We sought to clarify whether the positive association between music lessons and reading ability is explained better by shared resources for processing pitch and temporal information, or by general cognitive abilities. Participants were native and nonnative speakers of English with varying levels of music training. We measured reading ability…

Recent research on reading comes from a variety of different kinds of studies all of which report the same bleak picture of college students' and adults' reading abilities. Researchers, theorists and faculty members can benefit from this detailed review of the various types of studies. These include large scale direct tests of reading ability in…

A study tested several possible explanations of why the reading literacy levels in Newfoundland and Labrador (Canada) are lower than those in the rest of Canada. Reading literacy was chosen as the focus of analysis for three reasons: (1) the reading score was the most consistent of the three direct measures of literacy; (2) the reading and…

A study examined the reading problems of adults in Newfoundland (Canada) with low reading ability. It explored the genesis of these problems through a retrospective analysis of their lives as school children; and determined the relationship between literacy development and personal background factors, school factors, physiological factors, and…

Over the last two decades it has become clear that there is a strong relationship between literacy and health. It is known, for example, that people who are less literate are more likely to have poorer mental and physical health than those who are more literate. It is also known that people with lower levels of literacy have difficulty reading…