Second Language Reading

This study attempts to explore various linguistic, cultural, literary, motivational, and instructional challenges that EFL students face at Seiyun University. When teaching some poems in English classrooms, students encounter these challenges and find it difficult to analyzing them. In spite of using certain techniques in poetry classroom, students often complain of deep engagement with the poetic texts. The study surveyed 135 students using a validated, five-dimension questionnaire and analyzed responses using SPSS. Based on the study, the statistical results indicated that instructional and pedagogical challenges come foremost, closely followed by cultural and contextual barriers and language-related difficulties. Besides, literary analyses of poetic devices were prominent, whereas personal motivation was the least significant factor. The most cognitive obstacles were related to figurative language, cultural contexts, and unfamiliar structures in poetic texts. Gender differences were not statistically significant, suggesting that challenges affected the individuals regardless of demographic group. The study recommends the urgent need for updating instructional approaches, incorporating culturally responsive support to develop poetry literacy through more engaging, student-centered techniques. Significantly, the study provides new insights in curriculum developers, language instructors, and policymakers to boost a superior responsibility of literature in EFL settings.

Vocabulary development is a critical component of second language acquisition, particularly for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. One cognitive-linguistic factor that has gained attention in recent years is morphological awareness-the ability to recognize, analyze, and manipulate the smallest units of meaning in language, such as prefixes, suffixes, and roots. Morphological awareness enables learners to infer meanings of unfamiliar words, promote reading comprehension, and facilitate long-term vocabulary retention. This study investigates the role of morphological awareness in vocabulary development among Iranian EFL learners. A sample of 150 intermediate-level university students participated in the study. Data were collected using a morphological awareness test, a vocabulary knowledge assessment, and semi-structured interviews to explore learners' strategies for word learning. Quantitative analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge. Qualitative data indicated that learners who actively analyzed word structures demonstrated better word retention and more effective use of derived forms. The study concludes that fostering morphological awareness can enhance vocabulary acquisition among EFL learners, offering practical implications for curriculum design, instructional strategies, and materials development in Iranian English classrooms.

This study investigated the role of oral reading fluency in second language reading. Two hundred and fifty-five high school students in South Korea were assessed on three oral reading fluency (ORF) variables and six other reading predictors. The relationship between ORF and other reading predictors was examined through an exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Next, the contribution of ORF to silent reading comprehension was investigated through multiple regression analyses (MRA) with ORF variables as predictors of reading comprehension. EFA identified two factors (fluency and comprehension) and showed that passage reading fluency crossloaded with both factors. MRA results indicated that the three ORF variables collectively explained 21.2% of variance in silent reading comprehension. Oral passage reading fluency alone explained 20.9% of variance in silent reading comprehension. After controlling for pseudoword reading and word reading fluency, oral passage reading fluency still accounted for an additional 12.4% of the remaining reading variance.

Modern Greek as a second/foreign language (G2) is a relatively recent field. This paper focuses on the early, formative years of the field of G2 (1985-2004). It discusses the relevant literature and places particular emphasis on the textbooks for teaching G2, with an aim to revealing their latent conceptions about language and second language acquisition. Assessment and proficiency standards are also taken into account. It is argued that G2, as the most recent phase in a continuing process of Modern Greek standardisation, has been influenced by conceptions and practices that prevail in the field of G1.

In this article, the JAGS software program is systematically introduced to fit common Bayesian cognitive diagnosis models (CDMs), including the deterministic inputs, noisy "and" gate (DINA) model, the deterministic inputs, noisy "or" gate (DINO) model, the linear logistic model, the reduced reparameterized unified model (rRUM), and the log-linear CDM (LCDM). The unstructured latent structural model and the higher-order latent structural model are both introduced. We also show how to extend those models to consider the polytomous attributes, the testlet effect, and the longitudinal diagnosis. Finally, an empirical example is presented as a tutorial to illustrate how to use the JAGS codes in R.

