The acquisition of constructions: Does modality matter?

Research on the reading skills of monolingual children has established a convergent skills model for acquisition involving context-free decoding, language comprehension, and visual and phonological processing. This study sought to identify the predictors of Primary One bilingual children's reading accuracy and reading comprehension in English. Eighty English−Mandarin-speaking girls (aged 6.5 years) attending Singapore schools were administered a battery of tests measuring phonological awareness (phoneme deletion), receptive vocabulary, receptive grammar, short-term memory (digit span), reading accuracy, and reading comprehension. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that phonological awareness significantly predicts reading accuracy and reading comprehension skills. Reading accuracy significantly predicts reading comprehension. Receptive grammar significantly predicts reading comprehension, but not reading accuracy. Unlike studies conducted with monolingual children, memory and vocabulary were not predictive of reading accuracy and comprehension. Possible reasons for this discrepancy are discussed.

Purpose This study examined resilience mechanisms influencing Grade 9 reading fluency and reading comprehension skills. Performance in reading fluency and comprehension in Grade 1 (age 7–8 years) was considered a risk factor for Grade 9 (age 15–16 years) reading performance. We focused on the potential promotive and protective effects of cognitive skills, motivational and parental factors, and gender on reading. Promotive factors benefit all individuals regardless of their level of risk, while protective factors generate more benefit for individuals at higher risk compared with those at lower risk. Method Data from a longitudinal Finnish sample of approximately 2,000 individuals were analyzed. Promotive and protective factors were examined separately for reading fluency and comprehension. Promotive factors were identified as main effects while controlling for Grade 1 performance. Protective factors were identified based on significant interactions with the risk factor, i.e. Grade 1 reading fluency and comprehension skills, and the signaling of gap-closing effects between those at lower and higher risk. Results Most examined skills and factors were identified as promotive factors for reading fluency and comprehension. Four protective factors emerged for reading fluency: pre-literacy skills, arithmetic fluency, oral language, and homework persistence. Oral language was identified as a protective factor for reading comprehension. Two additional significant interactions emerged for reading fluency: parental teaching of reading and parental support with reading-related homework, but they did not conform to the classic protective factor model. Conclusion This study advances the application of constructs indicating resilience in reading research and sheds light on factors that provide promotive and protective support for early reading skills development.

This study aimed to develop the Reading Fluency and Comprehension Supplemental Education Program (OKA2DEP) and investigate the effects on reading fluency and comprehension skills of students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) in Turkey. OKA2DEP is the abbreviation of the Turkish name of the program and OKA stands for both reading fluency and reading comprehension and therefore had 2 as a superscript number. DEP stands for Supplemental Education Program. OKA2DEP contains the keyword/mnemonic, repeated reading and story map strategies, and the word cards exercises. The changing criterion design, which belongs to the single subject designs, was used for the study. Social validity data were collected through subjective evaluation and social comparison. Results showed that OKA2DEP was effective in developing participants’ reading fluency and comprehension and that they were able to maintain these skills one, two and three months after completing the implementation. Findings indicated that participants and their parents were satisfied with the effects of OKA2DEP, but participating students’ reading levels were still behind their peers without disabilities.

Contemporary approaches to the study of reading comprehension examine how multiple cognitive skills are interconnected. Within this framework, the aim of the present study was to explore the relationships between core executive functions, oral language skills and reading fluency in their effect on reading comprehension. A sample of 78 children in 5th and 6th grade of primary school were tested on reading comprehension and fluency, as well as on working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility, vocabulary, oral comprehension and fluid intelligence. Correlation, hierarchical regression, and mediation analyses were conducted. The results show that working memory predicts reading comprehension, even when controlled for oral language skills. However, when reading fluency is introduced into the model, only vocabulary and reading fluency are significant predictors. The mediation analysis shows that reading fluency is a complete mediator of the effect of working memory on reading comprehension. In addition, vocabulary was found to be a relevant predictor of reading comprehension, even controlling for other skills. These findings show that it is crucial to assess interactions between multiple cognitive processes when studying written language comprehension. Furthermore, they suggest that one way in which executive functions affect reading comprehension is indirect and that reading fluency mediates this relationship.

