the perception of the learning input by the student. This perception, which develops due to many factors in the learning process, has also great importance in skill acquisition. Therefore, the perception of basic language skills by the students, determining how the students make sense of the skills may…

This study aims to determine the relationship between cultural interaction and language in teaching Turkish as a foreign language and reveal its contribution to the learning process. Therefore, in this study, the cultural exchange of a Lebanese international student studying at Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University was evaluated in the context of…

Different studies have showed poor reading performance in the deaf compared to the hearing population. This has overshadowed the fact that a minority of deaf children learns to read successfully and reaches levels similar to their hearing peers. We analyze whether deaf people deploy the same cognitive and learning processes in reading as their…

We report a study of incremental learning of new word meanings over multiple episodes. A new method called MESA (Markov Estimation of Semantic Association) tracked this learning through the automated assessment of learner-generated definitions. The multiple word learning episodes varied in the strength of contextual constraint provided by…

This article reports on an action research project that proposes to improve the reading comprehension and vocabulary of undergraduate students of English for Specific Purposes--explosives majors, at a police training institute in Colombia. I used the qualitative research method to explore and reflect upon the teaching-learning processes during…

Sound symbolism is the notion that there is a subset of words in the world's languages for which sounds and their symbols have some degree of correspondence. Two studies assessed 5th and 6th graders' knowledge of word meanings for English sound symbolic and non-sound symbolic words. Both studies found that the meanings of sound symbolic words were…

Provides three vocabulary strategies that provide practical activities to improve the content area vocabulary and reading skills of students. Offers these strategies as an integrative means for implementation of content material to teach students essential vocabulary. (MG)

To test the hypothesis that a large proportion of school children's vocabulary growth occurs through incidental learning from written context, a study was conducted using 57 eighth grade students of average and above average reading ability. The subjects read a 1,000 word expository or narrative text. After reading, subjects completed two…

Globally, knowledge of word meanings is related to reading comprehension. R. C. Anderson and P. Freebody's (1981) seminal paper on vocabulary set forth three hypotheses to explain this relationship--an "instrumentalist" hypothesis suggesting that knowledge of word meanings directly causes reading comprehension, and "general…

This paper suggests that vocabulary knowledge is closely related to the background knowledge required for reading a text. It suggests ways in which the reading teacher can select objectives for pupils to achieve in the area of vocabulary development, emphasizing what is relevant and functional. The paper makes the following recommendations:…

The learning assistance counselor at the college level should facilitate learning for students who have not developed their cognitive and literacy skills. To enrich the process of discovery in student learning, the counselor can direct students in the following textbook activities: practicing basic syllabifying skills on technical and scientific…

Examines whether students spontaneously focus on and acquire meanings for unknown words encountered in text. Indicates that, while the intentional learning group made the greatest gains, the incidental learning group acquired some knowledge and confidence. Shows that the control group gained little in either case. Provides support for incidental…