Assessing learners’ individual differences helps identify students who need teacher support in classrooms. Previous studies have examined second language (L2) achievement based on reading anxiety because reading is an input-based activity essential for successful L2 learning. This study applied a latent rank model to identify L2 learners who are likely to be struggling or successful in classrooms according to their L2 reading anxiety symptoms. Moreover, a psychometric function was developed to determine the cutoff anxiety scores that discriminate against their substantial differences. The model was applied to responses from the Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS) provided by 335 Japanese learners of English. The results showed that the FLRAS classified students into three ranked groups with ordinal information regarding L2 reading anxiety. Rank 1 exhibited good conditions in L2 reading anxiety. Rank 2 reported high anxiety toward unfamiliar grammar during L2 reading. Rank...

It remains unclear as to how vocabulary contributes to reading comprehension in a second language (L2). This study aims to explore the specific roles of vocabulary in reading comprehension in children learning English as an L2 based on three theoretical perspectives. Namely, whether vocabulary should be considered as a subcomponent of language comprehension, an independent predictor of reading

The report is discussed here, in a format corresponding to the report's sections on domains of research and practice: bilingualism and second-language learning; cognitive aspects of school learning: literacy development and content learning; the social context of school learning; student assessment; program evaluation; studies of school and classroom effectiveness; preparation and development of teachers; estimating population parameters; issues related to the research infrastructure; and priorities for research. The report concludes that while research has revealed a significant amount about how a second language is learned, it has shed little light on whether language minority children are doing so or how to help them succeed academically. The critique finds that the report overemphasizes how research has not been fruitful, and suggests that the interests of language-minority children would be better served by theory-based experimentation on effective schooling of poor children in general, not relying as heavily on second language acquisition research or remaining preoccupied with language of instruction. (MSE)

Cognitive diagnostic models (CDMs) provide a fine-grained analysis of students' cognitive abilities by determining their mastery or non-mastery of specific attributes. CDMs have been retrofitted to existing non-diagnostic (inter)national large-scale standardized mathematics assessments. However, in the absence of a cognitive development framework for constructing test items in retrofitting studies, an inferred substantive model and a Q-matrix are typically constructed to define the attributes measured in the test. This indirect approach can result in information loss, less precise modeling of cognitive attributes, and inaccurate student classifications. This study uses a hierarchical cognitive diagnostic model (HCDM) to explore the feasibility of incorporating cognitive models into the development of large scale assessment items that inherently generate Q-matrices for CDM analysis. It examines whether integrating theoretical assumptions about hierarchical relationships between mathematical attributes can improve the accuracy and effectiveness of the model. In contrast to previous CDM studies, an eight-attribute Q-matrix was systematically designed. Items were constructed based on the Q-matrix, which was derived from curriculum, cognitive models, and specified attribute hierarchies. The test was administered to 5,336 third-grade students in Luxembourg. The HCDM was evaluated against the G-DINA model. The results showed that: (1) the mastery rates derived from the HCDM align more closely with the developmental progression of mathematical ability, supporting the notion that theoretically grounded Q-matrix design yields more interpretable latent classes; (2) incorporating hierarchical attribute relationships enhances the effectiveness of diagnostic assessments by generating more meaningful and accountable classifications of student proficiency; and (3) the HCDM aligns more closely with didactic theories of mathematical development, because it better captures the structured progression of learning, where mastery of foundational skills is necessary for acquiring more complex competencies. This study underscores the importance of integrating cognitive models into assessment design and highlights the advantages of using HCDMs to improve large-scale educational diagnostics.

The present study examined the relationship between breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension in an English as a foreign language (EFL) context. It was conducted through two phases, quantitative and qualitative. The first quantitative phase of the study, which included 93 high school participants, investigated the degree of correlations between two aspects of vocabulary knowledge, breadth (vocabulary size) and depth, and reading comprehension. Furthermore, it investigated whether breadth or depth was a stronger predictor of learners’ reading comprehension. It adopted three language tests: two vocabulary tests and a reading comprehension test. The second qualitative phase, which involved four subjects (a subsample of the first phase), explored how these subjects used their vocabulary depth to infer the meaning of unfamiliar words in a written text. To achieve this purpose, semi-structured interviews were employed as a method of data collection. The study has...

