Studies 10 undergraduate university students who were given intensive instruction in metacognitive strategies, which highlighted metacognition and executive control in the reading process. Finds the students (1) understood and applied metacognitive strategies in their personal reading; but (2) applied little of these strategies in tutoring and…

Based on the idea that knowing which words to use and how to use them are keys to an individual's getting the most from his or her mind, this book aims to improve people's vocabularies. To find out which words should be known, research into the vocabularies of educated adults was conducted by "The Princeton Review." Newspapers from…

The three tests that make up this instrument are designed to assess the oral communication, grammatical fluency, and vocabulary development of students for whom English is a second language. The spoken English test comes in two versions: one with 90 items on a cassette tape, the other with 90 items to be read aloud by the examiner. Each version is…

This study compared item difficulty and item discrimination indices for parallel multiple-choice items in three content areas: measurement concepts, statistical terminology, and synonyms. The statistics and measurement items were administered in classes where graduate students taking the test were studying the content. Vocabulary items represented…

A study of the vocabulary adequacy of college students using words from a daily newspaper duplicated an earlier study using words from "Reader's Digest" which indicated a low level of adequacy. Two groups of 295 and 397 college juniors and seniors in teacher education courses indicated on a list of 80 words taken from a daily newspaper which ones…

A study of the vocabulary and comprehension scores of juniors and seniors at Marygrove College was conducted during the winter term of 1983 in order to determine the reading levels needed for success in upper division courses. Because the research was designed to determine the reading levels needed for successful study, students on academic…

Content area teachers should be aware of the five levels of vocabulary with which their students must cope. The five levels include standard words at the least complex level, transitional terms that have different meanings in the content area than in standard usage, technical terms specific to the subject area, changeable terms (similar to…

A technique is described for eliciting true communication in the elementary German classroom which is also applicable to more advanced study. Students define simple words in German and are encouraged to help one another build a cumulative definition. The instructor reinforces the concept of language as a social activity. (SW)

Two experiments were conducted to study one facet of verbal intelligence--the ability of adolescents and adults to use a lexical decomposition strategy to define prefixed words. Subjects in grades 8, 10, 11, and college were given a multiple-choice vocabulary test. Results provided partial support for a theory of internal context use. (Author/LMO)

Divides texts into two groups, the first of which teaches a selected group of words; the second teaches strategies for learning vocabulary as well as teaching a selected group of words. (EL)

Presents a method for teaching Greek and Latin work forms to promote comprehensive knowledge and improve retention. A self-study text is used in the class (meeting one-hour weekly), with students responsible for teaching creative games which utilize the scientific vocabulary. (JM)

This study compares college freshmen's reading test scores over 50 years. The 1978 freshmen at the University of Minnesota scored significantly lower than their 1928 counterparts on vocabulary, comprehension, and reading rate. (Author/PN)

Notes that teaching techniques used to "build" vocabulary are not based on the ways most people acquire vocabulary. Discusses the problems and possibilities of expanding students' language usage. (RL)

Administered tests of cognition, language, and metaphor interpretation to 3 groups of 15 students: native English speakers (NESs) and 2 groups of students in an English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) course. ESL students performed less well than NESs on decontextualized measures of vocabulary and verbal analogies but equally well on measures derived…

Presents an economics terminology puzzle based on economic factors and vocabulary. Requires students to recall economic terms and subsequently apply these terms to economic concepts. Provides an answer key. (CFR)