This mixed-methods study investigated the impact of musical lyrics and working memory capacities on second language (L2) English reading comprehension among adult Chinese native speakers. Participants were 57 adult ESL learners with advanced L2 proficiency, divided into high and low working memory capacity groups based on a pre-test. They…

There is currently limited investigation of readers' comprehension of AI simplified text from the perspective of educators, but such research can help to more effectively address the specific needs and perspectives of language teachers and learners regarding the comprehensibility of AI simplified text. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to…

This experimental study examined the effect of answering strategic adjunct questions (AQs) on L2 reading comprehension and strategy use. Participants were 124 Chinese intermediate advanced EFL learners from a large public university in China. Of them, 24 and 100 participated in the pilot study and formal study, respectively. Participants read two…

Engineering undergraduates face difficulties in comprehending discipline-specific study materials because the reading skill has been neglected at the school-level, and the students themselves have not been motivated adequately to read. This paper hypothesizes that instruction-sessions on reading strategies enable tertiary-level learners to…

This study examined the effects of relevance instructions on English as a foreign language (EFL) readers' text processing and memories. The participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: the experimental condition, where they read texts to identify a specific category of information, and the control condition, where they read texts…

This paper proposes a new theoretical framework for reading instruction in second/foreign language classrooms. The theoretical framework introduced in this paper is called the Schematic Information-Processing (SIP) model of reading comprehension and is a combination of video-based instruction and various reading comprehension theories, models, and…

This study explores how vocabulary learning strategy usage and skills in the four language domains relate to participants' increase in vocabulary size and to the learning of specific vocabulary items over a certain period of time. Sixty-one advanced L1 Arabic L2 learners of English read target words in semi-authentic reading materials and were…

The present studies examined the effects of varying degrees of unfamiliar vocabulary within written discourse on individuals' abilities to use linguistic context for the purposes of translation and comprehension (i.e., lexical inferencing). Prose varied in the number of foreign words introduced into each sentence (e.g., 0 through 7 content words…

In this paper, we first introduce functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), followed by a review of three themes of neuroimaging research on the neural correlates of reading-related skills: (1) typical and struggling readers, including developmental dyslexics, (2) an inverted U-shaped function in second language reading that portrays an…

This paper presents findings from an approximate replication of Erten and Razi (2009), which investigated the effects of cultural familiarity and reading activities on comprehension. Two variables were modified in the replication: participants' first language (L1) and proficiency. Cultural referents were manipulated in a short story to make them…

This pilot study is a mixed-methods sequential explanatory study that investigated the effects of watching text-relevant video segments supported by the Schematic Information-Processing (SIP) model of reading comprehension on reading comprehension of adult speakers of English as a Second Language (ESL) in terms of text familiarity and the…

This study explores the effect of prior discipline-related knowledge in reading comprehension for two groups of students of Spanish as a Heritage Language (SHL). The first group (G1), had 22 students enrolled in a general Spanish course and the second (G2), had 18 students enrolled in a course of Spanish for medical professions. The aim was to…

Over the past decade, second language (L2) humor has attracted scholarly attention as both a means and a goal of L2 development. Much of this research, however, has focused on oral communication, whereas virtually no studies address humor as an aspect of reading comprehension. This exploratory study combines these two areas of inquiry, examining…

The article focuses on defining how background knowledge impacts on second-language acquisition by giving a brief overview of schema theory, the interaction of the basic modes of information processing. A challenge of dealing with culturally specific texts in second language acquisition is also touched upon. Different research-supported views on…

Analysis of the different methods of teaching English has become increasingly important as the subject of global Englishes receives greater attention. In Asia, more educators have been using textbooks that are culturally specific in their design; however, a limited number of studies have been conducted that demonstrate their practical efficacy.…