Conformity to Standard English, ethnic background, socioeconomic status (SES), and modes of presentation were investigated to determine the influence of these four factors on reading comprehension among fifth graders. Homogeneous groups within four experimental categories were formulated: middle SES white students, low SES white students, middle…

The comparative effectiveness of correlated listening-reading and reading-only comprehension lessons was studied using high school retarded readers with varying sensory modality learning preferences. Over a one-semester period, comparable lessons were taught to two groups matched for IQ, age, reading grade level, and freedom from sensory defects.…

This guide suggests a number of activities for the development of listening and speaking skills. It contains learning activities for kindergarten through grade 12 in aural comprehension, listening participation, auditory discrimination, speaking participation, delivery in speaking, and content in speaking. The guide is one of several planned for a…

This teaching guide provides instruction in the use of language laboratories and the administration of various types of exercises. The audio-active and audio-active-compare laboratories are described, and arguments for each are offered. After a brief discussion of the choice of material to be learned, an analysis of the following methods for…

This article outlines a plan for developing listening comprehension materials for advanced students of English as a second language, based on formal and informal speech samples of natural discourse. (CFM)

Summarizes current trends in second language acquisition research and suggests their implications for teaching. Five second language acquisition principles are presented, followed by a discussion of the relevant literature and a description of language teaching practices consistent with each principle. (SED)

Studies the effects of two comprehension training methods (one based on imagery and inferencing, the other based on text structure) on various aspects of third and fifth graders' reading performance. Results indicate that neither method had a measurable impact on reading comprehension nor on metacognitive knowledge of the reading process. (RS)

Describes various activities designed for use in the reading classroom, including (1) cooperative learning activities; (2) reading and writing activities; (3) ways to improve comprehension; and (4) ways to encourage independent reading. (FL)

Explains how to ask questions that will help students focus on structure and better understand expository text. Notes that because students must make both internal and external connections to text structure, teachers should ask questions which prompt students to identify the relationships among ideas in a text so that meaningful learning can…

Argues that sufficient adaptivity in computer-assisted language learning materials for individual study can be achieved only if such programs are able to perform meaningful error analysis and fit the needs of individual learners. Other effective elements of the program include collecting information on learning and performance histories of…

Describes an investigation into whether second language learners use knowledge of their first language to comprehend and produce idioms in the second language. Results showed identical idioms were the easiest to comprehend, similar idioms were comprehended almost as well, and different idioms were the most difficult to comprehend and produce.…

The study sought to ascertain whether four structurally different instructional strategies would have statistically significant differential effects on the science and reading-language skills of seventh-grade students. The findings indicated that the three experimental strategies and one control method did have differential effects on the…

Suggests using the Hispanic literature of the American Southwest to teach Spanish in elementary school. Describes specific classroom practices using, as an example, a specific short story as well as games and activities that can be used in conjunction with the story. (SED)

Describes an experiment whose principal aim was to examine how a classroom silent period, devoted almost exclusively to aural comprehension, operates. In the case of the French adult learners of English involved in this study, 60 hours proved to be a satisfactory period. (SED)

Describes a schema-theoretic view of how analogies enhance students' prior knowledge; reviews some of the recent studies using analogies to assist students' comprehension of science text; and illustrates the use of an analogical study guide in biology. (HOD)