Exploring metacognitive strategies and hypermedia annotations on foreign language reading

The effective use of reading strategies has been recognized as an important way to increase reading comprehension in hypermedia environments. The purpose of the study was to explore whether metacognitive strategy use and access to hypermedia annotations facilitated reading comprehension based on English as a foreign language students’ proficiency levels. The primary investigation finding revealed that the strategies used the most were problem-solving strategies, followed by global strategies, whereas support strategies were used the least. The specific strategy of guessing content was used much more frequently which was reliably predicted by their comprehension scores; on the contrary, reading slowly might hinder hypermedia reading comprehension. Regarding the frequency of access to annotations, background information was viewed the most frequently, while word glossary was identified as least frequently; no significant relationship, however, was observed among proficiency levels, frequency of annotation use, and reading strategies. Based on further think-aloud investigation results, limitations and future research are discussed and presented.     

The efficacy of reciprocal teaching in fostering the reading literacy of students with intellectual disabilities

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of strategy instruction on the reading literacy of students with mild and moderate intellectual disability. Students aged 15–21 with intellectual disability (n=35) participated in 24 sessions of literacy strategy instruction (experimental condition) or remedial literacy‐skill acquisition‐ lessons (control condition). The main objective of strategy instruction was to foster comprehension monitoring. Through shared dialogues, students were trained to generate questions about text, to summarise what was read, to clarify difficult words and to make predictions. The strategies were taught using the reciprocal teaching method developed by Palincsar and Brown. This method involves provision of support adjusted to students’ difficulties and peer teaching of strategies. Control subjects were exposed to direct instruction of basic reading skills that were presented sequentially and practiced solitarily by the students. Opportunities were given to respond to questions and to summarise but no strategy instruction was provided to foster comprehension monitoring. Two different measures of comprehension and a measure of strategy use were administered to test for variation across different methods of instruction. Findings on all measures provide support for the claim that strategy instruction is indeed superior to traditional remedial methods of skill acquisition in fostering reading literacy comprehension. These findings challenge the common perception that literacy is an organic impossibility for people defined as intellectually disabled. Moreover, the results add to recent research in sociocognitive instruction that supports the need to modify prevailing methods of reading curriculum and suggests a reconceptualisation of the comprehension process and its instruction to students with intellectual disabilities.     

Effects of reciprocal teaching on reading comprehension of low‐achieving adolescents. The importance of specific teacher skills

Low‐achieving adolescents are known to have difficulties with reading comprehension. This article discusses how reciprocal teaching can improve low‐achieving adolescents' reading comprehension in whole‐classroom settings (as opposed to small‐group settings) and to what extent intervention effects are dependent on teacher behaviour. Over the course of 1 year, experimental teachers (n = 10) were given extensive training and coaching aimed at using principles of reciprocal teaching, while control teachers (n = 10) used their regular teaching method. Observations of teacher behaviour were focused on instruction of reading strategies, modelling and support of group work and were performed in both experimental and control classes, comprising a total of 369 students (mean age = 13.01). Our study shows that reciprocal teaching contributed to adolescent low achievers' reading comprehension only when experimental teachers provided high‐quality strategy instruction. In addition, results suggest that the quality of implementation of reciprocal teaching in whole‐classroom settings should receive more research attention.

Highlights

What is already known about this topic

• Reciprocal teaching is a method of instructing and guiding learners in reading comprehension.
• It consists of a set of three related instructional principles: (a) teaching comprehension‐fostering reading strategies; (b) expert modelling, scaffolding and fading; and (c) students practising and discussing reading strategies with other students, guided and coached by the teacher.
• High quality of implementation of reciprocal teaching by teachers in classrooms is difficult.

What this paper adds

• After 1 year of implementing reciprocal teaching, no main effects of the treatment were established.
• Intervention effects were moderated by quality of instruction: strategy instruction led to higher scores on reading comprehension in the treatment condition but not in the control condition.
• Implementation of the instructional principles was by no means optimal: teachers were unable to provide detailed guidance to students working in small groups and modelling of strategies requires more experience and theoretical insight in the use and nature of reading strategies.

