Purpose: One challenge to the design and delivery of effective vocabulary intervention is the selection of vocabulary targets. The purpose of this study was to examine the relation of word characteristics to vocabulary learning from explicit vocabulary intervention. Method: This study was a secondary analysis of data from two recent efficacy…

This study examines the relationship of the underlying skills of printing, spelling and vocabulary choices as they influence the quality of writing at the end of Grade 2. Four classes of Grade 2 (N = 85) writing in response to an expository prompt were scored holistically on a trait based rubric, then scored for spelling accuracy and…

This dissertation consists of three studies that investigate the extent to which speakers and listeners can and do plan ahead during production and comprehension. Study 1 investigates the attentional requirements of word selection. In two dual-task experiments, subjects categorized tones and then named pictures while word selection difficulty was…

Students may excel in computation, but their ability to apply their skills will suffer if they do not understand the math vocabulary used in instructions and story problems. This action research project examines two methods for strengthening students' ability to communicate mathematically: (1) Journal writing and peer discussion; and (2) The…

Background: This study examines the role of decoding and vocabulary skills as longitudinal predictors of reading comprehension in young first (L1) and second (L2) language learners. Methods: Two-group latent growth models were used to assess differences in growth and predictions of growth between the 198 L1 and 90 L2 language learners. Results: L1…

Using a sequential mixed-methods design, this study examined the differences between two native language groups--those with an East Asian language background and those with a Romance language background--in regard to reading subskills as represented in the Michigan English Language Assessment Battery (MELAB) reading test, so as to provide…

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…

Presents a model of the hierarchy or gradations of a student's knowledge of things and the words that signify them, ordering these variations in terms of difficulty. Offers strategies for matching vocabulary instruction to student's prior knowledge, promoting natural growth in meaning vocabulary, lifelong vocabulary learning, and teaching specific…

Investigates the effects of purpose for reading and frequency of encounters with unknown words in written context on learning from context tasks performed by 119 sixth grade good and poor reading comprehenders. Finds no significant interactions, resulting at least partial support for Robert Sternberg's model of verbal comprehension. (MG)

Stressing that building vocabulary knowledge is a continuously developing skill, acquired over a lifetime and in a variety of ways, this concept paper suggests instructional strategies that lead to word knowledge. Following a research summary and a section on implications for instructions, the paper focuses on the various instructional strategies…

Independent reading can serve as a practical context for linking vocabulary and comprehension and is a feasible strategy that complements other instructional approaches while it expands word knowledge in a naturalistic setting. Teachers should serve as reading models while students engage in silent reading, but teachers should also be cautious…

Develops an understanding of the interactive nature of the reading process with a focus on vocabulary learning and formulates criteria, based on this understanding, to evaluate approaches to vocabulary development. (HOD)

Globally, knowledge of word meanings is related to reading comprehension. R. C. Anderson and P. Freebody's (1981) seminal paper on vocabulary set forth three hypotheses to explain this relationship--an "instrumentalist" hypothesis suggesting that knowledge of word meanings directly causes reading comprehension, and "general…