A discussion of schema theory as it relates to the learning of English as a Second Language reviews related research and its implications for classroom instruction. The first section looks at schema theory in general and content schemata in particular, focusing on how they affect reading comprehension. Studies of non-native speakers, schema…

The role of literature in education is examined, and implications for assessment of student understanding of literature are outlined. There are three distinct views of the role of literature in school. Literature is variously construed as an adjunct to the learning of reading and writing, as a subject with its own body of knowledge, and as an…

A study examined: (1) whether making decisions (i.e. answering yes/no questions) about a brief prose passage enables children to detect logical inconsistencies in the passage; and (2) the extent to which hearing-impaired children differ from normal hearing children in their abilities to recognize logical inconsistencies in text. Subjects were 52…

Designed to provide resources for educators who teach reading for students with learning disabilities (LD), this 26-item annotated bibliography contains selections published in the ERIC database between 1987 and 1989. The bibliography is divided into two sections: an overview of reading and research on learning disabilities, and strategies for…

Recent workplace literacy initiatives for limited-English-proficient (LEP) employees in Illinois have resulted in employer interest in the measurement of adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) achievement, particularly in the area of reading comprehension. Employers are requesting that evidence of a language minority employee's reading ability…

A study was designed to test the following experimental alternative hypotheses: (1) that the correlation between listening and reading scores would be negative, or (2) that the correlation would be positive. The study also focused on determining which of the two principal teaching modalities, aural and visual, was the more effective in promoting…

This study sought to determine if logical relationships that have been clearly established in textual terms can be presented equivalently in diagrams, and, if so, what the effect might be on student comprehension when diagram technology is employed together with instructive questions. Participants in the study were 129 college students randomly…

A study examined how regular listening to oral reading by teachers affected fourth and sixth grade students' reading comprehension, attitudes towards reading, and time spent doing independent reading. Subjects, 221 students from six diverse school systems in Connecticut, were read to for 20 minutes, three times per week, for 12 weeks. Pre- and…

A key strategy for teaching inferential comprehension was implemented in a seventh-grade classroom of students who were at least one year below grade level in reading. The purpose was to improve the students' inferential comprehension skills. The implementation began with a diagnostic reading test followed by several weeks of introducing different…

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…

College students in a reading rate improvement course participated in a study (1) to determine the effects of text displayed on the computer screen as opposed to the printed page and (2) to see if computerized speed reading programs changed student attitudes toward reading efficiency exercises. Subjects, 26 students of similar reading…

Twenty college students read passages from John Steinbeck's "Log from the Sea of Cortez," so that the effect of their study strategies on their recall of idea units in the passages could be tested, both immediately after reading and after a one-week delay. The experiment provided a comparison of the effectiveness of two imposed study patterns, a…

To evaluate different strategies for improving students' comprehension skills, particularly their inference ability, 42 fifth grade students identified as good or average readers were placed into one of three groups for an eight-week instructional period. Students in one group, the Content and Structure group, received systematic attention, story…

Approximately 100 questionnaires were distributed to parents of children in primary grades in a study that explored social correlates of the interpretative abilities of very young children in the assessment of televised narratives. The questionnaires contained over 50 questions on home use of television. The second phase of the study involved…

A study investigated whether there would be a significant improvement in the reading comprehension test scores of hearing-impaired secondary school students if their content area subjects included closed captioned television lessons. Subjects, eight students in an experimental group and five students in a control group, were grouped according to…