Implications for practice and/or policy

• Extensive training and coaching are needed for teachers to become experts in reciprocal teaching.
• Teachers need hands‐on tools to be able to guide students in their collaborative group work and to fade the teachers' role in order to allow more individual self‐regulation by students in their use of strategies.
• Implementation quality has to be taken into account when doing effectiveness research and when adopting new, theory‐based didactic approaches.

     

语文阅读教学中读写结合教学模式探究

语文阅读教学的主要目的是提高学生的阅读理解能力和写作能力,教师在教学过程中应结合学生的年龄特点,采用相应的教学模式,以激发学生学习热情,调动学生学习的积极性,提高学生的理解能力和阅读水平,提升学生语文素养。文章结合教学实践,对语文阅读教学中读写结合教学模式进行探究。     

浅析CET-4听力理解题与答题技巧

大学英语的教学目的是“使学生能以英语为工具,获取所需信息”。听车理解,即“听而理解意思”。在考试中要求考生边听、边理解、边阅读、边猜测（推断）,边作选择。本文通过对大学生英语CET－4听力理解题的分析谈一些答题技巧。     

Effects of a peer-mediated phonological skill and reading comprehension program on reading skill acquisition for middle school students with reading disabilities

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a peer-mediated instructional approach on the teaching of phonological skills and reading comprehension for middle school (sixth- to eighth-grade) students with reading disabilities. All students (n = 38) were identified as having learning disabilities and reading at the third-grade level or below. One group was taught using a peer-mediated phonological skill program, Linguistics Skills Training (LST), and a peer-mediated reading comprehension program, Peer Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS). The contrast group was taught in the more traditional whole-class format using a widely implemented remedial reading program. The results showed significant differences between conditions, with students receiving the LST/PALS instruction outperforming the contrast group on Letter-Word Identification, Word Attack, and Passage Comprehension using the Woodcock-Johnson Test of Achievement-III. Furthermore, large effect sizes for growth were found on Letter-Word Identification, Word Attack, and Passage Comprehension for the LST/PALS treatment group. No differences were found between conditions for reading fluency. Findings are discussed in regard to instruction delivery format (peer tutoring vs. whole class) with respect to best practices for middle school students with reading disabilities.     

Reading comprehension of immigrant students in Germany: research evidence on determinants and target points for intervention

International studies, such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), have shown that, in most participating countries, students who do not typically speak the test language at home reach lower levels of reading comprehension than students using the test language at home (Stanat & Christensen, 2006). Results from PISA indicate that Germany is among the countries with the most pronounced differences in reading comprehension between immigrant students and students from native families. The present article summarizes these findings and shows that the reading achievement gap persists even when the socioeconomic and educational background of students?? families are controlled. Furthermore, although controlling for background factors reduces the effect of the language spoken at home on reading, it continues to be substantial. Using these findings as a starting point, the article addresses the question of what should be done to close this gap. It summarizes research findings indicating that oral proficiency presents an important determinant of reading comprehension in a second language. This suggests that effective general approaches to second-language teaching are needed to promote reading literacy in a L2. The article closes with a discussion of the available evidence on the effectiveness of such approaches and outlines the need for further research.     

A Component Analysis of Metacognition in Reading Comprehension: The Contributions of Awareness and Self‐Regulation

The purpose of this study was to examine the relative effects of awareness of purpose and self‐regulated strategies in metacomprehension training. Thirty‐six students identified as having reading difficulties were either trained to cue themselves to the purpose of reading (awareness of purpose alone) or to employ an underlining strategy (awareness of purpose and a self‐regulated strategy) to enhance reading comprehension. Training was conducted during four, 30‐minute training sessions with follow‐up probes taken 7 to 10 days later. Students trained to underline key words and phrases as they read a passage answered more comprehension questions on an acquisition probe and recalled more propositions on acquisition and generalization probes. Although cueing students to the purpose of reading was beneficial, the combination of awareness of purpose and employment of a self‐regulated strategy generated better comprehension performance.     

