The 2000 and 2003 international studies of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) among all Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries presented disappointing results for Germany's fifteen-year-old students' reading skills. These studies pointed out two necessities for future reform: to extend the…

One of the key reasons that multimedia, and particularly hypertext systems, are gaining in importance is that they inspire hopes of optimizing learners' processes of knowledge construction. The present study is concerned with the respective influence of individual learner variables (i.e. particularly domain-specific prior knowledge) on the use of…

Purpose: To examine concurrently and retrospectively the language abilities of children with specific reading comprehension deficits ("poor comprehenders") and compare them to typical readers and children with specific decoding deficits ("poor decoders"). Method: In Study 1, the authors identified 57 poor comprehenders, 27 poor decoders, and 98…

In undergraduate mathematics courses, pre-service elementary school teachers are often faced with the task of re-learning some of the concepts they themselves struggled with in their own schooling. This often involves different cognitive processes and psychological issues than initial learning: pre-service teachers have had many more opportunities…

Limited research on ESL learners' use of vocabulary in writing prompted our investigation of vocabulary use in composition by secondary school multi-L1 intermediate ESL learners in Greater Vancouver (n = 48). This study showed that though intermediate learners' use of 1,000-2,000-word-level vocabulary tended to remain constant, their productive…

English as a second language (ESL) teachers have long noted that native speakers of Arabic exhibit exceptional difficulty with English reading comprehension (e.g., Thompson-Panos & Thomas-Ruzic, 1983). Most existing work in this area has looked to higher level aspects of reading such as familiarity with discourse structure and cultural knowledge…

The authors discuss the challenges encountered by English-language learners (ELLs) as they attempt to interpret the figurative language of their new cultures. Providing ELL students with explicit instruction in interpreting figurative language--a bridge to reading comprehension--is a significant goal for teachers who design instruction for…

The purpose of the study was to assess the relative effectiveness of print, sign, and pictures in the transfer of reading-related information to children who are deaf. By means of personal computers, deaf children were presented CD-ROM-generated stories in four different formats: print only, print plus pictures, print plus sign language, and print…

Internet is the most important technological innovation of today, which can easily be integrated into every field of people's lives. The reason of its rapid improvement is its usefulness and easy access. Web, WWW, is a new technology which is used as a communication facilitator and it is an instructional delivery medium. It is vital to learn…

Covering everything from day-to-day learning activities to schoolwide goals, this engaging book reviews key topics in literacy instruction for grades 5-12 and provides research-based recommendations for practice. Leading scholars present culturally responsive strategies for motivating adolescents; using multiple texts and digital media;…

This document presents the proceedings of the 17th Annual Research Forum held June 29, 2012, at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Included herein are the following 25 action research papers: (1) "Reading and Writing": A Study Comparing the Strengths of Peer Review and Visible Author Writing Strategies (Elizabeth Behar); (2)…

The aim of the handbook, which is a revised and expanded edition of "Modern Language Classroom Techniques" (1972), is to show the teacher ways of implementing and supplementing existing materials. The suggested teaching procedures may be used with classes of varying sizes and levels, and with any method. Part One of this handbook presents an…

Designed as a concise, easy-to-read, easy-to-use guide, this book provides suggestions for remediating aspects of a student's reading disability as diagnosed through an experienced teacher's observations and through the use of an Informal Reading Inventory. The book contains teaching ideas specifically designed for handling a wide range of reading…

This research review focuses on the effects and implications of text organization, both physical presentation and text structure, and on reading comprehension, with special emphasis on the comprehension of diverse learners. The review includes students in kindergarten through college, who are high and low readers and comprehenders; low…

This set of instructional materials is designed to provide beginning and intermediate learners of Haitian Creole with a foundation in the phonology, grammar, and vocabulary of the language. It is intended for use by individuals wanting to communicate with monolingual Haitians. A revision of earlier materials, this set emphasizes authentic…