Background: People with aphasia (PWA) frequently experience difficulties in understanding longer written content such as paragraphs or books. Reading strategies are a promising approach to treat text-level reading comprehension deficits in PWA. Nevertheless, empirical evidence for their efficacy remains rare. Aims: The primary objective of this…

Background: Children with low reading skills are less frequently engaged in reading activities and therefore the likelihood of improving their reading skills decreases. Digital game-based interventions have emerged as a promising tool for promoting reading development in children, particularly those with reading difficulties. As syllable-based…

The acquisition of reading skills in a person's native language is a key life component to functioning successfully within their society. Unfortunately, many German students have significant reading difficulties in their native language, German. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to translate into German and implement a promising U.S. reading…

Background: Commercial speed-reading training programs are typically marketed with the promise to dramatically increase reading speed without impairing comprehension. From the perspective of reading psychology, it seems quite unlikely that speed-reading training can indeed have such effects. However, research on the effectiveness of modern…

Studies on the relation between children's reading motivation and early developmental stages of reading competence are rare and have neglected on-line measures of reading skill (e.g., eye movements indicating word decoding). For this reason, we investigated the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic reading motivation on the efficiency of reading…

Reading is a fundamental academic skill and influences numerous outcomes throughout lifespan. Unfortunately, many German students struggle with basic reading. Specifically, students with Learning Disabilities (LD) and Emotional Behavioural Disorders (EBD) encounter major hurdles. Consequently, insufficient reading achievement and concomitant…

Performing a stay in a country where the L2 is the official language can provide the perfect immersion for L2 development (traditional study abroad). In the case of English learners, internationalization and the role of English as a lingua franca make it unnecessary to perform the stay in an English-speaking country. Hence, an increasing number of…

This single case study (multiple baselines) evaluates the efficacy of an intervention called "reading racetracks" among three eight-year-old boys with diverse backgrounds, including learning disabilities, limited language proficiency due to migration, and socio-economic challenges. Conducted over three weeks, the training demonstrated…

The increasing number of students who lack proficient reading skills is well known in Germany, as well as globally. Students with learning disabilities (LD), problem behavior, and German as a second language (L2) may face even greater hurdles. However, it is essential for teachers to provide adequate support to maintain equal educational…

Previous research illustrated that reading comprehension and science performance correlate highly. Because students with specific learning disorders with impairments in reading (SLD-IR) show deficits in reading comprehension, they may struggle to perform in science. As language in science is characterized by linguistic complexity, the question…

The ability to recognize and name the sounds of alphabet letters is a crucial prerequisite for students as they embark on their journey to learn how to read. Regrettably, some children face significant challenges in this area. In this single-case multiple baseline study, we utilized mnemonic pictures to facilitate the memorization of the…

Because large-scale studies repeatedly indicated low reading literacy for many students, a need for interventions fostering reading literacy, such as extracurricular tutoring, has often been emphasized. Several reading promoting programs, suitable for extracurricular tutoring, were developed and shown to be effective in recent years. Moreover,…

If children fail to understand test instructions, measurements of their competence may be unfair and invalid. This is especially relevant for students with special educational needs (SEN) because they face greater challenges in comprehending instructions. Two interventions were designed to facilitate the comprehension of test requirements by…

As a speech-language therapist supporting English-speaking students from international schools in Munich, Germany, Shelley Hornberger shares the story of a student referred after many years of failed school and private phonics instruction. She reports significant progress made by this student, in spite of having to deliver the programme online for…

The study "Improving Language And Reading Skills (LARS) in children with German as a first or second language" evaluates a newly developed differentiating programme for reading in terms of its effects on the reading and language ability of second graders with German as a first or second language. The participant group consisted of 105…