To investigate the relationship between reading and listening test scores, 3 different sets of listening items accompanied by answer sheets requiring varying amounts of reading were administered to 1,200 students in grades 3 through 8. Listening scores increased as more printed information was added to the answer sheet. (SLD)

Four ideas for use in the French language classroom are presented, including a card game about regional France; activities using tape recorders and music to improve oral reading; a true-false quiz about food to develop vocabulary and comprehension; and an exercise in deciphering French using a bad copy of a document. (MSE)

The application of language processing skills between 2 languages with dissimilar morphosyntactic features was investigated with 72 American university students learning Japanese. Results suggest that learners' first- and second-language knowledge both play a significant role and that the linguistic knowledge and coding capability for text…

To study the knowledge that teachers use to understand and interpret teaching and learning, 28 respondents from 4 levels of teaching experience were asked to explain their understanding of videotaped classroom scenes. The increasing complexity of understanding with teacher experience is supported by the findings. (SLD)

In 2 experiments involving a total of 43 college students, adages (relational metaphors) were found to facilitate processing of general ideas and higher-order principles. The higher the degree of structural relations embedded in the titles of passages, the greater the recall and accessibility of system-related ideas. (SLD)

Models of working memory were compared in 2 experiments as means of explaining variance in the comprehension of 95 skilled and 80 learning-disabled readers from grades 4 through 7. Results suggest that learning-disabled children's working memory problems are functionally related to higher order processes and not memory alone. (SLD)

Effects of experimenter-controlled incentives and feedback on the calibration of performance were examined for 85 undergraduates answering reading comprehension and mathematics multiple-choice questions. Results support the hypotheses that incentives affect the calibration of performance and that external incentives can enhance the degree to which…

Asserts that the acoustical environment of the classroom is an important variable in the listening and psychoeducational function, both for children with hearing loss and those with normal hearing. Reports the results of a test of a sound amplification system in two primary classes; indicates the benefits of the system. (DSK)

Argues that second-language learners should be encouraged to establish experiential reading as their norm and sufficient comprehension as their goal, thus achieving a multidimensional representation of literature that can facilitate language acquisition and reading comprehension. Demonstrates four approaches that can help ensure that reading…

Conducted a survey of college French as a foreign language students' reactions to narrow listening, the repeated listening of tape-recorded interviews of proficient speakers discussing a topic both familiar and interesting to the acquirers, and their assessment of its impact on their language development. Students found narrow listening to be…

Because interaction gives language learners an opportunity to modify their speech upon a signal of noncomprehension, it should also have a positive effect on native speakers' (NS) comprehension of nonnative speakers (NNS). This study shows that interaction does help NSs comprehend NNSs, contrasting the claims of an earlier study that found no…

Investigates the potential role of Internet resources as a means to gain a deeper sense of the culture of the Spanish-speaking world for college students. Data collected demonstrate that the Web is a suitable tool to increase language and cultural knowledge, as well as a means to increase motivation. Pedagogical implications are discussed.…

This longitudinal study examined the relationship between kindergarten word writing and Grade 1 literacy in a large sample of Israeli children. Kindergarten writing significantly predicted variance in all three measures of Grade 1 literacy, even after controlling for intelligence. Also examined the role of alphabetic skills and socioliteracy…

Describes a method content teachers in the middle and upper grades can use to teach their traditional content topics with a focus on the content information, the content's organizational plan, and strategies to help students "deep process" the content. Describes the three-stage implementation. Notes evidence that applying and practicing the…

Investigates the relative effects of two types of input modification--simplification and elaboration--on Korean high school students' English-as-a-foreign-language reading comprehension. Six English passages in one of three forms were presented to 180 students, who were divided into two proficiency levels. Comprehension was assessed using a…