This book is relevant for language testers, listening researchers, and oral proficiency teachers, in that it explores four broad themes related to the assessment of L2 listening ability: the use of authentic, real-world spoken texts; the effects of different speech varieties of listening inputs; the use of audio-visual texts; and assessing…

Comprehension tests are often used interchangeably, suggesting an implicit assumption that they are all measuring the same thing. We examine the validity of this assumption by comparing some of the most popular reading comprehension measures used in research and clinical practice in the United States: the Gray Oral Reading Test (GORT), the two…

Compares the effects of audio and audiovisual presentation on young children's cognitive processing while explicitly controlling the amount and complexity of information. (HOD)

The authors reviewed studies on teaching reading comprehension to students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) with a focus on text (academic reading) comprehension and sight word (functional) comprehension. Eleven of 754 studies met the inclusion criteria: participants with ASD, published in English in a peer-reviewed journal, and use of an…

Investigates developmental changes in adopted and nonadopted children's knowledge of adoption. A total of 200 children ranging in age from 4 to 13 years participated. Results indicated clear developmental trends in children's knowledge of the nature of the adoptive family relationship, as well as in their understanding of the motivational basis…

Reports on a controlled experiment that compared cloze procedure (human tendency to complete a familiar but not quite finished pattern) and comprehension quiz as measures of computer program understanding. Program comprehension measures, experimental materials, administration, and results are highlighted. Twenty-six references and sample questions…

Findings suggest that semantic knowledge for concrete objects is represented and organized in similar ways in autistic, retarded, and normal children. Previous findings on cognitive deficits in autistic children are more likely related to their inability to use cognitive representations in an appropriate and flexible manner. (Author/RH)

Since an author does not provide all critical information, a text is never fully explicit; it demands that the reader/listener supply missing elements in order to form a coherent and logical whole. A study was conducted to explore both the types of responses urban first grade students made when asked to predict a narrative ending and differences…

Western and Chinese children six years of age judged that an initially intense positive or negative emotional reaction would wane gradually over time. Children four years of age were less consistent, but, when steps were taken to insure their comprehension, they too judged that emotion wanes gradually over time. (Author/RH)

This study investigated the use readers make of visual and verbal illustration to understand and remember what they have read. Specific focus was placed on readers' use of pictures and analogies to understand and remember written directions for a spatial manipulation task. The independent variables measured were type of text, mode of illustration,…

This study found significantly better lipreading scores by 31 children with hearing impairments than by 15 children with normal hearing (all 10 and 11 years old). However, correlations between degree of hearing loss and lipreading ability were nonsignificant. The study provides partial support for the doctrine of sensory compensation. (DB)

This study provides a cross-sectional and longitudinal examination of the narrative language skills of reading-disabled and normally achieving children. The investigation was made to illuminate language processes involved in these skills and to assess how these processes relate to reading achievement over time. (Author/RH)

The Nature of Science Scale (NOSS) was administered to 21 preservice students in a science teaching methods course. Their performance was compared to that of 24 preservice teachers who took the NOSS in 1969. Results show that the 1984 group was significantly higher than the 1969 group. (JN)

Differences in comprehension, production, and appreciation of humor were explored among a total of 47 second and fourth graders, of whom 26 fourth graders had learning disabilities or developmental handicaps. Although children without disabilities comprehended cartoons better, no production differences were observed. (Author/DB)

Applies the analytic technique of maximum likelihood factor analysis to the intercorrelations of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised's subtests as a means for assessing more or less differentiation and integration. (HOD)