Abstract
Poor readers struggle in making inferences in reading comprehension tests (Cain &Oakhill 1999). Both Second Language (L2) and Learning Disabled (LD) students demonstrate reading comprehension problems. In the Quebec context, L2 and LD students are found together in the same classrooms. To make better-informed decisions regarding classroom remedial measures in reading, it is important to determine if the reading problems of these two populations share a common ground or existing independently of each other.
Do L2 and LD students have trouble with inferences? If so, are difficulties caused by the same sources for L2 and LD students?
In a reading task, we tested 580 participants from grade 3 to grade 6 on inferences. We found differences between these students. First language speaker students were better than L2 students who were better than LD students. LD students are weaker because they lack of reading strategies and L2 students have a lack of vocabulary.  Boys were weaker for both groups. We propose different classroom remedial measures in reading for each of them.

, a study was carried out consisting of two experiments investigating the involvement load hypothesis in vocabulary learning. Experiment 1 compared the performance of 88 Iranian adult English as foreign language (EFL) learners at the same proficiency level (i.e., high intermediate) to ascertain the effectiveness of three vocabulary tasks with different levels of task-induced involvement. Experiment 2 investigated whether three different tasks which are of different types (input vs. output) but hypothesized to represent the same level of task-induced involvement would result in equivalent initial learning and retention of target words by 56 Iranian adult EFL learners at the same level of proficiency. The results of Experiment 1 showed that the higher level of learner involvement during the task promoted more effective initial learning and better retention of the new words. The findings of Experiment 2 indicated that when different tasks had the same involvement load, they resulted in similar amounts of initial vocabulary learning and retention of new words. The results of the two experiments are discussed in light of the involvement load hypothesis.

Automatization is the learning process by which controlled, effortful second language (L2) processing becomes automatic, fast, and effortless through practice-a critical transition for L2 development. Achieving automaticity allows learners to progress from laborious language use to fluent, real-time communication by freeing limited cognitive resources. This research timeline synthesizes four decades of laboratory and classroom research on automatization, bridging cognitive learning theories with pedagogical practice. We trace five key research strands: (1) cognitive mechanisms, including the explicit-implicit knowledge interface; (2) skill development trajectories across phonological, lexical, morphosyntax, and pragmatics domains; (3) instructional approaches promoting automatization of knowledge and skills through deliberate and systematic practice; (4) methodological advances in measuring automaticity (e.g., reaction time, coefficient of variation, neural measures); and (5) individual differences in long-term memory systems (declarative and procedural memory). This timeline offers a comprehensive perspective on how automatization research has significantly advanced our understanding of L2 learning.

This research provides a systematic review of literature on multimodal approaches in second or foreign language (L2/FL) education, focusing on digital literature literacy. It examines how the interactivity, non-linearity, and multimedia aspects of digital literature foster immersive learning, enhancing language acquisition and aligning with learners' digital preferences. Additionally the effectiveness of digital tools for literature in enhancing reading comprehension, vocabulary building and intercultural inclusivity. The main findings emphasise the importance of integrating digital literature into educational contexts, highlighting the myriad of benefits it brings, from improving engagement and accessibility to strengthening information and communication technology (ICT) skills. By exploiting the interactive and multimedia nature of digital literature, educators can offer L2/FL learners a more engaging and contextual learning experience, thus accelerating their language acquisition journey.

This research provides a systematic review of literature on multimodal approaches in second or foreign language (L2/FL) education, focusing on digital literature literacy. It examines how the interactivity, non-linearity, and multimedia aspects of digital literature foster immersive learning, enhancing language acquisition and aligning with learners' digital preferences. Additionally the effectiveness of digital tools for literature in enhancing reading comprehension, vocabulary building and intercultural inclusivity. The main findings emphasise the importance of integrating digital literature into educational contexts, highlighting the myriad of benefits it brings, from improving engagement and accessibility to strengthening information and communication technology (ICT) skills. By exploiting the interactive and multimedia nature of digital literature, educators can offer L2/FL learners a more engaging and contextual learning experience, thus accelerating their language acquisition journey.

This action research examines the potential of leveraging Thai learners' proficiency in L2 English to enhance their morphological awareness and reading comprehension in L3 French. A total of 27 Thai learners with an intermediate level of English and a preintermediate level of French participated in the study. The research involved a pedagogical intervention aimed at increasing their awareness of morphological correspondences between French and English. It incorporated activities that highlighted crosslinguistic morphological patterns and utilized their English skills to facilitate the acquisition of French morphology. The intervention included a combination of guided observation techniques, such as input flood and textual enhancement, to emphasize morphological patterns common to both languages. A morphological awareness test comprising 48 items and a reading comprehension assessment consisting of 10 questions were administered before and after the intervention to measure its impact. The results revealed an improvement in both morphological awareness and reading comprehension in French and suggest that pedagogical interventions emphasizing morphological similarities between L2 English and L3 French have the potential to enhance morphological awareness and improve reading comprehension in L3 French.

