This study addressed the following three questions: Among the grammatical patterns that first graders are expected to be able to read, are there any which are particularly easy or particularly difficult to interpret? Can these grammatical patterns be mastered with equal ease by students of varying reading ability? Do these grammatical patterns…

This study developed procedures for teachers to use in ranking the reading difficulty level of student-authored materials in the primary grades. Two procedures were developed: the word procedure for assessment of reading difficulty levels of vocabulary, and the two-four procedure for assessing reading difficulty level of sentence structure.…

The idea of semantic features has taken some force within psychology and a number of research workers have suggested that semantic acquisition is, in some manner, determined by semantic components. This notion has come to be called the "semantic feature hypothesis". An examination of the semantic feature hypothesis was made by testing 80…

This study investigated (1) relationships between reading comprehension, IQ, and equivalence range (ER) and (2) categorizing styles through multidimensional scaling and varimax rotation analysis. One hundred and six male and 97 female sixth-graders comprised three reading groups according to Metropolitan Achievement Test, Reading subtest, and Otis…

This report summarizes a study conducted by Educational Testing Service and RMC Research Corporation, of compensatory reading programs sponsored by Title I as well as those supported solely by state and local funds. The results show that in schools which received compensatory funds, the students most in need of it received additional help in…

In this study to determine the effectiveness of an inservice training program in reading, subjects included 321 seventh- through ninth-grade students and 26 teachers of English, math, science, and social studies in one school in Wakulla County, Florida. The inservice plan included a summer workshop in which teacher competencies and educational…

Concludes that lessons emphasizing pereferred interests improve functionally illiterate adults' silent reading information recall skills and interpretation of word meanings from context. Suggests that greater attention be devoted to using preferred interest materials in adult reading instruction. (RL)

Reading comprehension exercises are used more effectively as a teaching device than as a testing device. They can be used to teach students a variety of skills, such as the ability to discover specific facts, to see the writer's point of view, and to visualize what is described in words. (CFM)

This report discusses some of the factors that account for students' failure to understand everyday spoken language. Classroom language may be misleading when compared to everyday language. Pace of delivery is an obvious but ignored barrier to comprehension. Students should, therefore, be exposed to uncontrolled language data in the classroom.…

Hypotheses concerning second language learning and foreign language learning in general are described, and the role of listening comprehension in the development of language skills is discussed. (CLK)

Describes dialogues and songs used to teach listening comprehension. (SW)

The article discusses programmed instruction in reading a foreign language to provide students in a specialized discipline with tools they need to understand specialized texts. Recent studies indicate the validity of teaching for reading comprehension only. Two examples of programs in scientific Dutch are attached. (Text is in French.) (AMH)

Preparing worksheets is seen as a valuable source of motivation. Various examples are given, for reviewing vocabulary, for exposition of a reading text, and for checking on text comprehension. Using a sample, it is shown how a text can be reconstructed using a multiple-choice procedure. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Examines the effects of three text signal types (headings, previews, logical connectives) on relatively sophisticated college age readers and their comprehension of technical expository prose. Concludes that all three types can enhance comprehension, but that facilitation depends on passage length and difficulty. (FL)

As measured by responses to a main-idea essay question and by written summaries of two passages, students' ability to abstract the macrostructure of problem/solution text read independently was improved by the use of structure training. (FL)