Investigates the relative difficulty of learning Japanese word kanji and syllable kana. (AA)

A discussion of selected ERIC documents that focus on teacher effectiveness in reading instruction is presented. (MKM)

Data indicate trends in the field of reading. (MKM)

Sentence combining techniques designed to improve reading comprehension are described and studies showing a positive correlation between the two are cited. (MKM)

Discusses a study of teacher's perceptions of principals and their responsibilities which found that teachers feel that principals should be more directly involved in the reading program than is currently the case. (JM)

Briefly discusses research on consonant substitution and presents a five-step teaching strategy to help beginning readers use the words they know to figure out the words they don't know. (JM)

Describes study which found that young children do not have an adequate concept of what constitutes a spoken word, which may partially explain why some children have difficulty making sense out of instruction aimed at helping them to process print. (JM)

As children progress, they want their responses to make sense and they learn to use strategies based on meaning and language. (JM)

Surveys materials, available through the ERIC system, concerning peer tutoring programs. (JM)

Concludes that there are advantages to both the theorists' and synthesizers' perspectives of progress. (FL)

Evaluates Heather Hemming's research project, "Reading as a Monitor in Writing" (this issue). Emphasizes the contribution this project makes to research methodology. Stresses Hemming's conclusion that the type of monitoring strategy used is not important, providing it is effective. (MM)

Discusses the use of story retelling as an instructional strategy, describing its potential benefits, including improvement in reading comprehension, use of oral language, and memory. (ARH)

Explores whether the interpretation of figurative passages presents a comprehension problem different from that of any difficult text. Indicates that although some abilities important in processing isolated figurative expressions carry over to figurative passage interpretation, these figurative-unique abilities can not definitively account for the…

Highlights contemporary reading research as well as some implied instructional practices in four areas, including direct teacher explanation, reading-writing connection, top-level text structure, and main idea identification. (ARH)

Discusses, for the benefit of research workers and other test users, the ongoing controversy concerning the relative merits of conventional test theory and Rasch scaling in the construction of reading tests. Concludes that a great deal of further research is required to see whether these approaches are educationally valid. (JD)