The present paper attempts to enhance the reading comprehension skills of the learners at the Technical Institute in Basrah by using culture-based texts. The study aims to analyze and understand the problems of the learners in reading and understanding English. To carry out this study, the Material department has been chosen. The study proposes that using culture-based texts at diploma students will help the learners to develop their reading comprehension skills in English.

y también con textos de especialidad, analizamos algunas de las características que presenta la lectura en Internet y resumimos dos estudios de caso en los que lectores de diferentes edades leen y valoran varios materiales de la red sobre temas especializados. Los resultados muestran que los informantes tienen importantes dificultades para distinguir la ideología de los textos y para valorar su fiabilidad y utilidad. Las dificultades proceden de

A Master of Arts Thesis in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) by Walid Mahmoud Jawabreh Entitled, "Investigating Reading Strategies in Government High Schools English Classes in Ras Al Khaimah," June 2009. Available are both Hard and Soft Copies of the Thesis.

ers, because of its inclusion in the new high-stakes state language examination suite, known as the KPG. 1 The examinations prepared and administered in several European languages, consist of four modules, two of which include activities that aim at measuring candidates' ability to mediate, orally and in writing, between Greek and the target language. However, teachers, preparing the candidates for the exams in English and the other KPG languages, 2 but also candidates are somewhat unclear about what this term means, how it is understood by KPG testers and what it entails. This paper aspires to fill this void and, furthermore, to provide information to researchers and practitioners at home and abroad who have been turning their interest to mediation especially after its inclusion as a component of communicative competence/performance in the Common European Framework of Languages: teaching, learning and assessment (2001) -henceforth CEFR. Aiming at defining the concept, this paper traces the role of mediation in the communication landscape of the distant past, and looks at its important role in today's information societies. Crucially, it examines its absence from the dominant scene of foreign language didactics and explains its limited presence in the ELT periphery. It then moves on to explain its recent inclusion in the CEFR, problematising the concept as presented therein, and proceeds to define it in the larger context of inter-and intra-cultural communication. Concerned with the EFL user's role and subject position as interlinguistic and inter-cultural mediator in the Greek social context, but also in the European and global context, this paper takes a close look at what mediation practices entail. Moreover, it considers what types of knowledge, literacy and competences are required for successful mediation. Finally, it provides illustrative examples of communicative activities, appropriate for the development and assessment of mediation practices.

To speak fluently is a complex skill. In order to help the learner to acquire it we propose an electronic version of an age old method: pattern drills (PD). While being highly regarded in the fifties, pattern drills have become unpopular since then. Despite certain shortcomings we do believe in the virtues of this approach, at least with regard to the memorization of basic structures and the acquisition of fluency, the skill to produce language at a 'normal' rate. Of course, the method has to be improved, and we will show here how this can be achieved. Unlike tapes or books, computers are open media, allowing for dynamic changes, taking users' performances and preferences into account. Our drill-tutor, a small webapplication still in its prototype phase, allows for this. It is a free, electronic version of pattern drills, i.e. an exercise generator, open and adaptable to the users' ever changing needs.

This study explores the impact of chunk-based reading and gaze fixation training on L2 English reading speed and comprehension. Chunk reading, which involves processing text in meaningful multiword units, has been widely recognized for enhancing fluency and comprehension. This research hypothesizes that training learners to fixate their gaze on chunk
centers can improve reading efficiency by enabling the processing of chunks as unified units. Using an eye-tracking tool, 42 Japanese university students of varying English proficiency (CEFR A2 and B1) participated in a controlled experiment. Participants completed reading tasks with and without chunk-focused training, and their eye movements and reading
outcomes were analyzed. Results indicate that lower-proficiency learners (A2) benefited most, showing significant reductions in eye fixations, faster reading speeds, and improved comprehension post-training. In contrast, higher proficiency learners (B1) displayed minimal improvement, suggesting chunk-based strategies are particularly effective for
foundational language processing. Findings highlight the pedagogical potential of integrating eye movement strategies into L2 instruction, particularly for less proficient learners. These results offer practical insights for optimizing L2 reading strategies and underscore the need for tailored approaches based on learner proficiency.

