Presents a study that compares the efficacy of the two formulas: Reading Comprehension = Decoding x Listening Comprehension, and Reading Comprehension = Decoding + Listening Comprehension. Presents a second study that explores whether adding another factor, speed of processing, to the "Simple View of Reading" formula improves its ability to…

Investigates differences between college students' reading and listening processes in conjunction with variation in oral-based or literate-based language style. Finds that: listening required less cognitive effort than reading, irrespective of language style; listeners and readers alike best comprehended oral-based discourse; and that reading was…

A study evaluated the performance of 12 individuals with mental retardation on a post-perceptual discourse comprehension task. Three text-to-speech systems (DECTalk, MacinTalk, and Real Voice) were used to present stimulus passages. The DECTalk synthetic voice showed a non-significant trend toward superior accuracy scores on the comprehension…

Examines the relationships among phonological awareness, phonological memory, and development of reading skills in a longitudinal study, by following 222 Finnish preschoolers through grade 2. Focuses on the role of phonological memory in word recognition and comprehension. Underlines the stability of development of phonological memory,…

Presents Dr. Kato Lomb's conclusions about language acquisition, which agree with current theory: comprehensible input is central; grammar plays a peripheral role in language development. (Author/CK)

This article compares two theories on why children with language impairment have slower response times when completing linguistic and nonlinguistic tasks. First, the slowing is due to difficulty with a particular cognitive processes and second, the slowing is due to a general cognitive processing limitation. Clinical implications are discussed.…

A nested cross-over design was used to examine the effects of visual condition, type of stimuli, and language proficiency on listening comprehension items of the Test of English as a Foreign Language. Three two-way interactions were significant: proficiency by type of stimuli, type of stimuli by visual condition, and type of stimuli by time.…

Summarizes efforts by various groups in the National Communication Association, federal government agencies, and research centers to identify important core communication (speaking and listening) competencies that are necessary for undergraduates and graduates to be effective in the workplace and in society. Provides lists of competencies deemed…

A study investigated whether examinees taking the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) attended to the text passages in the "minitalks" when answering the multiple-choice items (n=337) testing listening comprehension. Results support the construct validity of the minitalks, and also allow comparison between reading and listening…

Anxiety plays an important role in foreign language (FL) students' classroom performance. This study presents the results of the first empirical examination of the effect of general FL learning anxiety on students' achievement in an Arabic course and of listening anxiety on students' listening comprehension. The data came from 2 measures of…

Academic listening plays an important role in an ESL university student's academic success. Research in EAP has begun to show that ESL students have difficulty in English academic listening at American universities. Chinese students, who are from a different educational system and cultural environment, experience particular challenges in English…

Homework problems among students with learning disabilities can be attributed to two primary causes: (a) students' characteristics (e.g., poor motivation, problems in listening comprehension, lack of organizational skills), and (b) teachers' deficits in making assignments (e.g., assigning work that is too difficult or time-consuming, failing to…

Questions concerning the role of input in the growth of syntactic skills have generated substantial debate within psychology and linguistics. The authors address these questions by investigating the effects of experimentally manipulated input on children's skill with the passive voice. The study involved 72 four-year-olds who listened to stories…

This study investigated the contribution of gestures and facial cues to second-language learners' listening comprehension of a videotaped lecture by a native speaker of English. A total of 42 low-intermediate and advanced learners of English as a second language were randomly assigned to 3 stimulus conditions: AV-gesture-face audiovisual including…

This study was designed to examine factors associated with literal interpretations of homonyms. Participants were 212 second graders, ages 7;0-8;11, who listened to a story containing 16 key words. The key words were homonymous words ("pseudo-homonyms"), nonsense words, or familiar words used accurately. While listening to the story, children…