Reports a study undertaken in Bahrain secondary schools to assess the contribution of tape recorders to learning outcomes in English as a Second Language (ESL). Findings revealed that students' proficiency correlated significantly with their perception of the frequency and skill with which their teacher use a tape recorder. (20 references)…

Discusses a foreign-language-reading approach through which students are exposed to various books that they self-select and discuss in literature circles, noting 49 college students' reactions to the approach in a French language class. Student surveys indicated that the method had a positive impact on their reading comprehension and attitudes,…

Compares the effects of different kinds of visual presentations, and music alone, on university nonmusic students' affective and cognitive responses to music. Separate groups of students listened to classical music excerpts, either by themselves, or with video accompaniment. They rated the music on Likert-type scales and responded to open-ended…

Examines the methodology of using novel reading and letter exchange based upon the novels to enhance reading/writing skills in non-native speakers at the college freshmen level. In addition, it refers to theories on which such methodology is based and offers samples from student work. Contains 17 references. (VWC)

When mobile assessment tools was first introduced to teachers at Kyffin Elementary School in Jefferson Country, Colorado, teachers were not comfortable with the technology. According to Blanche Kapushion, principal at Kyffin, teachers were not used to using technology in class, and it did not look like that was going to change. Nonetheless,…

CD-ROM storybooks can support the development of the five essential elements of reading instruction identified by The National Reading Panel: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Specific features inherent in these texts, audio pronunciation of text, embedded vocabulary definitions and animated graphics can be used…

About half of 2,581 low-income mothers reported reading daily to their children. At 14 months, the odds of reading daily increased by the child being firstborn or female. At 24 and 36 months, these odds increased by maternal verbal ability or education and by the child being firstborn or of Early Head Start status. White mothers read more than did…

The Academic Engagement Enhancement (AEE) model provides a framework for improving skills of older students who struggle with the acquisition and development of reading. This model was developed as part of a broader intervention program aimed at promoting academic and social competence of youth who were at risk of school failure. The strategies…

This study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of two programs developed by the Frostig Center Research Department to improve the reading and spelling of students with learning disabilities (LD): a computer Speech Recognition-based Program (SRBP) and a computer and text-based Automaticity Program (AP). Twenty-eight LD students with reading…

The current study follows up on Aram and Levin's (2001, "Cognitive Development," 16, 831?852) analysis of the role of maternal writing mediation among low SES Israeli kindergartners. That study's main finding indicated that the quality of maternal writing mediation correlated concurrently with kindergartners' literacy skills after…

This research aims to devise a set of computer-based tools to meet the diverse needs of learners for comprehending a science learning unit, namely work. A model of computer-based tools on the learning unit for developing procedural knowledge for solving work problems was developed together with a set of teacher customization and collaboration…

In recent years a growing body of evidence has implicated deficits in the automaticity of fundamental facts such as word and number recognition in a range of disorders: including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia, apraxia and autism. Variously described as habits, fluency, chunking and over learning, automatic processes are best…

Oral reading fluency is a good predictor of performance on state reading assessments. The present study addressed the issue of bias by examining whether oral reading fluency scores differentially predict performance on a state reading assessment and the Metropolitan Achievement Tests, 7th Edition (MAT/7) across economic and racial groups.…

Interactive discourse structuring is used to guide listeners through on-going speech and has been shown to have a positive effect on lecture comprehension, particularly in L2 settings. As mobility increases in the academic world, there are more opportunities for lecture events characterized not only by linguistic/cultural diversity, but also by…

The aim of this study was to explore comprehension monitoring and perceived use of reading strategies as factors of reading comprehension. Participants were elementary school students from the fifth to the eighth grade. Error correction and text sensitivity tasks from the Metacomprehension test (Pazzaglia, De Beni, & Cristante, 1994), and the…