Undergraduate university students in Korea who did not have a reading habit in English showed a clear enthusiasm for reading in English after participating in a single sustained silent reading session and a trip to an English library. However, such positive experiences can result in an English reading habit only if students have a time and place to read, and easy access to interesting reading material

Readers should construct a coherent discourse during reading comprehension. The ability to build coherence has been examined using coherence and cohesion judgment tasks. Although eyetracking studies have been conducted on building coherence or processing cohesion among native language users, few such studies have been conducted with second language learners. This study investigated the process of conducting a task using eye-tracking with 30 Japanese university students who were asked to judge the coherence between two sentences on a screen. The 24 stimulus items consisted of four conditions (with or without coherence and cohesion), and six items were assigned to each condition. The fixation duration in some areas and frequencies of the regressions were measured. The results showed that the difference in fixation duration between conditions was not statistically significant, but the frequencies of regressions were significantly different, with incoherent-cohesive pairs having more regressions than incoherent-incohesive pairs. Thus, the study revealed that readers might make more inferences because of the contradictory information of the condition, which partly supports previous research on native participants.

To achieve efficient reading comprehension, Chinese as a second language (L2) learners adopt various component skills and knowledge, including the aspects of vocabulary, grammar, and coherence. However, there is no consensus regarding the relative predictive powers of these three areas in L2 reading comprehension. Instead of employing direct measurement of student reading performance, this study aims to explore this issue by analyzing teacher perception data. Using a Likert-scale questionnaire, 95 experienced teachers rated L2 Chinese learners' reading comprehension, subskills, and sub-knowledge of reading. The results of structural equation modeling reveal that the three areas of subskills and sub-knowledge (i.e., Vocabulary, Grammar, and Coherence) all positively and significantly predicted reading comprehension. Grammar exhibits the strongest predictive power, followed by Coherence, and Vocabulary. This study enhances our understanding of the relative contributions of subskills and sub-knowledge to L2 Chinese reading. Implications for L2 Chinese instruction are provided.

This study aimed to 1) investigate the level of self-efficacy beliefs of Thai EFL pre-service teachers before they experienced teaching practice, in the area of Efficacy of Student Engagement (SE), Efficacy in Instruction Strategies (IS), and Efficacy in Classroom Management (CM); and 2) explore sources of self-efficacy beliefs which have the strongest influence to the level of self-efficacy beliefs of the Thai EFL pre-service teachers before having teaching practice. For data collection, the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) was administered by 26 Thai EFL pre-service teachers and then an open – ended questionnaire was employed. The verbal responses from the participants were analysed based on Bandura’s sources of self-efficacy. The findings indicated that the highest efficacy beliefs of the student teachers were Efficacy of SE and IS. On the other hand, their lowest sense of self-efficacy beliefs was Efficacy of CM. All of the three sub-factors were most strongly influenced...

This study was designed to investigate the effect of grammar and vocabulary pre-teaching, as two types of pre-reading activities, on the Iranian EFL learners' reading comprehension from a schema–theoretic perspective. The sample consisted of 90 female students studying at pre-university centers of Isfahan. The subjects were randomly divided into three equal-in-number groups. They participated in a test of overall language proficiency, and the results indicated that they were linguistically homogeneous. Then, the ...

In this study we examined the effects of syntactic and lexical complexity on third-grade students' comprehension of science texts. A total of 16 expository texts were designed to represent systematic differences in levels of syntactic and lexical complexity across four science-related topics (Tree Frogs, Soil, Jelly Beans and Toothpaste). A Latin-square design was used to counterbalance the order of administration of these 16 texts. After reading each text, students responded to a post-test comprehension measure (without access to the text). External measures of reading achievement and prior vocabulary knowledge were also gathered to serve as control variables. Findings show that lexical complexity had a significant impact on students' comprehension on two of the four topics. Comprehension performance was not influenced by the syntactic complexity of texts, regardless of topic. Further, no additional effects were found for English language learners. Potentially moderating and confounding issues, such as the inference demand of syntactically simple texts and the role of topic familiarity, are discussed in order to explain the inconsistency of the findings across topics.

