In this study we assessed the effects of paragraph length on the reading speed and comprehension of students. Students were randomly assigned to one of three groups: short paragraph length (SPL), medium paragraph length (MPL), or long paragraph length (LPL). Students read a 1423 word text on a computer screen formatted to align with their group…

Describes a college reading rate improvement course in which students review reading research regarding the variables involved in reading and explicitly analyze their own reading behavior. Argues that students aware of their own reading behavior can better plan their reading assignments. (RS)

This study involved the use of interspersed questions as an instructional procedure to aid improvement in reading efficiency. Subjects, 86 college students enrolled in an undergraduate course in methods for teaching secondary reading, practiced (five times) reading nonfiction narrative selections, trying to increase their reading speed. The…

Discusses the method of repeated readings as an approach to improve the comprehension and decoding skills of disabled secondary and postsecondary school readers. (HOD)

Reports that reading rate gains that may have been derived from a film-aided speed reading course were not retained when the subjects encountered difficult reading material. (FL)

To help students develop techniques which lead to maximum reading efficiency, it is first necessary to help them develop a positive self-image. Growing evidence is focusing attention on self-image as the crucial determiner of progress. Poor progess in reading at the elementary level leads to poor self-image, which in turn hinders the student in…

The major purpose of this investigation was to determine the relative efficacy of two methods of teaching reading in a college learning-improvement project. Seventy students from undergraduate psychology classes were divided into two instructional groups and one control group. It was hypothesized that subjects receiving modified paperback scanning…

Three techniques for teaching effective reading--using students' textbooks, reading modules, and individual instructional packets--have proven successful in reducing reading time while improving comprehension skills for students in a reading and study skills course at a Texas university. Students assigned to the course use their content area…

Focusing on improving college students' reading efficiency, a study investigated whether a commercially-prepared computerized speed reading package, Speed Reader II, could be utilized as effectively as traditionally printed text. Subjects were 70 college freshmen from a college reading and rate improvement course with borderline scores on the…

This book is presented for teachers who do not use a reading course and who wish to produce their own material as well as for individuals developing materials for tailor-made courses. Various types of reading comprehension exercises are described and classified. The exercise-types suggested can be adapted for all reading levels. The book begins…

This paper, presented in English and in Spanish, presents a method designed to help foreign students in English-speaking universities increase their speed and comprehension while reading scientific and technical matter. The training of these students has often been limited to reading "general" English, which means that they are unable to…

This article discusses Japanese students' difficulties in reading English, overviews some of the problems of college English textbooks, presents the results of research on the subject, and discusses characteristics of measures of readability. Teaching methods that have proven effective with Japanese students and activities for engaging students in…

A thirty-hour skills-based reading program was designed for beginning-level ESL (English as a second language) students in the intensive English language program at Boston University. Reading was included as an essential component in the low-level college-preparatory ESL class for several reasons: (1) reading instruction and practice begin to…