The article sketches the outlines of a theoretical framework for the analysis of translation of literary texts, viewed as psycho-semiotic phenomenon and based on evaluation of earlier attempts in this direction, and on the results of a psycholinguistic empirical study of translations. Central to this framework is the recent insight that the human…

In a world literature course, an instructor faces the challenge of engaging the students in classical texts that are historically, geographically, and linguistically "alien" to them. Through a three-step instructional model that includes approximation, thematic relevance, and application, the instructor tries to help students identify,…

This paper considers the initial impact of a national project funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families which provides books, number activities and stationery items (once a month over a 6-month period) directly to children aged 7-11 in their foster homes. The context of the project, established against a background of low…

To increase the number of students who read the text before class and to promote student interaction centering on text material, I developed an online discussion assignment as a required component of a cognitive psychology course. Across 2 studies, this assignment had a limited effect on examination performance, but students completing online…

In 2 previous studies (O'Brien, Rizzella, Albrecht, & Halleran, 1998; Zwaan & Madden, 2004), researchers have provided conflicting accounts about whether outdated information continues to influence the comprehension of subsequent text. The current set of experiments was designed to explore further the impact of outdated information on…

Among the materials used for teaching are texts: written descriptions and explanations of the mathematical ideas. This work of interpretation is essential to the life of mathematics; in its absence, mathematical knowledge is nothing but squiggles on paper. Up to now, explanatory math texts have been used almost exclusively in an uncritical way. In…

In this article, three students share how performing in Shakespearean plays have helped them appreciate his work. Orubba Almansouri describes how acting out the play "Romeo and Juliet" allowed him to understand the whole story better. While rehearsing and performing "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Aram S. Balian became a true Shakespeare fan,…

When readers don't know their purpose for reading, they lack the fundamental information needed in order to make decisions about how to approach the text and how to interpret information. This makes the already challenging task of navigating content-area texts more difficult, particularly for middle school readers who are relatively new to…

While it was perfectly clear to almost everyone during the 1990s that technology was changing, almost no one acknowledged the concomitant change in a sizeable and growing cadre of handheld books for youth. Some of those who did notice expressed puzzlement and regret at the break from a more traditional form and format; others expressed curiosity.…

Studies of blind manuscript review have illustrated that readers often form impressions of or speculate about unknown authors' identities in the manuscript review task. In this article, the authors extend that work by examining the discursive and nondiscursive features that play a role in readers' active construction of author voice. Through a…

This paper uses the example of an extra-curricular Graphic Novel Reading Group in order to explore the institutional critical reading practices that take place in English classrooms in the senior years of secondary school. Drawing on Stanley Fish's theory of interpretive communities, it questions the restrictive interpretive strategies applied to…

This study examined the effects of three types of reading interventions on the science text reading of secondary students with learning disabilities (LD). Twenty 10th-grade students with LD participated in the study. Using a within-subjects design, the relative effects of three different instructional approaches--text reading, vocabulary learning,…

This dissertation project examines the implementation of a critical reading intervention in a Mexican university, and the emergence of target critical reading processes in Mexican college-level EFL readers. It uses a Complexity Theory-inspired, qualitative methodology. Orienting the selection and design of materials is a deep view of culture that…

This paper examines the report of the "Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy" (Department of Education, Science & Training (DEST) 2005) and explores the claims it makes about reading pedagogy and the centrality of particular "methods" or "approaches" to teaching backed by "scientific" evidence. Discourse…

The purpose of this study was to examine conceptual change among future elementary school teachers while studying a scientific text concerning photosynthesis. Students' learning goals in relation to their learning outcomes were also examined. The participants were future elementary school teachers. The design consisted of pre- and post-tests. The…