This experimental study examined how VSTF (Visual-Syntactic Text Formatting)-based text benefits reading speed, reading comprehension, reading efficiency and retention for middle and high school students. Prospective within-subjects tests were conducted in Japan on a total of 132 students: 76 high school students from 12th grade and 56 middle…

Nested within a 5-year examination of Teach for America (TFA) corps members' experiences with learning to teach, this article focuses on the salient theme of "Reform Models" found in data collected when a highly publicized testing cheating scandal was breaking in this urban district. Using constructivist grounded theory, researchers…

In this article, the author shares the results of a case study that explored how using student-produced video essays supported historical thinking. The goal of this study was to explore the intersection of historical literacies in relationship with digital practices and see how digital literacies might be used to engage students' historical…

Although sentences are thought to be generally easier to process when given information precedes new information, closer examination reveals that these preferences only manifest within some syntactic structures. Here, we examine the consequences of the relative ordering of given and new information ("information structure") for the on-line…

The present exploration aimed to assess a reading level of a young Thai student by using the Qualitative Reading Inventory (QRI), and to plan reading intervention instruction targeted on the identified needs based on the assessment results. In this study, a single case study approach was employed. A seven-year old Thai learner was the focal…

This study compared how lexical quality (vocabulary and decoding) and executive control (working memory and inhibition) predict reading comprehension directly as well as indirectly, via syntactic integration, in monolingual and bilingual fourth grade children. The participants were 76 monolingual and 102 bilingual children (mean age 10 years,…

This study incorporated the problem-based learning (PBL) approach into a web-based English reading course. The purpose of the study was to examine the impact of PBL on the participants' English reading comprehension (RC) and to explore the participants' perceptions of PBL. The present study conducted a comparison of two teaching methods. Two…

Analysis of data in an after-school writing workshop wherein resettled refugee teens were reading and writing identity texts to prepare for achieving their postsecondary goals suggests that a discursive practice of the connective press was productive in helping teens develop cohesion in their writing. Although true communicative competence in an…

Wolf and Bowers (1999) described a model in which phonological awareness (PA) and naming speed (NS) make independent contributions to reading ability. We tested this model in a sample of 201 Grade 3 Arabic-speaking children in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Measures of general cognitive ability, vocabulary, PA, NS, word reading, and reading…

Previous studies have shown that instruction of reading strategies is an effective method for enhancing reading comprehension. However, many of the interventions in these studies focused on small groups of (poor) comprehenders and were provided by research assistants, making it time-consuming and relatively expensive. The authors implemented a…

This study investigated the relationship between student performance on behavioral measures (reading, language, and executive function) and reading comprehension while reading with and without text-to-speech (TTS) accommodations. Twenty-nine children with reading difficulties ages 8 to 12 years completed a battery of reading, language, and…

Leading scholars (Gilbert, 2009; Walter, 2008) have highlighted the importance of phonological processing in learning to read. Nevertheless, reading in Japan has traditionally been taught without adequate attention to the role of phonological processing. Accordingly, it was speculated that Japanese university students would demonstrate superior…

The inability of English language learners to recall English concepts is a major challenge faced by teachers. This paper aims to determine the effectiveness of video educational games with a linguistic approach in English language education of the 2nd grade high school students. This is an applied and quasi-experimental study conducted in 2016.…

This study explored the background knowledge (BK) and reading comprehension (RC) relationship for struggling adult readers. Using confirmatory factor analyses, a single-factor BK model exhibited better fit than a two-factor model separating academic knowledge and general information, which indicates that BK represents a unidimensional construct…

Primary school students have difficulties with text comprehension, and therefore support from teachers via proper language teaching strategies is needed. The aim of the study was to determine the impact of language teaching strategies on students' reading outcomes and reading interest. In the current paper, two reading outcomes--vocabulary…