The deep cloze test was developed by Jensen and Elbro (Read Writ Interdiscip J 35(5):1221-1237, 2022. https://doi-org.bibliotheek.ehb.be/10.1007/s11145-021-10230-w) to assess reading comprehension at the level of global situational understanding. In two independent studies, we examined potential contributors to students' scores on the deep cloze reading…

To achieve efficient reading comprehension, Chinese as a second language (L2) learners adopt various component skills and knowledge, including the aspects of vocabulary, grammar, and coherence. However, there is no consensus regarding the relative predictive powers of these three areas in L2 reading comprehension. Instead of employing direct…

This study examined direct and indirect relationships between main idea summarization and multiple document comprehension when university students read four conflicting documents on the controversial socio-scientific issue of sun exposure and health. Main idea summarization was measured by having participants summarize the main idea of each…

The use of the audio medium (e.g., audiobooks and podcasts) is proliferating in everyday and educational contexts. Yet, research investigating text processing in audio compared to the more commonly used print medium is limited in scope. Specifically, the research so far has majorly focused on younger learners or English language learners,…

The current study investigated whether the grade point average (GPA) of high school courses and the score on the test for admission to a bachelor's degree in Psychology--assessing logical reasoning, reading comprehension, and general knowledge--can predict student academic success (AS) and to what extent. Archival data from 5147 candidates (82.4%…

Few studies have explored how general skills in both reading and writing influence performance on integrated, source-based writing. The goal of the present study was to consider the relative contributions of reading and writing ability on multiple-document integrative reading and writing tasks. Students in the U.S. (n=94) completed two tasks in…

Many studies in the literature have addressed reading comprehension, the ultimate goal of the reading process, due to its complex nature. These studies have focused on various areas, such as the nature of reading comprehension, how it occurs, the factors that affect the process of comprehension, reading comprehension impediments, and how to…

Task-based language teaching (TBLT) is widely recognized as an effective approach for developing second language (L2) learners' English skills. However, its success often depends on the teacher's ability to design engaging tasks and dynamic learning platforms that foster active participation. While previous studies highlight the importance of…

More and more students with learning disabilities and other diverse learners are placed for instruction in general education classrooms, which often leaves teachers grappling to design successful peer interactions and literacy activities to meet the needs of all learners in their classrooms. As the shift is made to align literacy instruction to…

Use of the term Background knowledge, in conjunction with Reading Comprehension, has become convoluted and vague over the past several decades of research. Showing the abundance of uses of the term in multiple domains and disciplines has relegated it to being an automatic inclusion in key notes and conclusions of research on the topic of improving…

David Stephens, a 4th grade teacher in Washington State, was preparing a lesson plan about desert wildlife (all names are pseudonyms). He was planning on assigning his students the chapter book, "Desert Giant: The World of the Saguaro Cactus." The students had divergent knowledge about the topic. For example, Maryam had grown up in…

Reading comprehension is key to knowledge acquisition and to reinforcing memory for previous information. While reading, a mental representation is constructed in the reader's mind. The mental model comprises the words in the text, the relations between the words, and inferences linking to concepts in prior knowledge. The automated model of…

Vocabulary knowledge is one of the most important elements of reading comprehension. Text coverage is the proportion of known words in a given text. We hypothesize that text comprehension increases exponentially with text coverage due to network effects and activation of prior knowledge. In addition, the lexical threshold hypothesis states that…

According to theories of validation, people routinely check incoming information against prior knowledge during comprehension. On these theories, information is validated if it fits with prior knowledge. Some researchers argue that information needs to be successfully validated before being incorporated into the situation model. We report five…

Using a path analytic approach with a sample of Norwegian undergraduate readers, we investigated the effects of behavioral engagement on text comprehension as reflected in students' post-reading written reports on the topic in question. Results indicated that the behavioral engagement components of writing time and the length of the written…