This study examines the relationship between English as a second language (ESL) learners' depth of vocabulary knowledge, their lexical inferencing strategy use, and their success in deriving word meaning from context. Participants read a passage containing 10 unknown words and attempted to derive the meanings of the unknown words from context.…

If children are to read to learn, they must acquire skill in processing and comprehending expository texts. However, teaching children to read and comprehend informational texts takes time, because there are so many complex skills associated with this reading. Building children's knowledge of the content to be studied and introducing new…

The present study builds on recent uptake research (Ellis, Basturkmen, & Loewen, 2001a, 2001b; Lyster & Ranta, 1997) by exploring the relationship between negotiated interaction, a type of focus on form episode, and learner uptake. The study explores whether a negotiation routine's complexity affects learner uptake and if this uptake affects…

Increased knowledge of geographic place name vocabulary continues to be important to student academic success. Place knowledge is a vital part of students' learning to be responsible citizens by helping them become more conscious of the world around them and preparing the world around them and preparing them to enter a global workplace. This study…

This study examined the relationship between time spent on reading and reading comprehension in a second language (L2). Eighty-one French-speaking learners of English, from beginners to advanced, were tested for reading comprehension in French and in English as well as for English grammar and vocabulary competence. Low-proficiency learners showed…

"Science Briefs" summarize the findings and implications of a recent study in basic science or clinical research. This brief reports on the study "Mother-Child Bookreading in Low-Income Families: Correlates and Outcomes during the First Three Years of Life" (H. Raikes, B. A. Pan, G. Luze, C. S. Tamis-LeMonda, J. Brooks-Gunn, J. Constantine, L. B.…

This article presents results from 2 studies comparing 3 approaches to teaching vocabulary during storybook reading: (a) contextual instruction, based on connecting words to their use in books and to children's personal experience; (b) analytical instruction, which enhances contextual instruction with semantic analysis of words in contexts other…

The Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) field continues to experience increased valuing of experiential practitioner knowledge. A welcome result of this evolution has been the broadening of research perspectives. The 16 practitioner narratives in "Insights on Teaching Speaking in TESOL" are written by…

This study investigated the word recognition processes of readers of Chinese as a native language (L1) and as a second language (L2), focusing on the effects of two factors, word familiarity and word structure difficulty (complexity of orthographic symbol), on reading accuracy and response time. Subjects were in three groups: (1) 14 adult native…

Prepared by teachers in a summer course, this handbook presents brief descriptions of various aspects of reading instruction and related lesson plans and class activities. Beginning with brief biographies of 5 leaders in reading education (both living and deceased), the handbook consists of sections that discuss reading readiness; word…

This article describes one teacher's methods of role-playing for helping students in the foreign language classroom advance to higher level skills. Role-playing is a closed book, cooperative learning technique in which the student has an opportunity to use the language in a non-threatening, spontaneous response environment. Role-playing is an…

Developed as part of the ABCs of Construction National Workplace Literacy Project, this instructional module teaches general, specialized, and technical terms encountered by persons employed in the occupation of millwright. Included in the module are the following: a discussion of the difference between general, specialized, and technical…

Developed as part of the ABCs of Construction National Workplace Literacy Project, this instructional module is designed to help persons preparing for the occupation of millwright develop strategies for finding the meanings of compound words used in technical writing and the workplace. Presented in the first section is a method for deducing the…

This article discusses polysemy in terms of foreign language reading and vocabulary development. For some foreign language readers, polysemy can be a major source of difficulty in the comprehension of text, even more so than a lack of vocabulary knowledge. Research with non-native readers of English has indicated that even advanced readers, upon…

A variety of informal language development assessment tools is presented for use with children with developmental disabilities. This book is written as a manual for clinicians and researchers for evaluating children who cannot meet the cognitive, perceptual, or motor requirements of standardized tests and to help evaluate aspects of language not…