Two experiments investigated the effects of sources of strategy information on the acquisition and transfer of reading outcomes and strategy use of fourth and fifth grade remedial reading students (33 Ss in each experiment). Children who received strategy-value feedback and strategy-modification instruction demonstrated the highest self-efficacy,…

Research about the interrelationship between reading comprehension and written production is reported that is assumed to contribute to teaching syllabi in these areas, by the nature of the processes that underlie reading and writing. Reading and writing are shown to be two sides of the same cognitive process. (26 references) (LB)

Task-related talk, reading comprehension, and metacognition of 219 third grade students were examined over a 4-week period in classrooms assigned to reward (encouragement through team recognition) or strategy (discussions directed toward task content) conditions. The role of task related talk and efficacy of focusing strategies are discussed. (SLD)

Ninety-one fourth grade students (from special education, Chapter 1, low achieving regular education, and regular education) completed a silent Dreading-written retell measure in the fall and again in the spring. Results highlight the many unanswered questions that need to be addressed in implementing assessment reform, in the areas of format,…

A variety of authentic materials drawn from explanatory texts or offering instructions for performing some daily or common task are presented, and classroom activities for building foreign language competence based on the materials are outlined. (MSE)

This project examined whether the rehabilitation of reading recognition allowed comprehension of print for 38 low vision adults (ages 37-87) who were former readers. The project developed training strategies for enhancing reading comprehension. The paper concludes that instruction in comprehension has value as part of low vision rehabilitation for…

Investigates hypothesis that topic familiarity and assessed difficulty of a text correlate positively with performance on reading comprehension tests. A study of 177 advanced students of English for Specific Purposes indicates that students' subjective evaluation of the relative difficulty of a reading text is not always a reliable index of their…

This article discusses case studies of subjects labeled as learning disabled (LD) who have gained a degree of proficiency in a second language. The subjects' performance on written dictations, oral readings, and comprehension after oral and silent reading are compared qualitatively between their first and second language. (60 references) (JL)

Forty-four fifth-grade remedial reading students were taught to verbalize a learning strategy and then were divided into fading/no-fading, feedback/no-feedback conditions. Having students fade the strategy to covert self-instructions and giving them feedback linking strategy use with improved performance enhanced self-efficacy, comprehension, and…

Investigated how English-as-a-Second-Language (L2) readers used structural properties of a text to "fill in the gaps" in their mental representations and compared these with native English readers' recall protocols. L2 readers' structure-preserving recalls were higher than their meaning-preserving protocols. Results suggest that L2 readers used…

Text familiarity exerted a strong influence on the reading outcomes of 2 test groups (18 advanced and 18 high-intermediate learners) of Spanish-speaking medical students learning English as a Second Language. However, reading scores for the medical English abstracts, tested in three formats (familiar, moderately familiar, unfamiliar) showed that…

Studies the effects of tutorial instruction, utilizing students' interests and trade books, on the attitudes of poor readers. Suggests that the attitudes of poor readers may be positively influenced through such instruction in an integrated language arts approach. (HB)

Investigates whether reading instruction for adult English-as-a-Second-Language students should focus on fostering linguistic ability or on increasing background knowledge. Demonstrates that both linguistic knowledge and prior knowledge contribute significantly to reading comprehension. Argues that an integrative approach to reading instruction is…

Ten Spanish adolescents with profound, prelingual hearing impairments received instruction in organizing their written stories. Instruction emphasized the importance of the narrative structure and the writing process and offered different activities about the narrative text. Some of the students improved the quality of their writing and their…

Adolescent students of low socioeconomic status (n=120)--whose reading comprehension was behind that of their peers--were assigned to one of three experimental conditions in a six-week remedial reading program. Significant gains were found on space relations, abstract reading skills, and aspects of skilled reading for those given perceptual…