A short newspaper or magazine article can be used by teachers and librarians to boost students' reading comprehension, increase background knowledge, and enhance vocabulary skills. This method can be a powerful bridge to reading longer articles and eventually lead to reading entire books. This article presents a few types of articles for…

This study aims to investigate the vocabulary problems in the academic writing of MA ELT Libyan students in Nottingham Trent University. For this purpose, two research questions were posed and the answers to these questions were provided and discussed. The data for the study were collected via two questionnaires (preliminary and main…

According to a 2010 report by ACT, "Only 31 percent of students are performing at a college-and-career reading level with respect to successfully understanding complex text" (p. 5). This statistic demonstrates what educators know: Middle and high school students face numerous challenges in reading, understanding, connecting to, and…

Purpose: To examine the effect of a systematic vocabulary instructional technique in African American 2nd-grade children with below average vocabulary skills. An additional goal was to examine the role of book type in the retention of novel vocabulary words. Method: Using an adapted alternating treatments design, storybooks were used as a source…

Teacher organization is a crucial part of classroom functioning; however, its relation to student achievement has not been investigated as extensively as that of instruction. In this study, organization is defined as the amount of time teachers spend explaining the purpose and procedures of learning activities and daily routines. Data from…

The purpose of this study was to examine effective ways to integrate an interactive whiteboard, podcast, and digital storytelling for language proficiency development in English language learners. Researchers integrated these three technologies into a 60-hour intensive summer English program and investigated their impacts on student vocabulary…

The present study aims to advance the extant research base by evaluating the implementation and effectiveness of an academic vocabulary program designed for use in mainstream middle school classrooms with high proportions of language minority learners. The quasi-experimental, mixed-methods study was conducted in 21 classes (13 treatment matched to…

Research has documented the large differences in young children's vocabulary knowledge. In light of the strong relationship between vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension, this gap is particularly worrisome and points to the critical need for well-articulated vocabulary instruction across the grades. The author describes character trait…

This case study examines the use of two assistive technologies, the Franklin Language Master 6000b and Microsoft PowerPoint 2003, as visual support systems to aid in the vocabulary acquisition skills of a student with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The intervention used children's literature and best practices in teaching vocabulary skills in…

This three-part weather-themed lesson for young learners connects weather, clothing, and feelings vocabulary. The target structures covered are: asking about the weather; comparing weather; using the modal auxiliary, should; and the question word, when. The lessons utilize all four skills and include such activities as going outside, singing,…

The theme for the 58th annual conference of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers (ALER) was Bridging Cultures Through Literacy. In the first section of the Yearbook, Parker Fawson's presidential address captures the unique nature of ALER and its role in his professional development, and then moved beyond to capture the changing…

High school teacher Amy R. Hardwick-Ivey loves teaching vocabulary. She describes numerous activities that increase students' understanding of the nuances of language and their confidence in using language well.

This article describes six games that instructors of German can use with students from the first year of high school or first semester of German through the fourth year of high school or fourth semester of college German and beyond. Unlike other games in which students must wait their turn to practice their language skills, these games engage the…

Many children struggle to learn to read, and these difficulties can persist well into adulthood. To address this problem, researchers have investigated the processes that underlie reading. An informative body of work has thus identified basic skills (e.g., decoding, vocabulary knowledge) as necessary for successful reading. Researchers also have…

Offers examples of innovative approaches to teaching the new microcomputer vocabulary. (Available from: Modern Learning Publishers, Inc., 6517 Liggett, Oakland, CA 94611, $14.) (AEA)