Peer feedback mediates the impact of self-regulation procedures on strategy use and reading comprehension in reciprocal teaching groups

The goal of this research was to highlight the role social regulatory processes play in making students’ teamwork in reciprocal teaching (RT) groups (a classroom activity in which students take the teacher’s role in small group reading sessions) effective. In addition to teamwork quality, we expected peer feedback to be a key factor in enhancing students’ reading comprehension achievements. Because previous research (Schünemann et al. in Contemp Educ Psychol 38:289–305, 2013) has shown that procedures of self-regulated learning (SRL) augment the effects of RT methods, we further assumed that such procedures would promote the quality of students’ collaborative efforts. In a cluster-randomized trial, students in 12 fifth-grade classes practiced a strategic approach to reading either in a RT condition or in a RT + SRL condition. In one of the 14 sessions, students’ interactive behavior was videotaped. Strategy use and reading comprehension were assessed at pretest, posttest, and maintenance. Performance differences between conditions were reliable only at maintenance. A multilevel mediation analysis showed that relative to RT students, RT + SRL students were better able to provide their teammates with informative feedback and organize their group work in a task-focused manner. Only feedback quality mediated the sustainability of treatment effects on strategy use and reading comprehension. In essence, this research suggests that effective reading comprehension trainings should integrate explicit instruction and practice in reading strategies, SRL, and focus on supportive peer processes in small groups with extensive instruction and practice in peer feedback.     

Comparison of reading comprehension levels of literate learners with different methods

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between two teaching methods used to teach reading and writing and reading comprehension skills and successes of fifth-grade students. The main difference between the two methods in our research; teaching of the first literacy in the sentence method, determined and sentences with various features, in the voice based sentence method, the sound of the letters in the alphabet is determined by the instruction of the determined group order. The mixed method research design is the process in which both quantitative and qualitative methods are used in collecting, analyzing and mixing the data in a study. The application of the study lasted for two years. The achievement test developed by the researcher was first applied to 1000 fifth-grade students who learned reading and writing by the sentence method, and, then, to 1000 fifth-grade students who learned reading and writing by the sound-based sentence method in the following year. The results showed that there was a significant difference between reading comprehension levels of the fifth-grade students who learned reading and writing by the sentence method versus by the sound-based sentence method. The difference was in favour of the students who learned reading and writing by the sentence method.     

英语专业教学中阅读技巧课教学策略探析

阅读课是英语专业的基础课程,在阅读课中正确运用阅读技巧有助于学生理解能力的提高。许多学生在上英语阅读课时只是追求做阅读理解题的正确率,而忽略了阅读技巧对阅读效率的关键作用。因此在英语专业阅读课中开设阅读技巧课来提高阅读理解能力是有必要的。英语教师应全面了解阅读技巧教学的意义、目的、任务和教学策略,指导学生进行理论学习与实践,推动英语专业阅读技巧课教学改革与创新。     

Science Learning: A path analysis of its links with reading comprehension,question-asking in class and science achievement

The purpose of this research was to build and test a conceptual model of the complex interrelationships between students' learning in science (learning approaches and self-regulation), their reading comprehension, question-asking in class and science achievement. These variables were measured by means of a test and a series of questionnaires administered to 604 ninth-grade students, and the data collected were analysed using a correlational, cross-sectional design. Results of a path analysis indicated that (a) students’ self-regulated and intentional knowledge-constructing activity (self-regulated strategy use, deep approach and knowledge-building) were what chiefly accounted for their question-asking in class; (b) question-asking (high and low levels) was related directly to reading comprehension and indirectly, through its contribution to the this, to academic achievement; (c) reading comprehension was directly and negatively associated with surface approach and indirectly and positively related to deep approach and knowledge-building; and (d) some of these variables, particularly reading comprehension, accounted for academic achievement in science. This model explained nearly 30% of the variance in academic achievement and provided a substantial and distinctive insight into the web of interrelationships among these variables. Implications for future research and science teaching and learning are discussed (e.g. the importance of supporting students' efforts to learn science in a meaningful, active and self-regulated way and of improving their reading comprehension).     

