Reading comprehension exercises are used more effectively as a teaching device than as a testing device. They can be used to teach students a variety of skills, such as the ability to discover specific facts, to see the writer's point of view, and to visualize what is described in words. (CFM)

This report discusses some of the factors that account for students' failure to understand everyday spoken language. Classroom language may be misleading when compared to everyday language. Pace of delivery is an obvious but ignored barrier to comprehension. Students should, therefore, be exposed to uncontrolled language data in the classroom.…

Hypotheses concerning second language learning and foreign language learning in general are described, and the role of listening comprehension in the development of language skills is discussed. (CLK)

Describes dialogues and songs used to teach listening comprehension. (SW)

The article discusses programmed instruction in reading a foreign language to provide students in a specialized discipline with tools they need to understand specialized texts. Recent studies indicate the validity of teaching for reading comprehension only. Two examples of programs in scientific Dutch are attached. (Text is in French.) (AMH)

Preparing worksheets is seen as a valuable source of motivation. Various examples are given, for reviewing vocabulary, for exposition of a reading text, and for checking on text comprehension. Using a sample, it is shown how a text can be reconstructed using a multiple-choice procedure. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Examines the effects of three text signal types (headings, previews, logical connectives) on relatively sophisticated college age readers and their comprehension of technical expository prose. Concludes that all three types can enhance comprehension, but that facilitation depends on passage length and difficulty. (FL)

As measured by responses to a main-idea essay question and by written summaries of two passages, students' ability to abstract the macrostructure of problem/solution text read independently was improved by the use of structure training. (FL)

The interactive effect of cognitive entry behaviors (CEB) with mastery versus non-mastery learning strategies is studied. The subjects, 180 third graders were randomly assigned to four treatment groups: 90 percent mastery; 70 percent mastery, non-mastery, and control. The results showed a significant CEB x treatment interaction on immediate…

The use of a radio interview for teaching advanced listening comprehension is described, and ideas for classroom discussion are proposed. (MSE)

Investigates the role of phonological recoding in third graders' reading of Greek. Revealed a disturbing effect of articulatory suppression on subjects' reading latencies and text retention. Suggested that subjects' (1) reading of text was partly based on prelexical phonological representation and (2) text retention depended partly on a…

Examines the differential influence of pictorial vs. verbal forms on the comprehension of metaphor in younger (second grade) and older (fifth grade) children through their performance on the pictorial Metaphoric Triads Task. (HOD)

Investigates the effect of two repeated reading procedures on second grade transitional readers' oral reading performance with practiced and unpracticed passages. Found that reading rate, accuracy, comprehension and prosodic reading were significantly improved by repeated reading practice, regardless of training procedure employed. (SKC)

Examination of case studies of four learning-disabled college students experiencing severe problems learning a foreign language suggested that all subjects had deficiencies in listening comprehension and concomitant difficulties with the audiolingual teaching method. Other characteristics of these students which may have caused learning…

Describes a content analysis of the journal entries of six college freshmen in developmental reading courses, which indicated that students' metacognitive awareness of both reading and learning processes increased over time. (HTH)