The present study is a partial replication of the most widely cited study of lexical coverage and reading comprehension by Hu and Nation (2000). Ninety-four advanced L2 learners read a short story at one of 90%, 95%, 98%, and 100% lexical coverage and then completed a 14-item reading comprehension test. The results showed that although…

This study explored the diverse responses of Japanese university-level learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) to lexically easy short poems. These participants had attained a high level of English proficiency and were able to grasp the literal meaning of the poems. The investigation employed confidence level and reading time as…

The current study was set to explore the influence of the first (L1) and second (L2) language group discussions on L2 reading comprehension. It also explored two sub-elements that were considered vital to L2 reading comprehension: (a) text genre recognition and (b) character and author's intention and perspective. Participants were 21 college…

This study examined Sri Lankan English as a Second Language (ESL) undergraduate learners' reading-to-write task performance over six weeks. The Experimental Group (EG; n = 33) read and summarized articles rated as curious on a Likert scale measuring curiosity, while the Control Group (CG; n = 31) read articles rated as incurious (low-curiosity end…

A growing number of studies have focused on uncovering linguistic and cognitive skills predictive of reading comprehension. Vocabulary knowledge (VK) and morphological awareness (MA) are two important linguistic variables for reading comprehension. In contrast, working memory (WM) is an essential cognitive variable for reading comprehension. The…

The current study investigates whether vocabulary breadth, vocabulary depth, and vocabulary fluency contribute differentially to L2 reading and listening comprehension. One hundred and thirty-eight EFL learners first took three vocabulary knowledge tests that measured vocabulary fluency, vocabulary breadth, and vocabulary depth. Subsequently, they…

During the COVID-19 pandemic, an exploratory mixed-methods study was conducted on the reading attitudes, perceptions, and outcomes of 50 first-year Japanese EFL university students participating in an online extensive reading (ER) enhanced curriculum using Xreading in order to better understand its affective and cognitive effects. Quantitative…

While the effect of reading strategies on L2 test performance has been extensively researched, the effect of test-taking strategies remains underexplored, with mixed results due to varying contextual factors. This study, therefore, investigated the latent structure of test-taking strategies and the relationships among test-taking strategies,…

This extension study investigates the relationship between self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies and first language (L1) Chinese and second language (L2) English reading test performance among 190 primary six students in mainland China, building upon the findings by Tse et al. (2022). Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the acceptable…

Ensuring classroom reading materials align with learners' lexical knowledge is crucial, often requiring teachers to infer vocabulary knowledge from vocabulary test performance. However, the best approach to match learners with lexically appropriate texts based on vocabulary test scores remains unclear. This study compared two methods:…

Few studies aimed to disentangle different aspects of vocabulary depth (VD) knowledge and examine their contribution to second-language (L2) reading comprehension. To fill this gap, this study distinguished between two VD aspects, that is, semantic network knowledge and polysemous knowledge; and tested how they, together with vocabulary size (VS),…

This study investigated second language (L2) learners' use of reading strategies through extensive reading in a Korean English as a Foreign Language (EFL) university context. Extensive reading was implemented as part of class activities over an eight-week period in an EFL class. Seven students from the class volunteered to participate in the…

Facilitating anxiety in second language (L2) learning research has not been thoroughly discussed for both methodological and conceptual reasons. This trend is also evident in the field of L2 reading, where reading anxiety has been viewed as a negative force. This study takes the initial step to explore the nature of facilitating anxiety in L2…

This evaluation report examines extensive reading (ER) speed and words read by students at a Japanese university using a digital ER platform called Xreading and compares them to standardized test reading performance using the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). The study focuses on first- and second-year students who…

The undeniable importance of reading in higher education prompted this investigation into the reading skills of a group often overlooked in previous research: master's level students studying in English-medium instruction (EMI) environments. Participants (148 master's-level students of engineering) completed the Nelson-Denny Reading Test (Form G),…