Discussion of the development of educational software for reading instruction focuses on seven misconceptions that reflect a misunderstanding of the reading process and a misapplication of the principles of instructional design to the teaching of reading. Highlights include electronic text versus printed text; sound-symbol correspondence;…

Discusses whether high levels of skill in one's second language (L2) leads to loss of performance in one's first language (L1). Data are reviewed indicating that a high level of reading skill in L2 may indeed be associated with slower reading in L1. (21 references) (Author/VWL)

Twelve secondary students with learning disabilities read aloud from a text after previewing the passage under one of three conditions. Results showed significant decreases in error rates under slow-rate listening previewing and silent previewing and showed that slow-rate listening previewing resulted in fewer errors per minute than did fast-rate…

Examines how elementary students referred for compensatory remedial reading services performed on several key reading process variables: word recognition errors, meaning-changing errors, comprehension, and reading rate. Finds word recognition and comprehension variables approached instructional levels, and reading rate alone was significantly…

Eight classrooms of third graders (n=111) and their teachers were provided with two intervention strategies, partner reading intervention designed to enhance fluency, or collaborative strategic reading, designed to enhance comprehension. Over time, there were statistically significant effects for rate of reading for both interventions for low- to…

Establishes a suitable composite index which combines speed and accuracy in the measurement of decoding skill. Examines whether speed acts as a confounding factor in the measurement of decoding ability. Sees whether familiarity with the word acts as a confounding factor in the assessment of spelling skills. Indicates that including word-naming…

Sentence comprehension is a complex task that involves both language-specific processing components and general cognitive resources. Comprehension can be made more difficult by increasing the syntactic complexity or the presentation rate of a sentence, but it is unclear whether the same neural mechanism underlies both of these effects. In the…

A prototype of a biofeedback system designed to treat dyslexia by improving heart-rate variability was evaluated in a single blind study of dyslexic adults. Treatment consisted of four 15 minute exposures to a visual display synchronized with either the participant's own cardiac cycle (intervention condition), or of a synthesized cardiac cycle…

A study assessed the effectiveness of a peer tutoring intervention for sight-word acquisition, and determined whether any progress was matched by improvement in reading fluency. Four primary students were selected based upon teacher referral for poor reading fluency. Flashcards were used to determine accuracy of recognition of vocabulary words…

A study compared native and nonnative reading styles in order to see whether Japanese readers process text differently than readers whose native language uses a phonetic alphabet. Subjects, 29 native readers of Japanese, 37 advanced-level nonnatives and 39 intermediate-level nonnatives enrolled in Japanese language courses were randomly assigned…

Two groups of 27 adult braille readers and one group of 10 large print readers (mean age 13 years) were given 2-week workshops to allow them to develop rapid reading skills. (Author)

During the past century, most research addressing the legibility of text in print has used adult subjects. The study reported in this paper investigated differences in reading rate and comprehension scores of eighth grade students reading from paper copy or computer screen. Three hundred eighth grade students in computer literacy classes were…

Content and critical analyses of 40 speed reading books were undertaken to determine to what extent discussion and teaching reflected current research. Particular attention was given to the information provided on eye movements, span of recognition, and the upper rates of speed attainable through practice. Content analysis revealed the following:…

A study examined the influence of the computer management feature of a commercially prepared speed reading software package on the reading rate and attitudes of college students towards computers as instructional tools. Subjects, 66 college freshman from lower-middle to middle socio-economic brackets (and divided into control and experimental…