How can teachers motivate students to read extensively in a second language? One strategy is for teachers to read aloud to students to promote the joys of reading generally, to build students' language skills and to introduce students to specific authors, book series, genres, websites, etc. This article begins by discussing why teachers might want…

My goal in this article is to discuss the empirical support for extensive reading and explore its pedagogical applications in L2/FL learning. I argue that the benefits derived from diverse studies on extensive reading in many different contexts are so compelling that it will be inconceivable for teachers not to make it an important feature of…

Offers an outline of what research says about silent reading and comprehension. Presents suggestions to help children learn to read silently.

Discusses the use of performance contracts to teach reading to secondary school students in classes classified as "corrective,""developmental," and "enrichment." (HOD)

Everyone knows that students from disadvantaged backgrounds, who are not well prepared for school, have the toughest time making the grade. But what hasn't been so clear is what schools can do about it ... until now. Here at last is a book that spells out how to overcome the deficiencies that hamper the achievement of so many students. Learn why…

"Focus on Basics" is the quarterly publication of the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy. It presents best practices, current research on adult learning and literacy, and how research is used by adult basic education teachers, counselors, program administrators, and policymakers. "Focus on Basics" is dedicated to…

Discusses (1) strategies that make learning disabled adolescents independent in subject area classrooms, (2) the use of medieval rhetoric to help modern students expand their writing, and (3) students' opinions of sustained silent reading. (NKA)

Representing the expertise of university education professors and public school teachers, the articles in these proceedings focus on encouraging reading and fostering lifelong reading habits. Titles of the papers and their authors are as follows: (1) "Television and Books: Friends or Foes" (Jeannetta H. Caplan); (2) "Encouraging the…

This presentation describes how to use reading to improve second language acquisition. Part 1, "Building Awareness of Reading Habits and Attitudes," has students report their habits and attitudes about reading in English and their native language and recognize the importance of reading for improving English skills. Part 2, "Choosing a Book," has…

Intended for language arts teachers of the upper elementary grades, this guide suggests vocabulary and discussion questions for teaching novels. The questions are on an inferential level of interpretation, rather than literal, and address such topics as style, technique, and plot development. Novels for which questions are provided are: (1)…

Two model programs for integrating the language arts and specific lessons that integrate language arts activities for kindergarten through grade 12 are described in this booklet. The two programs are (1) the New Brunswick Comprehensive Reading/Language Arts Program, which has five critical experiences as the core of the program: sustained silent…

This study, involving 8 Hispanic males (ages 7-10) with speech/language impairments, found that having the teacher discuss a story's key words and read aloud while students read the story silently was more effective than just having students read orally and more effective than discussing key words and having students read silently. (Author/JDD)

Outlines five variations of the Directed Reading Thinking Activity that can help students become independent readers of narrative text. (NKA)

Affective reading instruction teaches mildly handicapped children to read by improving their attitudes toward reading through oral and silent reading of children's literature. The paper outlines steps involved in program implementation, reading activities used in conjunction with skill training, parent involvement, use of extrinsic rewards,…

A substantial body of reading research indicates that poor readers would become much more successful if teachers pretended that they were actually good readers. First, research suggests that teachers should provide poor readers with more silent and less oral reading time, thereby furnishing them with more reading experience that emphasizes meaning…