The present study addressed the role of speed as a factor in tests of second language (L2) vocabulary knowledge, presupposing that speed of performance is important in actual language use. Research questions were: (a) Do learners with a larger vocabulary size answer faster on an L2 vocabulary breadth test than smaller vocabulary sized learners?;…

The ability to read print to help maintain independence and quality of life is a primary concern of people with visual impairments. One option for reading is a CCTV (closed-circuit television) or, using a more specific term, electronic magnifier. An electronic magnifier uses a camera to enlarge images onto a screen. The aim of this study was to…

This article describes a comprehensive approach to fully automated assessment of children's oral reading fluency (ORF), one of the most informative and frequently administered measures of children's reading ability. Speech recognition and machine learning techniques are described that model the 3 components of oral reading fluency: word accuracy,…

This paper investigates using data-driven learning (DDL) as a means of stimulating greater lexicogrammatical knowledge and reading speed among lower proficiency learners in an extensive reading program. For 16 weekly 90-minute sessions, an experimental group (12 students) used DDL materials created from a corpus developed from the Oxford Bookworms…

Students' perceptions about "what good readers do" are representative of their definition of reading and what they believe they should be striving toward as a reader. These beliefs about reading influence their motivation and ways they engage with texts. In this study, interviews were conducted with students in three first-grade…

In this study, we investigated fifth graders' (n = 52) fall literacy, academic language, and motivation and how these skills predicted fall and spring comprehension monitoring on an eye movement task. Comprehension monitoring was defined as the identification and repair of misunderstandings when reading text. In the eye movement task, children…

A reading acceleration program known to improve reading fluency in Hebrew-speaking adults was tested for its effect on children. Eighty-nine Hebrew- and English-speaking children with reading difficulties were divided into a waiting list group and two training groups (Hebrew and English) and underwent 4 weeks of reading acceleration training.…

This study investigated the effects of (a) the amount of pleasure reading completed, (b) the type of texts read (i.e., simplified or unsimplified books), and (c) the level of simplified texts read by 14 Japanese university students who made the largest reading rate gains over one academic year. The findings indicated that the participants who made…

This single-subject study explored the effects of different mounting systems of prescribed near magnification (handheld, stand-mounted, spectacle-mounted, and electronic) on reading performance and preference in students with low vision. Participants included five students ranging from 3rd to 11th grade, and with various etiologies. Reading…

Introduction: Eccentric viewing training has been a strategy, used by rehabilitation professionals, to help individuals with central vision loss move their eyes in such a way that they focus the incoming light on parts of the retina located away from the center area that has been damaged and improve visual functioning. A number of studies have…

Phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming (RAN), letter knowledge, and oral language are all significant predictors of successful literacy acquisition in several languages. However, their relative importance is less clear and depends on language characteristics, the specific aspect of literacy assessed, and the phase of literacy…

The purpose of this quantitative, quasi-experimental study was to investigate the impact of a repeated reading fluency intervention focused on prosody, counterbalanced with an intervention focused on reading strategies. Both of these interventions were designed to promote feelings of achievement through participation in activities intended to…

Tier 3 interventions are necessary for improving the reading performance of students who fail to respond adequately to Tier 1 general education instruction and Tier 2 supplemental reading intervention. In this pilot study, we identified 8 students in 3rd and 4th grade who had demonstrated slow response to Tier 2 reading interventions for three…

Improving L2 learners reading fluency has been identified by leading L2 reading researchers as an important aspect of L2 reading instruction (Grabe, 2004, 2009; Nation, 2009). A number of studies have been conducted on the use of paper-based fluency development methods on ESL and EFL students reading speeds and showed positive results (Al-Homoud…

Tier 3 interventions are necessary for students who fail to respond adequately to Tier 1 general education instruction and Tier 2 supplemental reading intervention instruction. We identified 8 students in 3rd and 4th grade who had demonstrated a slow response to Tier 2 reading interventions for three years. Students participated in a…