"Motivating Literacy Learners in Today's World" provides insights into a broad spectrum of children's literacy learning. Motivation is the key theme and the authors show how this can be achieved through reading for pleasure; in writing activities at a number of levels; and through oral language development. Chapters include: (1)…

There is currently intense national and international interest in which particular methods of teaching reading are the most effective for early literacy acquisition. The great bulk of research work that is cited in these debates, however, focuses almost exclusively on the evaluation and comparison of particular programmes underpinned either by…

This paper reports on the inclusion of extensive reading in three separate 12-week courses taught by different teachers on an EAP programme at a New Zealand university. The inclusion of extensive reading was experimental and sought answers to two questions: would students respond positively to the extensive reading component, and how could…

Language-related differences between discrepancy-defined and non-discrepancy-defined poor readers were examined in a three-year longitudinal study that began at school entry. The discrepancy-defined (dyslexic) poor readers (n = 19) were identified in terms of poor reading comprehension and average or above average listening comprehension…

One of the key requirements of the Common Core State Standards for Reading is that all students must be able to comprehend texts of steadily increasing complexity as they progress through school. By the time they complete the core, students must be able to read and comprehend independently and proficiently the kinds of complex texts commonly found…

Basal texts are unheard of in New Zealand. Instead, teachers choose resources suiting their students' needs and teaching methods appropriate to a given syllabus. Additionally, reading, talking, and writing are inseparably interrelated, literacy foundations are laid in the early years, reading for meaning is paramount, and diverse instructional…

Discusses the dramatic demographic changes which have profoundly altered the reading programs in many New Zealand schools. Notes that more than a thousand schools and preschools teach bilingually or run immersion programs in a language other than English (such as Maori or Samoan). Suggests that reading is best taught in the language spoken at home…

The 1970 International Educational Achievement (IEA) survey placed New Zealand's nine and fourteen year olds first in reading achievement in comparison with all other participating countries. Literacy educators the world over have studied New Zealand's methods and classroom environments, and its approaches to reading/writing instruction have been…

Found eight-year-old British children less accurate at rejecting psuedohomophones than at rejecting ordinary nonwords in a lexical decision task. New Zealand children did not show the effect. Argues that the difference stems from British children's dependency on sounding out words. (SAK)

For the second of two volumes dealing with the effective use of instructional materials to teach reading, this booklet describes the participants and outcomes of a regional seminar on the use of reading instruction materials and textbooks held in New Zealand. The first section of the booklet provides an overview of the seminar, including…

Integrated approaches to the teaching of reading and writing being used in classrooms in Australia and New Zealand are described in this booklet. The first part of the booklet presents theoretical background on how children learn to talk and the reading and writing processes. The second and third parts of the booklet describe ways of putting…

Investigates the effects of prior provision of context on the reading behavior of an above-average reader. Results indicate that discussion of context, through examining relevant illustrations, answering questions, and introducing new words, significantly decreased errors and slightly increased the amount of self-correction. (Author/GEA)

Noting that most educators would agree that whole language no longer looks the same, this book collects eight articles written by whole language advocates and practitioners from New Zealand, Australia, and the United States that focus on the changes, growth, and development that have occurred in whole language both in philosophy and practice. They…

Australia and New Zealand have a literacy rate of 99% (Human Development Index). Each country has a national curriculum where early literacy is the main emphasis. The author visited public schools in Australia and New Zealand to observe teaching methods utilized in teaching reading and writing. Some impressions were noted while observing in these…

Argues that discussions in the United States of "balanced reading" ignore decades of successful reading instruction in New Zealand based on "Balanced Reading Programmes," that embrace more complex constructions on instructional practice than do current discussions surrounding balanced reading instruction in the United States.…