An experiment was conducted to investigate methods that enable college students to learn the meaning of unknown words as they read discipline-specific academic text. Forty-one college students read specific passages aloud during three sessions. Participants were randomly assigned to three vocabulary learning interventions or a control condition.…

TEACHING A CLASS HOW TO READ AN ESSAY INCLUDES LISTENING, DISCUSSING, AND WRITING, IN ADDITION TO READING. IN THEIR LITERATURE COURSES, THE AUTHORS BEGIN THE PROCESS AT THE FIRST MEETING, USING EITHER THE PRESCRIBED TEXT OR DUPLICATED MATERIALS. PRELIMINARY READING BY THE CLASS IS FOLLOWED BY DISCUSSION BASED ON STUDENT QUESTIONS, ANALYSIS, AND…

Describes the method used by Gateway Community College (Arizona) to teach study skills within the context of content area courses. Staff from the Learning Assistance Center present techniques for study-reading, memorizing, vocabulary development, time management, and test taking. (DMM)

Reading, vocabulary enlargement, and the cause and effect essay are stressed as activities students can pursue on their own to improve their writing. (HTH)

A project to develop word lists for first-year English as a second language instruction at Osaka Jogakuin Junior College (Japan) is described. The lists were drawn from high-frequency vocabulary lists, with word selection based on course unit themes and rhetorical patterns. These include: introduction/people and places; women's issues;…

On the basis of responses from (1) 133 of 379 industries in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota to which questionnaires were distributed, (2) 14 interviews with technicians in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and (3) seven technical schools which submitted copies of their 2-semester English programs, the author correlated a recommended English program with the…

A study investigated the effects of computer-assisted instruction on the vocabulary development of college students enrolled in a developmental reading program at a two-year college of a metropolitan, midwestern university. The subjects were 41 entry level students, 98% of whom had never used computers as an instructional tool. The students were…

Interdisciplinary approaches to the study of psychology can be employed to provide a continuity between the various subjects a student encounters in college. One approach--a total push remediation program--is exemplified by a project involving representatives of the psychology and physical education departments, as well as interested students, in…

This guide summarizes the information and techniques presented on an audiotape designed to teach students to use the keyword method to memorize new words. First, introductory comments provide a rationale for the development of the materials and a discussion of their use at Lane Community College. Next, a summary is provided of the key word method,…

A computer assisted tutoring program developed at the Southwest Collegeate Institute for the Deaf is designed to improve deaf students' active vocabulary. An improvement of up to 60 percent in understanding science concepts has been observed among users of the program. (Author/CL)

Notes that emphasizing word choice is important in freshman composition classes. (MKM)

Discusses how defining key terms in context helps students understand and retain concepts. Considers how implementing small-group discussion dramatically changed the classroom dynamics and involved more students in the discovery process. Finds that in small peer groups, students are more inclined to ask questions and help each other clarify their…

This study investigated the effect of signal words on the comprehension of 103 first year community college students. The signal words studied were cause and effect, comparison-contrast, chronological, and enumerative words. A 40 paragraph comprehension test consisting of five different paragraphs for each of eight signal words and a test…

This is one of two volumes of papers drawn from the twenty-first annual meeting of the National Reading Conference held in 1971. Focusing on junior college and college reading programs and problems, the 40 papers are arranged into the following categories: designs for programs, special admission students, ethnically different students, adult…

Five units of instruction for teaching vocabulary and higher order thinking skills in foreign language classes are presented. Introductory material considers the differences between language fluency and communication, and lists higher order thinking skills as: (1) classifying, verifying, hypothesizing; (2) making associations and generalizing; (3)…