Alternative programs for teaching French as a second language in Ottawa and Carleton schools were evaluated. The study included a cross-sectional replication of previous French listening comprehension testing of grade 4-8 students in the core French program, French proficiency testing of grades 10 and 12 primary and late entry immersion students,…

Readers as well as writers compose meaning. Using the same characteristics essential to effective writing--planning, drafting, aligning, revising, and monitoring--readers react creatively with the text. In response to the author's intention and their own knowledge base, they decide what they want to get from their reading. Constantly renegotiating…

Designed for intermediate to advanced students learning French, this unit provides practice in reading comprehension while presenting basic facts about Paris. The student material is written in French; the teacher material is written in English. Nine student sections offer facts about Paris including: history; geography; museums, monuments,…

English teachers have given some attention to aesthetic reading, usually terming it the development of literary appreciation, but many of the classroom practices used to foster that appreciation have been counterproductive. One consideration in developing aesthetic reading has to do with the means for promoting reflection in readers. That is,…

The limited existing research on text structure and its effects on reading comprehension in English as a native language and English as a second language (ESL) is reviewed, and studies that have shown facilitating effects on first language reading comprehension of explicitly teaching text structure are discussed. A research project in progress…

Three issues were examined in a study of children's use of first language knowledge in acquiring a second language: (1) understanding of narratives, (2) the degree to which knowledge available in the child's first language is used in understanding second language input, and (3) the relationship between knowledge utilization in two languages as…

The purpose of this study was to assess developmental differences in children's visual attention to, and comprehension of, a prosocial television program as a function of varying "preplay" formats. (Preplays were defined as advance organizers designed to help a child select, order, and integrate critical televised content into a memory…

Teachers were advised on methods of developing reading skills for students who are disabled readers and a reading checklist of content areas was added as a beginning in teaching reading. (Author/RK)

In designing a foreign language curriculum, the needs and abilities of the students should be considered. Slow learners need mostly to be taught listening comprehension, while better learners should be taught good reading skills and have a good knowledge of "non-textbook" aspects of the language. (AG)

Reading skills and supporting behavior are topics treated, emphasizing the following concepts: the abandonment of regression, importance of clear objectives, a conscious effort to read faster, reading for meaning, having key words and phrases in mind, and previewing. (MW)

A study compared performance on a silent informal reading inventory and achievement on a standardized reading test, focusing on students' individual skill needs and how effective tests were in identifying specific strengths and weaknesses in these skill areas. Subjects, 25 students entering fourth grade in a primarily middle class suburban…

This yearbook contains 59 selected articles from the National Reading Conference for 1988 which represent a diversity of topics explored through a variety of research paradigms designed to increase understanding of the critical issues of language and literacy. Included in the collection are "Political and Economic Dimensions of Literacy:…

This project investigated the effectiveness of using closed-captioned television in the teaching of reading to learning-disabled and hearing-impared students. Seven teachers of learning disabled students, and 45 students ranging in age from 8 to 13 years, from a large Maryland public school system participated in this study. The first two of nine…

A study was conducted to explore the nature of curriculum decision making in early childhood education centers in New South Wales (NSW). Focal questions were: (1) What perceptions did people hold concerning the meanings of curriculum in early childhood centers? (2) Within centers, who participated in the making of the decisions about curriculum?…

The study with three profoundly deaf subjects (ages 11-13) investigated whether there is a chain of functional relationships among a method of interaction referred to as a mediation, a cognitive function referred to as spontaneous comparative behavior, the operation of categorization, and the reading comprehension tasks of using lexical cohesion…