Previous meta-analyses of reading strategy (RS) instruction in second and foreign language (L2) contexts have consistently shown that RS instruction has a positive impact on reading comprehension. However, whether RS instruction can promote both the use of RS "and" reading comprehension among English L2 learners is unclear. The effect of…

Despite the preponderance of research on extensive reading (ER), the research field still suffers from a lack of common understanding of what ER is and how it should be implemented. From the perspective of Day and Bamford's (2002) seminal ten principles for teaching ER, the present methodological synthesis aimed to systematically review and…

A meta-analysis was performed to investigate the impact of extensive reading (ER) on reading proficiency. This study gathered 71 unique samples from 49 primary studies published from 1980 to 2014 involving a total of 5,919 participants. Effect sizes were generated separately according to two different study designs: experimental-versus-control…

In reading research, studies on good and poor reader characteristics abound. However, these findings remain largely scattered in applied linguistics and cognitive and educational psychology. This paper attempts to synthesize current theory and research on the topic in the past 20 years along 3 dimensions: language knowledge and processing ability,…

The Communicative Use of English as a Foreign Language (CUEFL) examination applies to language testing the principles of the communicative approach to language teaching. The issues and problems of composing the reading part of the CUEFL are discussed. (Author/VWL)

Two unresolved issues in first language and second language research on the role of background knowledge in comprehension are discussed: (1) the theoretical distinction between "content" and "formal" schemata and their interrelationship in texts and (2) the relationship of effects measured in cross-cultural research to background knowledge that…

Focuses on the performance levels of the Test of English for Educational Purposes (TEEP) and English Language Testing Service (ELTS) tests. It is concluded that more attention should be paid to the process underlying test performance. (15 references) (GLR)

Examines arguments both for and against using computer-assisted learning (CAL) techniques in the development of reading skills, covering the advantages of control, interaction, power, and versatility. CAL's disadvantages include affective demands, logistics, and methodological limitations. (Author/CB)

Examines the way in which the reading aloud done by a second language learner of English can reveal aspects of the learner's interlanguage. Particular attention is paid to the learner's acquisition of the "-ed" past tense morpheme, and to the acquisition of pronouns. (Author/VWL)

Presents arguments in favor of using graded readers in the teaching of English as a second language through a review of research regarding text adaptation policies and comparisons of the main principles of text adaptation. (Author/CB)

Discusses reading as a receptive skill in relation to current foreign language learning and teaching theory. Three types of reference in texts are defined (reference to the outside world, textual reference, and situational reference), and selected examples of these types in adapted texts are reported and analyzed. (26 references) (GLR)

It is argued that a helpful orientation toward written text can only be fostered in learners when tasks are ordered systematically, with priority being given to global meanings. (Author/CB)

Analysis of second-language exercises intended to expand context-inference skills in reading indicated that most of the exercises offered little help in developing the skill and only partial understanding of word meaning. (Author/CB)

Draws a distinction between two kinds of summarization involved in discourse comprehension: abbreviated versions and brief accounts. English summaries written by Austrian university students are used to illustrate the different degrees of contextualization, or schematic priming, that influenced the amount of processing the students performed on…

Argues that second-language reading comprehension and its assessment can be usefully divided into two aspects: (1) comprehensions (different levels of comprehension the reader adopts to suit different purposes of reading); and (2) interpretations (different readings of the same text resulting from different background knowledge or preoccupations…