The increased interest in reading comprehension by researchers in fields other than reading education is noted in this paper. In addition, the concerns of the new researchers in reading are described, some of the terms they are using are explained, and the implications of their findings for reading instruction are explored. The interests of researchers from fields such as linguistics, psychology, and artificial intelligence are noted in the areas of the relation of reading comprehension to schemata, the differences between spoken and written discourse and the particular difficulties inherent in written discourse, and the uses of questioning strategies. Similarities between the information provided from schema theory as it relates to background information or world knowledge and common instructional practices such as directed reading activities are noted, as is the usefulness of schema theory as it relates to story grammar in stories commonly read by beginning readers. The study of written discourse is said to provide more information on readability and to point out the need for reading teachers to know more about anaphoric devices. Finally, the paper reviews studies of questioning strategies, cautions about overgeneralizing from isolated research studies with college students, and emphasizes the need for long-term research and more research with children. (MKM)