This paper reports on a study of the impact of extensive reading (ER) on the language proficiency of a group of Vietnamese government officials studying English. Two questions were of interest. First, we wanted to examine if ER could be successfully implemented with adult second language learners beyond traditional student age. Secondly, we were interested in the relationship between learning gain and a set of ER variables, such as amount of ER materials read, the extent to which this material was perceived to be a useful and enjoyable activity. The results indicated that older adult second language learners could indeed benefit from a carefully planned and systematically implemented ER program. Further, a regression analysis showed that amount of ER was the only significant predictor of participants' gain scores.

This study was an attempt to investigate the effectiveness of advance organizers and textual Enhancement (TE) on the acquisition of inchoative and unaccusative verbs by EFL learners. A hundred EFL Persian-speaking learners in four intact classes constituted the groups. One of the experimental groups was exposed to Intralingual advance organizers (Intra-AOs). The second group received Interlingual advance organizers (Inter-AOs), and the third one was presented with textually enhanced material. The results of the study indicated that with unaccusative verbs, the TE and Intra-AO groups outperformed the Inter-AO group, with a statistically significant difference. With inchoative verbs, on the other hand, all the experimental groups performed similarly well with no significant difference between and among them. The implications of the results for theory and practice are discussed.

In English and other alphabetic languages read from left to right, useful information acquired during each fixational pause is generally reported to extend much further to the right of each fixation than to the left. However, the asymmetry of the perceptual span for alphabetic languages read in the opposite direction (i.e., from right to left) has received very little attention. Accordingly, we investigated the perceptual span for Arabic, which is one of the world's most widely read languages and is read from right to left, using a gaze-contingent window paradigm in which a region of normal text was displayed around each point of fixation while information outside this region was obscured. Skilled Arabic readers who were bilingual in Arabic and English read Arabic and English sentences while a window of normal text extended symmetrically 0.5 o to the left and right of fixation, or asymmetrically by increasing the size of each window to 1.5 o or 2.5 o to either the left or right. When reading English, performance across these window conditions was superior when windows extended rightwards. However, when reading Arabic, performance was superior when windows extended leftwards, and was essentially the reverse of that observed for English. These findings provide a novel indication that the perceptual span is modified by the language being read to produce an asymmetry in the direction of reading, and shows for the first time that such an asymmetry occurs for reading Arabic.

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In English and other alphabetic languages read from left to right, useful information acquired during each fixational pause is generally reported to extend much further to the right of each fixation than to the left. However, the asymmetry of the perceptual span for alphabetic languages read in the opposite direction (i.e., from right to left) has received very little attention. Accordingly, we investigated the perceptual span for Arabic, which is one of the world's most widely read languages and is read from right to left, using a gaze-contingent window paradigm in which a region of normal text was displayed around each point of fixation while information outside this region was obscured. Skilled Arabic readers who were bilingual in Arabic and English read Arabic and English sentences while a window of normal text extended symmetrically 0.5 o to the left and right of fixation, or asymmetrically by increasing the size of each window to 1.5 o or 2.5 o to either the left or right. When reading English, performance across these window conditions was superior when windows extended rightwards. However, when reading Arabic, performance was superior when windows extended leftwards, and was essentially the reverse of that observed for English. These findings provide a novel indication that the perceptual span is modified by the language being read to produce an asymmetry in the direction of reading, and shows for the first time that such an asymmetry occurs for reading Arabic.

Although the importance of reading in developing writing ability is undeniable, few competent readers in EFL contexts develop into competent writers. Since students are not aware that reading can assist them in writing, this study examined the effect of reciprocal teaching -which focuses on four reading comprehension strategies, namely summarizing, questioning, clarifying, and predicting-on improving EFL students' writing ability. Assessment was made based on an evaluation sheet including five criteria (content, macro structure, micro structure, language range and complexity, and language errors) for evaluating the compositions. In this study, true-experimental design was used to study two classes of 104 randomly selected intermediate learners. The pre-test inter-rater reliability for the two raters who rated the students' compositions was 0.95 and the posttest inter-rater reliability was 0.97. Since this study was conducted under the supervision of a supervisor and an advisor, its validity was taken for granted. The results of the independent samples t-test supported the effectiveness of reciprocal teaching of comprehension strategies in improving the learners' writing ability. Since teaching comprehension strategies seems to have facilitated the process of writing, its application can be suggested to reinforce EFL students' writing ability. The findings of this study imply that students will get motivated to read more if they realize the importance of reading in improving their writing performance.

