Background: This paper estimates the causal effects of an intervention under the UK-funded Partnership for Learning for All in Nigeria (PLANE). PLANE is a seven-year (2021-2028) early literacy and numeracy program that aims to improve student outcomes in Northwest Nigeria. In this region, fewer than 28% of children and youth. Numerous factors…

Eye-tracking is primarily used as a tool to capture attentional processes in second language (L2) research. However, it is feasible to design visual displays that can react to and interact with eye-movements in technology-mediated contexts. We explored whether gaze-contingency can foster L2 development by drawing attention to novel words…

This experiment investigated comprehension monitoring in children learning English as an additional language (EAL) compared to monolinguals. Sixty-three 9-10-year-old children read texts containing an internal inconsistency (e.g. a barking kitten vs. barking puppy) while their eye movements were monitored. Standardized tests measured word reading…

We examined the independent contributions of prosodic sensitivity and morphological awareness to word reading, text reading accuracy, and reading comprehension. We did so in a longitudinal study of English-speaking children (N = 70). At 5-7 years of age, children completed the metalinguistic measures along with control measures of phonological…

Narrative production draws upon linguistic, cognitive and pragmatic skills, and is subject to substantial individual differences. This study aimed to characterise the development of narrative production in late childhood and to assess whether children's cumulative experience of reading fiction is associated with individual differences in narrative…

This study follows a small group of learners in the UK to the end of a graded reading program using the Cambridge Readers and investigates whether this particular graded reading series provides a bridge to reading unsimplified novels for pleasure. The participants' reading comprehension, reading rates, vocabulary text coverage, and overall affect…

Public policy continues to grapple with the fact that the most powerful factor determining literacy levels--the home learning environment--lies outside of its control. Tickell's recent review of the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum has called for the early years curriculum to be recast as a partnership curriculum jointly owned by settings…

In the componential approach to modelling reading ability, a number of contributory factors have been empirically validated. However, research on their relative contribution to explaining performance on second language reading tests is limited. Furthermore, the contribution of knowledge of syntax has been largely ignored in comparison with the…

The progress made by adults in dedicated mainstream basic skills provision in England and Wales and factors associated with students' progress were examined. Of the 2,135 students from 71 colleges of further education and local education authorities who took the reading pretest, 1,224 (57%) took the reading posttest. Writing scripts were received…