Research evidence suggests that the most important condition for language learning is hearing it spoken often and well. Central to a language program must be the cultivation of listening skills. Such training not only enhances the likelihood of success in learning a second language, but careful discrimination is essential for all learning. (26…

Reviews research on effective strategies for teaching reading comprehension; written composition of narrative and expository text; and strategies for integrating reading and writing. Provides a set of teaching guidelines after each research review. Argues for teaching reading and writing as connected processes that have similar structures. (RS)

This article reviews current knowledge in three areas: (1) characteristics of mild/moderate hearing loss; (2) the information-bearing aspects of speech; and (3) the relationship between the electroacoustic characteristics of hearing aids and the speech signal. Implications for selecting hearing aids are drawn. (Author/DB)

Investigated the source of agrammatic aphasic patients' difficulty comprehending semantically reversible sentences. Found approximately equal distributions of three distinct patterns. Results conflict with explanations of comprehension failure which state that a single pattern of performance on sentence structures characterizes comprehension of…

Considers what research has revealed about the development of understanding by young children. Discusses what the "Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage" of the national curriculum of the United Kingdom has to say in terms of that research. The published guidance makes it quite clear that the early years curriculum differs from…

Reviews theory and research on cross-national (Asian versus American) differences in academic achievement and shows that current research has made claims about achievement motivation with little regard for contemporary theory and formed broad assumptions about the influence of culture while paying only cursory attention to cultural contexts of…

Discusses how educators are increasingly recognizing the value of instruction that focuses on developing metacognitive skills, or comprehensive strategies for thinking and independent learning. Summarizes research on metacognitive reading skills and then describes two sample classroom exercises to teach these skills to developmental college…

Expository text is often neglected in the elementary school curriculum even though most of the reading that children do in school is of that type. Most of the research that demonstrates the importance of text structure in reading comprehension and the benefits that accrue from instruction in text structure deals with children at or above the 4th…

English language learners (ELLs) with disabilities struggle with reading and the reasons for their struggles are not well understood owing to little knowledge about the impact of disability on language development in either the first or second language (Klingner et al., 2006). Nevertheless, this difficulty in reading achievement historically has…

Nassaji and Geva (1999) concluded that lower level processes, particularly efficiency in phonological and orthographic processing contributed significantly to individual differences in adult ESL reading. Moreover, they reported that speed of letter naming, while not directly associated with reading comprehension, was related to linguistic…

Traditional reading methods have not focused on the language of students in the classroom as an important component of teaching reading. Language researchers have discovered that expressive oral language is an important component of reading instruction. There are several suggestions for the promotion of good language development that have been…

One of a series of educational packages designed for implementation either in a workshop atmosphere or through individual study, this Hot Topic guide presents a variety of materials to assist educators in designing and implementing classroom projects and activities centering on the topic of research about teaching reading. The Hot Topic guide…

This book examines the methods, materials, outcomes, and technologies of past literacy practice, with special focus on the teaching of reading comprehension. The book presents a study of published texts on reading comprehension instruction in America in the "preresearch" period (1783-1910), as well as published research reports from 1910 through…

The question of how children come to understand how the orthography of English works has been a central issue in reading research for well over 100 years. Reading educators have developed what they believe to be helpful conclusions and explanations for the development of orthographic word knowledge as it relates to reading, writing, and…

In its report "Becoming a Nation of Readers," the Commission on Reading defines reading as the process of constructing meaning from written texts, a view of reading that makes the use of strategies seem probable. If a book is a source of partial information, and readers are supposed to use knowledge they already possess to determine the…