Young children's meaning-focused skills are foundational for reading comprehension and begin to develop prior to formal reading instruction. In this article, we argue for the importance of supporting meaning-focused skills in early childhood classrooms. We describe authentic, real-life examples of engaging preschool children in activities that…

How do learners make sense of what they are learning? In this article, I present a new framework of sense-making based on research investigating the benefits and boundaries of generative learning activities (GLAs). The generative sense-making framework distinguishes among three primary sense-making modes--explaining, visualizing, and…

This article, by Tomoyuki Kawashima, presents two listening activities, using nonnative speakers as models, that "broaden … students' perspectives on English and enhance their self-perception as future English users." The activities help students understand that everyone, even native speakers, has an accent, and that sounding…

This article describes how to design an entangled literacy model, which blends verbal skills with multimodal features of visual, auditory, and other sensory cues to enable students to experience online classes with authentic and comprehensible material; paying attention to modes of communication in online classes also helps approximate…

Phonemic Awareness is the understanding that words are made up of individual sounds. These individual sounds are referred to as phonemes. Within the English language, there are about 44 sounds, and several of these are rather difficult for children to grasp. Mastery of phonemic awareness is a foundational skill for reading, yet is often skimmed…

With ongoing racial tensions, terms such as antiracism and diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) are buzzwords on campuses across the United States. Yet resources, especially in management education, to teach privilege and intersectionality are limited. This article introduces four reflection exercises I have found valuable in facilitating students'…

For many language learners, listening represents a major source of anguish, with apparent success in the confines of the classroom failing to be mirrored in the ordinary interactions of daily life. One contributing factor may be the continued reliance on listening texts and activities that position the learner as a bystander rather than a…

In this article, I showcase an informational text reading comprehension unit that centers on text features commonly found in science textbooks. I taught this unit to a sixth-grade class and highlighted the work samples of three focal students here. The overarching question that guided this work was as follows: How can I focus my instruction on…

Phoneme discrimination is the ability to detect subtle similarities and differences between phonemes. Phoneme discrimination is a strong predictor of reading development and poor phoneme discrimination may predict reading disabilities (Lyytinen et al., 2004). The ability to discriminate phonemes may be an even more critical skill for Emergent…

Teaching and learning of technical terms constitute a major problem for ESP instructors and students. To help the students learn, retain, apply and relate technical terms, a multiple-associations instructional approach that focuses on connecting the printed form of the technical term with its pronunciation (the hidden sounds, double and silent…

In online and blended learning environments, students may experience learning barriers that are more pronounced than in the traditional classroom. When designing online instruction, teachers can use digital tools along with instructional strategies to reduce those barriers. Digital tools have various instructional and assistive features, which can…

This chapter presents drama-based pedagogy as an instructional strategy to increase comprehension of a novel or informational text in a content area, to encourage collaborative discussions about a text, and to help students apply knowledge acquired from a text to one's own life and world. This essay proceeds with a brief discussion of relevant…

In this article, the author describes three strategies they have used to bolster interest and make use of popular culture to enhance readers' interactions with texts: pop culture pairings, musical connections, and multimodal projects. The author addresses the cultivation of pop culture awareness, the importance of multimodal pedagogy, the…

Since pairing the classics with young adult literature can increase reading comprehension and spark interest amongst our students, this essay explores a unit plan for connecting Will Hobbs's "Downriver" (1991) with William Golding's "Lord of the Flies" (1954). Both works espouse significant and timely themes: the importance of…

After several years of study, many English as a foreign language (EFL) learners have a large enough vocabulary and sufficient reading fluency to silently read English stories and books outside class. Once students have reached this threshold, teachers can introduce and encourage independent reading in EFL courses, as there is rarely time in class…