This study, part of a larger effort to develop a methodology for evaluating intelligent computer systems (Artificial Intelligence Systems), explores the use of benchmarking as an evaluation technique. Benchmarking means comparing the performance of intelligent computer systems with human performance on the same task. Benchmarking in evaluation has…

This manual is a guide to an interactive training program designed to address key skills necessary in today's high performance workplace. The module is intended to meet the learning needs of production workers who may have limited basic skills or literacy. This module, which addresses active listening and feedback, is meant to help workers learn…

This document is the third volume of the Adult Literacy Leadership Project, an effort to identify the educational and training needs of Florida's literacy personnel--instructors, administrators, and advisors. Volume three contains an annotated bibliography on effective strategies for combatting adult illiteracy. The bibliography covers the…

This document offers materials for a year-long course on general basic reading skills that was part of a workplace literacy project developed by Mercer County Community College (New Jersey), and its partners. The document contains the following: (1) outlines (each of which contains objectives, a topical outline, and list of textbooks) for two…

A study examined the factors shaping English language education within the Japanese public education system and the attitudes of Japanese learners toward the pronunciation of English, first in an overview and then within the context of a case study of an adult Japanese student. The first section discusses the status and instruction of English in…

The 1986/87 issue of the journal on second language teaching and learning contains seven articles in French and four in English, including: "Learning How To Learn English"; "Socrate est-il un chat? Pratiquer le syllogisme pour apprendre a argumenter (Is Socrates a Cat? Practicing Syllogisms To Learn To Argue)"; "La production orale en francais des…

A study evaluated the potential of low-cost microcomputers for enhancing the effectiveness of adult basic education (ABE) programs conducted for mentally handicapped adults. In conducting the study, researchers selected a sample of 36 mentally-handicapped adults who were served by the San Antonio State Hospital and the San Antonio State School.…

Bernhardt (2003) claims that half of the variance in second language (L2) reading is accounted for by first language literacy (20%) and second language knowledge (30%), and that one of the central goals of current L2 reading research should be to investigate the 50% of variance that remains unexplained. Part of this variance takes consists of…

Papers presented at the City University of New York's English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) Council conference on the relationship between text and context in college second language instruction include the following: "Reading Research: New Directions and Implications for ESL" (M. Trika Smith-Burke); "Two ESL Readers: Case Studies of…

A unit of instruction used with limited English proficient (LEP) students in kindergarten through grade 3 who are being screened for placement in special education programs is described. The unit can be adapted for use with LEP students receiving special education services. Lessons teach and reinforce directional vocabulary (up/down, right/left,…

If young readers (adolescents) are introduced to a range of story structures and less structured texts (or "deviant narratives"), it may encourage the development of more diverse and accommodating schemata and the capacity to make inferences about the link between discourse units. It is, after all, a basic principle of recent narrative…

The compendium of articles in this journal issue deal with the diverse components of the language arts, communication, and critical thinking curricula. The titles and authors of the articles are as follows: (1) "What to Do until the Doctor Comes: Speech in the Language Arts Classroom" (John Fortier); (2) "Teaching and Thinking…

In 1985 the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessed the literacy skills of America's young adults. The survey stressed the complexity and diversity of literary tasks in American society rather than using a simplistic single standard for literacy. NAEP convened panels of experts whose deliberations led to this definition of…

Intended for teachers, students, and researchers of reading, this book reflects the theories, models, and research generated over the past 10 years on the psychology and pedagogy of reading. Essays in the first section of the book deal with the historical changes in reading research and theory, and the pioneers of reading research. Essays in the…

A study examined whether writing modeled from children's picture books would improve reading comprehension of fourth and fifth graders as much as traditional skills instruction. Subjects, 69 children reading at least one year below grade level from six Chapter 1 Colorado schools, were pretested for reading comprehension levels. Subjects were then…