This paper, the last of seven, part of an interdisciplinary project on the context of reading and reading research that explores similarities and dissimilarities in the response to literature in readers from different cultures, supplies the "Folktale project" with readers' statements which can be used for the construction of a…

Investigating the reading habits of adults in Egypt, East Africa, a study examined 294 Egyptians (233 males and 61 females) in post-secondary education in Cairo, and in the industrial cities of Shopra El-Khema, and Impapa, El-Giza. Marital status, sex, and occupation were used to group the subjects. Subjects completed a 29-item questionnaire…

Computer-based reading programs have been used at the City Educational Clinic in Canberra, Australia, to improve the reading skills of children who are "reading disabled." Children interacted with the computer via a graphic display, touch sensitive screen, and synthesized speech. The first program taught a basic sight vocabulary and…

The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) is an assessment of reading comprehension of nine-year-olds in 35 countries and was conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). This report compares findings from the United States with other countries and takes a closer look at…

Studies and practices in which parents help children with oral reading are reviewed. The paper argues against techniques which focus on only the mechanical aspects of reading. The paper describes a program for training parents as tutors which uses transcripts of parent/child interactions during the reading process to show reading development.…

A study in two South African schools investigated the impact of encouraging free, voluntary reading on the English language skills of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learners. Subjects were 139 fourth- through seventh-grade students in an experimental group and 105 students in a control group. Pretests of reading comprehension were administered…

This paper, number eight in an ongoing series, is part of an interdisciplinary project on the context of reading and reading research that explores similarities and dissimilarities in the response to literature in readers from different cultures. Presented are the written responses from 129 readers in Denmark, Greenland, Great Britain, India, and…

This paper, number nine in an ongoing series, is part of an interdisciplinary project on the context of reading and reading research that explores similarities and dissimilarities in the response to literature in readers from different cultures. Presented are the written responses from 137 readers in Denmark, Greenland, Great Britain, India, and…

This paper, number 10 in an ongoing series, is part of an interdisciplinary project on the context of reading and reading research that explores similarities and dissimilarities in the response to literature in readers from different cultures. Presented are the written responses from 140 readers in Denmark, Greenland, Great Britain, India, and…

Approximately 1200 Danish school children aged 8, 11, and 14 participated in a questionnaire study under the caption, "Why I like to read." Data from Denmark formed part of an international study, in which 12 other countries used the same questionnaire to explore various functions of reading and to compare them over different countries.…

A cross-age tutoring program--using a highly structured tutoring method, an administrative reporting system, and home based reinforcement--was implemented and evaluated in six Ontario, Canada, schools. The subjects were 50 students with reading scores at least six months below grade level. These students were placed either in an experimental group…

Imagine what a difference it would make if every child loved to read. Every teacher knows the difference that a love of reading makes to a child's performance; reading opens so many doors. However, research has long shown not only that men and boys in the developed world lag behind women and girls when it comes to engaging with reading. Thus…

Korean people are among the most passionate about reading. The number of new book titles published in South Korea in 2003 was 35,371 and the total number of printed copies was 111,450,224. Its publishing market reached $2.3 billion. To encourage the publishing and printing movement, the Korean government developed a draft law to revitalize the…

Papers presented at a roundtable session on research on reading at the 1985 International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) conference provide an international and historical perspective on reading. They include: (1) "Research on Reading in Czechoslovakia" (H. Kolarova-Palkova, Czechoslovakia), a historical account of the development of…

This report, based on a recent survey of over 8,000 primary and secondary pupils in England, explores why some pupils choose to read and others do not. The research literature shows that reading for pleasure benefits children in numerous ways. Yet, research also shows that young people's reading enjoyment may be declining. Given current political…