The article focuses on defining how background knowledge impacts on second-language acquisition by giving a brief overview of schema theory, the interaction of the basic modes of information processing. A challenge of dealing with culturally specific texts in second language acquisition is also touched upon. Different research-supported views on codependence of culture and meaning in learning a language as well as the significance of integrating authentic use of literature into the learning process are also briefly examined. The article stresses that a lack of prior and cultural knowledge may become a put-off factor for a second language student thus hindering the entire process of learning as failing to understand and master the target culture prevents a student from mastering a second language. The article also briefly considers cultural interference at the affective and denotative levels to show the connection between culture and language.

The article focuses on defining how background knowledge impacts on second-language acquisition by giving a brief overview of schema theory, the interaction of the basic modes of information processing. A challenge of dealing with culturally specific texts in second language acquisition is also touched upon. Different research-supported views on codependence of culture and meaning in learning a language as well as the significance of integrating authentic use of literature into the learning process are also briefly examined. The article stresses that a lack of prior and cultural knowledge may become a put-off factor for a second language student thus hindering the entire process of learning as failing to understand and master the target culture prevents a student from mastering a second language. The article also briefly considers cultural interference at the affective and denotative levels to show the connection between culture and language.

English as a foreign language (EFL) learners often read at rates below recommended reading speeds needed for reading fluency. Two methods are often employed to facilitate reading rates: unassisted repeated reading (UARR) and audio-assisted repeated reading (AARR). Both approaches have demonstrated significant gains. However, the two methods' effects have not been explored and compared in the course of one investigation. To address this, an experimental design was employed with undergraduate EFL learners (N = 50) at a university in Southern Vietnam. The results indicated that both procedures produced significant positive gains; however, the AARR showed a significantly higher effect than UARR (77.27, 44.72, p < 0.001). As no prior studies were found to have compared these two techniques, it is hoped that the findings will practically and theoretically further the literature regarding their comparative effectiveness.

Previous empirical research has yielded inconclusive findings on the effectiveness of textual enhancement in drawing learners’ attention to target forms and in facilitating their acquisition. The present study focuses on the role of textual enhancement in the recognition, comprehension, and production of Spanish L2 verb forms that differ in their perceptual saliency (communicative value). Spanish students read an enhanced or an unenhanced text containing regular and irregular present indicative and present subjunctive forms. Reading was immediately followed by recognition, comprehension, and production tasks. The resulting data were statistically analyzed in order to ascertain whether they supported or refuted three research hypotheses. Results showed no effect of TE in the three treatments employed.

In their capacity as language experts, interpreters are sometimes expected to deliver target texts that are better than their underlying source text, especially when the latter was produced by a speaker in a language that is not their L1. The spread of global English has given rise to ever more occasions when interpreters encounter non-L1 speakers of English as a lingua franca (ELF). The question as to whether or not interpreters try to optimise those speakers’ input is addressed by applying Relevance Theory (RT) as a conceptual and methodological framework that helps to understand interpreters’ needs or readiness to augment relevance for their audience. The paper builds on data from the larger project CLINT (Cognitive Load in Interpreting and Translation). The 56 renditions by all 28 professional interpreters participating in the project’s interpreting part of two original ELF speaker texts and their edited versions are analysed with a view to the enrichment processes undertaken by the interpreters. A comparison of the renditions of the original versus edited versions of the two texts shows that interpreters do engage in such processes considerably more when rendering ELF texts, especially if they are technical in nature. Determining whether or not these interventions lead to actual cognitive effects in terms of information gains on the part of the audiences or to increased cognitive effort on the part of the interpreters requires additional comprehension testing and triangulation with other indicators of cognitive effort.