Experimental intervention research on students with specific poor comprehension: a systematic review of treatment outcomes

Students with specific poor comprehension (SPC) can sound out words accurately, but have difficulty understanding what they read. However, most existing reading intervention studies on students with reading disabilities did not differentiate students with SPC from other types of students with reading disabilities who accompany with decoding difficulties. The purpose of this systematic review was to synthesize findings from 14 experimental intervention studies that have included students with SPC with the goal of increasing reading comprehension. Out of eight types of interventions identified, Reciprocal Teaching (g = .856) demonstrated the largest effect size. Metalinguistic intervention showed the effect size of above .50 (a medium effect size), suggesting that intervention that explicitly teaches high-level oral language strategies was positive to improve reading performances of students with SPC. Findings also suggest a need to specify the classification criteria of students with SPC to broaden an understanding about the evidence-based intervention for students with SPC. Practical implications for effective practice, limitations, and future directions are discussed.     

如何有效提高学生的英语阅读能力

根据《大纲》精神，阅读课的教学目的的主要在于提高学生的阅读效率和阅读能力，本就如何有效达到这一教学目的进行探讨。     

探讨中学生英语阅读理解能力的培养

培养学生的阅读理解能力是中学英语教学最重要的任务之一,是学好英语的关键。掌握科学的阅读技巧和阅读方法,是提高英语学习水平的重要手段。     

商务英语阅读的特点及对策

商务英语阅读教学的主要目的是一方面对学生的阅读能力进行培养,另一方面是对学生获得商务英语专业信息这一能力进行培养。而学生自身的背景知识和经验又在阅读理解中能够起到重要作用。     

高职学生英语阅读理解的认识机制与促进策略研究

高职学生英语阅读能力的培养是高职英语教学过程中的重要环节,通过阅读理解的自下而上、自上而下、交叉认知模式的研究,对影响阅读理解的因素及阅读能力的进行了分析,提出了提高学生阅读能力的时策。     

Behavioral Attention: A Longitudinal Study of Whether and How It Influences the Development of Word Reading and Reading Comprehension Among At-Risk Readers

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which teacher ratings of behavioral attention predicted responsiveness to word reading instruction in first-grade and third-grade reading comprehension performance. Participants were 110 first-grade students identified as at risk for reading difficulties who received 20 weeks of intensive reading intervention in combination with classroom reading instruction. Path analysis indicated that teacher ratings of student attention significantly predicted students’ word reading growth in first grade even when they were competed against other relevant predictors (phonological awareness, nonword reading, sight word efficiency, vocabulary, listening comprehension, hyperactivity, nonverbal reasoning, and short-term memory). Also, student attention demonstrated a significant indirect effect on third-grade reading comprehension via word reading but not via listening comprehension. Results suggest that student attention (indexed by teacher ratings) is an important predictor of at-risk readers’ responsiveness to reading instruction in first grade and that first-grade reading growth mediates the relationship between students’ attention and their future level of reading comprehension. The importance of considering ways to manage and improve behavioral attention when implementing reading instruction is discussed.     

谈语篇教学与外语阅读

在外语教学中．理解能力长期以来被证明是听、说、读、写、译五种能力中最重要,因此,对于学生而言,提高他们的阅读理解能力,在很大程度上是提高了他们运用所学外语的全部技能。本文从对阅读、语篇教学理解、语篇的意义和读者的理解以及语篇教学中采取一些措施进行探讨,在语篇教学中,以帮助提高学生的阅读理解能力。     

探析图式理论在英语阅读中的有效应用

图式泛指存储于人们头脑中的先存知识。任何语篇或文本都是阅读者大脑中的图式知识通过重组构建新的意义,达到阅读理解的目的。文章探讨应用图式阅读理论中形式图式与内容图式以及语言图式的相关原理,阐述了图式理论同第二外语（L2）阅读理解的关系,探讨了具体微观的英语阅读教学活动组织方法,目的在于提高学生阅读的速度与理解的效度,提高学生的英语阅读理解能力。