A response to the criticism directed to Yap's causal analysis in the preceding article, "On the Determination of Causal Ordering between Vocabulary and Comprehension." (HOD)

Replicates an earlier study that concluded that skilled comprehenders were relatively unaffected by whether a word was known. (HOD)

Points to limitations of procedures used by Kim Yap in probing the causal ordering between vocabulary and comprehension skills of primary grade pupils (see EJ 206 255); cautions researchers of reading behavior not to apply Yap's procedures indiscriminately. (HOD)

Examines how vocabulary knowledge, the familiarity of words, and analytical reasoning affect sixth-grade students' ability to learn word meanings from passages in basal reading textbooks. Finds that general and passage-specific vocabulary knowledge are important variables that influence learning from context. Finds that analytical reasoning was…

Reviews "The Nature of Vocabulary Acquisition" by Margaret G. McKeown and Mary E. Curtis. Focuses on three questions involving vocabulary acquisition: (1) What does it mean to know the meaning of a word?; (2) How does knowledge about word meanings develop?; and (3) What is the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and comprehension? (MM)

Investigates whether intermediate-grade readers' vocabulary learning and comprehension is affected by displaying texts on a computer screen that provides the meaning of difficult words. Concludes that the results support and help explain previous studies that found increases in comprehension when computer-mediated texts were used to expand or…

Investigates the relationship between the relative difficulty of passages and the number of unknown words in passages. Finds little support for the theory that free reading results in large vocabulary growth. Calls into question the practice of devoting large amounts of classroom time to free reading if the purpose is to increase vocabulary or…

Examines differences in secondary students' vocabulary learning from inconsiderate (text characteristics that inhibit learning) and considerate contextual information. Reports that contextual information in natural text may be inconsiderate for word learning, but students may be satisfied with partial/erroneous knowledge. (MM)