This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 20 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: the effect of vocabulary instruction on the comprehension of poor readers; contextual methods of teaching sight words to elementary remedial readers; the effects…

This teaching guide accompanies the speech skills and reading comprehension portions of a course in English as a second language for adult nursing aide students. The rationale of course organization is explained. The reading teacher is given general instructions on testing and review and the use of Cloze passages. The speech teacher is provided…

An advanced reading text designed for use with a basic course in Persian offered by the Defense Language Institute is presented. The course is an intensive program for native English speakers. The book, which is an adaptation of material originally developed in Iran, is used when the students have completed volumes one to eight. The material is…

In a study designed to validate oral language proficiency tests, it is planned to administer a series of tests to 100 native Mandarin Chinese-speaking subjects (foreign students and their spouses). The tests will measure communicative competence in speaking (ability to speak, exhibiting control of linguistic, sociolinguistic, and pragmatic rules;…

The matching cloze format used in constructing the reading comprehension parts of the Micronesian Achievement Test Series (MATS) is described as a holistic approach which measures skills comparable to those needed by English as a second language students in actual reading situations. Kenneth Goodman's theory about the strategies used by good…

The extent, causes, and importance of context effects on item parameters for one- and three-parameter latent-trait models were examined. Items were taken from the California Achievement Tests Reading Comprehension and Mathematics Concepts and Applications subtests. The reading items were administered to 1,678 fourth-grade students, and the…

CONTAINED IN THE GUIDE IS INFORMATION ON THE BASIC SKILLS TO BE INCLUDED IN ANY INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM IN READING, ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF A GUIDED PROGRAM FOR INDIVIDUAL AND PERSONAL READING, AND ON THE EVALUATION OF A READING PROGRAM. THE OBJECTIVE IS TO HELP EACH CHILD BECOME AS EFFICIENT AND DIVERSIFIED A READER AS HIS ABILITIES PERMIT. NO LESSON…

THE READING INSTRUCTION PROGRAM OF THE DENVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS IS SUMMARIZED. OBJECTIVES INCLUDE TEACHING WORD RECOGNITION SKILLS, DEVELOPING THE HABIT OF READING, AND DEVELOPING READING SPEED AND EFFICIENCY. IN ADDITION TO DEFINING THE OBJECTIVES AND BASIC DIMENSIONS OF THE ELEMENTARY READING PROGRAM, THIS REPORT ALSO DISCUSSES THE FOUR COMPONENT…

The papers in this collection represent a wide spectrum of approaches, philosophies, viewpoints, and techniques of scholarly endeavor in their treatment of the reading process. The 55 papers, which were presented at the 1978 meeting of the National Reading Conference, are arranged according to the following categories: (1) reading readiness, (2)…

In a study of the relationship between teacher behavior and reading achievement, trained observers, using the Georgia Assessment of Teacher Effectiveness (GATE), observed 36 teachers and 820 students in grades five and six. The Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, Reading Comprehension subtest was administered and the socioeconomic status of each student…

Focusing on research and evaluation in college reading, the papers in this volume were drawn from the ninth annual meeting of the National Reading Conference held in 1959. Among the topics discussed in the 19 papers are the following: a proposed model of reading comprehension, factors affecting reading test performance, student attitudes toward…

The relationship between children's performance on a standardized achievement battery and compositional writing performance was examined. One hundred thirty-eight writing samples were collected from fourth-grade students. Compositions were scored for both mechanistic and holistic qualities. Four subscores on the Metropolitan Achievement Test were…

This is an investigation of the notion of language for special purposes and a discussion of the topic from the point of view of reading comprehension and its pedagogical implications. The meanings, connotations, and inadequacies of the terms "langue de specialite" and "Language for special purposes" are discussed. A distinction is made between…

This manual contains an overview of a diagnostic/prescriptive reading program designed to teach basic skills to children in grades one through six and to foster their enjoyment of literature. The elements of the program discussed include the following: individualized skills instruction in phonetic analysis, word recognition, comprehension,…

This study compared a grammar program using a linguistic approach with one using a traditional approach to determine how each affects children's ability (1) to construct sentences which have variety in structure, and (2) to comprehend silent reading. Five experimental and five control classes of fourth-grade children were randomly selected from…