A study investigated second language learners&apos; cognitive and affective responses to one authentic and three edited texts. Forty-nine college students at four levels of language learning read the same Spanish authentic passage and an edited passage written for their course level. After silent reading, they performed think-aloud tasks in their native language (English) to provide data on reading strategy use, and recall protocols to provide reading comprehension scores. Subjects were then interviewed to assess their affective responses to each text. Results indicated that all students comprehended significantly more from the authentic passage than from the- edited ones. The majority of students also responded more favorably to the authentic passage than to the edited ones. Results suggest that students would benefit more from reading authentic texts, having cultural information written in English, or reading edited texts written with the characteristics often found in

In the context of the fast-paced globalisation, English has emerged as a working language of many international academic and professional communities. University students are therefore often required to read academic texts in English, even in countries where English is not one of the official or commonly spoken languages. Notwithstanding advantages of being able to access international academic and professional literature, students' abilities to develop higher-level subject matter understanding may suffer as a consequence of insufficient proficiency in English. Vocabulary knowledge, in particular, is one of the stumbling blocks in L2 reading comprehension (Nation, 2006). How quickly and efficiently students may be able to overcome initial difficulties associated with using English as a medium of learning depends critically on the speed and quality of contextual L2 word learning (i.e., ability to 'pick up' new vocabulary from reading).

Σε απηή ηελ παξνπζίαζε ζα ζπδεηεζεί κέξνο ησλ απνηειεζκάησλ κηαο εξεπλεηηθήο κειέηεο, ζρεηηθά κε ηηο πεπνηζήζεηο γηα ηε δηδαζθαιία ηεο αλάγλσζεο λεπηαγσγώλ πνπ εξγάδνληαη ζε δηαθνξεηηθά είδε λεπηαγσγείσλ. Σπγθεθξηκέλα λεπηαγσγώλ πνπ ηα λεπηαγσγεία ηνπο ππάγνληαη ζε δεκόζηα δεκνηηθά ζρνιεία, λεπηαγσγώλ πνπ εξγάδνληαη ζε ηδησηηθνύο παηδηθνύο ζηαζκνύο, θαη ζε λεπηαγσγνύο πνπ εξγάδνληαη ζε Reception Classes ζε δεκόζηα δεκνηηθά ζρνιεία. Δξσηεκαηνιόγηα ζπλεληεύμεηο θαη κε ζπκκεηνρηθή παξαηήξεζε ήηαλ νη κέζνδνη πνπ ρξεζηκνπνηήζεθαλ γηα ηε ζπιινγή δεδνκέλσλ. Τα επξήκαηα ηεο κειέηεο ππέδεημαλ όηη νη λεπηαγσγνί ζηνπο ηδησηηθνύο παηδηθνύο ζηαζκνύο ρξεζηκνπνηνύλ ην παηρλίδη θαη ην πεξηβάιινλ γηα λα εληζρύζνπλ ηελ έκκεζε δηδαζθαιία ηεο αλάγλσζεο, σο κέξνπο ελόο νιηζηηθνύ πξνγξάκκαηνο. Αληίζεηα όζνη λεπηαγσγνί πνπ δνπιεύνπλ ζε ηκήκαηα λεπηαγσγείνπ πνπ ππάγνληαη ζε δεκόζηα ζρνιεία, θαη λεπηαγσγνί πνπ δνπιεύνπλ ζε Reception Classes ζε δεκόζηα δεκνηηθά ζρνιεία, αλ θαη απνδέρνληαη ηελ ζεκαζία ηεο ειεύζεξεο έθθξαζεο κέζσ ηνπ παηρληδηνύ, είλαη αληηκέησπνη κε απαηηήζεηο πνπ ζρεηίδνληαη κε ηελ επίηεπμε ζπγθεθξηκέλσλ δηδαθηηθώλ ζηόρσλ. Απηέο νη δηαθνξέο ζηνπο ξόινπο ησλ λεπηαγσγώλ, θαίλεηαη λα ζρεηίδνληαη κε ζεκαληηθέο δηαθνξέο αλάκεζα ζηηο πεπνηζήζεηο θαη ηηο πξαθηηθέο πνπ αθνινπζνύλ ζηε δηδαζθαιία ηεο αλάγλσζεο. Λέμεηο-Κιεηδηά Δθπαίδεπζε εθπαηδεπηηθώλ, δηδαζθαιία αλάγλσζεο, πξνζρνιηθή εθπαίδεπζε.