Despite having studied English for some 33 months, the students at the private junior high school in Japan described in this paper had never before been asked to write original compositions in the language. The researchers undertook a quasi-experimental pilot study in which the 156 (n= 156) participants were each asked to write four compositions,…

Chinese writing is one of the most difficult challenges for Chinese learners whose first language writing system is alphabetic letters. Chinese teachers have incorporated computer-based writing into their teaching in the attempt to reduce the difficulties of writing in Chinese, with a particular emphasis on composing (as opposed to simply writing…

This study investigated the comparability of paper and computer versions of a functional writing assessment administered to adults 16 and older. Three writing tasks were administered in both paper and computer modes to volunteers in the field test of an assessment of adult literacy in 2008. One set of analyses examined mode effects on scoring by…

"Alphabetic Phonics" is an ungraded, multisensory curriculum distributed by School Specialty Intervention (formerly Educators Publishing Service) that teachers the structure of the English language and can be taught to individuals or small groups of elementary or secondary school students. This phonetic program teaches reading,…

One of the difficulties in learning Chinese characters is distinguishing similar characters. This can cause misunderstanding and miscommunication in daily life. Thus, it is important for students learning the Chinese language to be able to distinguish similar characters and understand their proper usage. In this paper, the authors propose a game…

This article examines the enduring importance of handwriting in the early republic of Colombia. Colonial practice informed writing instruction but Colombians re-established it in national terms from the 1820s onward. Teaching writing became a critical tool of state formation: an ideal republic of virtuous functionaries depended on uniform…

Previous researches on elementary grade handwriting revealed that pupils employ certain strategy when writing or drawing. The relationship between this strategy and the use of graphic rules has been documented but very little research has been devoted to the connection between the use of graphic rules and handwriting proficiency. Thus, this study…

Difficulties in motor processing are often seen in children with specific literacy difficulties. Indeed many children with dyslexia may also have a diagnosis of dyspraxia. This article seeks to increase understanding of difficulties in motor processing and to provide practical advice to teachers to assist in identification of such difficulties. It…

Occupational therapists assess fine motor, visual motor, visual perception, and visual skill development, but knowledge of the relationships between scores on sensorimotor performance measures and handwriting legibility and speed is limited. Ninety-nine students in grades three to six with learning and/or behavior problems completed the Upper-Limb…

The impact of music activity on children's motor and cognitive skills has been investigated with music learning, instrument lessons and classroom music. While none have employed natural utterances, singing games or playground/street songs, these musical experiences of childhood are acknowledged as a major platform for child development. The…

There is growing interest in collectibles of many types, as indicated by the popularity of television programs such as the History Channel's "Pawn Stars" and "American Pickers" and the Public Broadcasting Service's "Antiques Road Show." The availability of online auction sites such as eBay has enabled many people to collect items of interest as a…

The goal of this study was to compare how weblogs and traditional handwritten reflective learning protocols compare regarding the use of cognitive and metacognitive strategies for knowledge acquisition as well as learning gains in secondary school students. The study used a quasi-experimental control group design with repeated measurements…

The study assessed the impact of spatial and temporal constraints on handwriting movements in young children. One hundred children of 5-7 years of age of both genders were given the task of copying isolated cursive letters under four conditions: normal, with temporal, spatial, or spatio-temporal constraints. The results showed that imposing…

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the writing anxiety that is one of the factors affecting the written expression skills of secondary school students according to several variables. Population of the study consisted of students studying in the 6th, 7th and 8th grade of secondary schools in Canakkale in the academic year of 2011…

Handwritten word recognition is a field of study that has largely been neglected in the psychological literature, despite its prevalence in society. Whereas studies of spoken word recognition almost exclusively employ natural, human voices as stimuli, studies of visual word recognition use synthetic typefaces, thus simplifying the process of word…