PurposeThis study examines the developmental interplay between silent reading fluency and reading comprehension from Grade 1 to Grade 9 (age 7 to 15) in a large Finnish sample (N = 2,518). Of particular interest was whether the associations are bidirectional or unidirectional.MethodsChildren’s silent reading fluency and reading comprehension skills were assessed using group-administered tests, at seven time points, in Grades 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 9. A random intercept cross-lagged panel model with latent factors was used to identify between- and within-person associations between silent reading fluency and reading comprehension. The use of latent factors allowed for the controlling of measurement error.ResultsThe model showed that silent reading fluency and reading comprehension correlated at the between-person level, indicating that those who were proficient in one reading skill were typically good at the other also. At the within-person level, however, only some developmental associations emerged: in the early reading acquisition phase (Grade 1–2), silent reading fluency predicted reading comprehension, and in adolescence, reading comprehension weakly predicted silent reading fluency (Grade 7–9).ConclusionsThe results thus suggest only weak developmental within-person associations between silent reading fluency and comprehension, although some unidirectional associations emerged with a change in the direction of the associations over time.

Exposure to print represents the amount of time one devotes to reading. Print exposure is an essential measure of individual differences in research on language processing: it affects word recognition, reading speed, reading comprehension, oculomotor activity during the reading etc. An objective tool to assess the level print exposure is demanded in psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics. There are subjective methods to estimate print exposure like reading diaries and questionnaires, but they are based on introspection which makes the estimation inaccurate and exaggerating. So an objective tool — Author Recognition Test is considered to be more effective. It was first developed for English by K. Stanovich and R. West, who suggested a design based on the signal detection theory. This test provides a relative measure reflecting individual differences in print exposure. The first English version of Author Recognition Test cannot be representative for other languages and cultures, so it has to be adapted — Chinese, Korean, Dutch, German versions have been developed recently. In this article we present the Russian version of Author Recognition Test. The test shows high reliability. Author Recognition Test score shows a significant correlation with vocabulary size, spelling skills, and text comprehension skill. To sum up, this study is the first to develop a Russian version of Author Recognition Test. We show that Russian native speakers’ level of print exposure measured by this tool is correlated to some offline reading-related tasks.

This study investigated whether Lexical Inferencing (L1) and Morphological Instruction (MI) can significantly affect EFL learners’ reading comprehension, furthermore, it also examined their effects on the learners’ vocabulary retention over time. 60 homogeneous EFLlearnerswere randomly assigned to two experimental and a control groups. After the pre-test, participants of the first experimental group received lexical inferencing strategy training for six 45-minute sessions. The second experimental group was also provided with a morphological instruction for six 45-minute sessions, and as for the control group, the participants followed their regular reading comprehension course. After the treatment, two post-tests with a short time interval were administered to the three groups and the obtained data were fed to different statistical tests to spot the probable differences among the three groups’ first post-test performance as a measure of their learning differences and the second post-test performance as a measure of the learners’vocabulary retention differences over time. Results of the paired t-tests showed that lexical inferencing instruction had a statistically significant effect on EFL learners’ reading comprehension development. On the other hand, it was found that morphological instruction had no statistically significant effect on EFL learners’ reading comprehension development. The ANOVA analyses revealed that there was no statistically significant difference between the effects of lexical inferencing and morphological instruction on EFL learners’ reading comprehension development. Furthermore, no significant difference was found between the effects of lexical inferencing and morphological instruction on EFL learners’ reading comprehension development over time.

We write this on the eve of the publishing of the 2019 What's Hot in Literacy Report, which is the result of a biennial survey completed by the International Literacy Association (in press) that takes the temperature of the literacy dialogue and notes the changing trends from year to year. This year, topics such as identifying effective instructional strategies for struggling learners; building early literacy skills through a balanced approach; increasing equity and opportunities; providing access to highquality, diverse books and content; and increasing professional learning represented the topics that respondents felt were particularly trending this past year. (The 2019 report will be available online very soon at https ://liter acywo rldwi de.org/get-resou rces/whats-hot-report.) These topics raise important questions that link research, theory, and practice. In this issue, we ask questions similar to these: What kinds of activities, instructional approaches, or knowledge about language are useful for becoming literate? How do these different experiences and understandings contribute to language and literacy learning?

The research focused on examining how effective Classpoint technology is, in enhancing the reading comprehension skills of non-native Arabic students, at Yarmouk University Language Center in the second semester of the 2023/2024 academic year. Specifically, two groups of 40 students were involved. One group was taught using Classpoint technology while the other group was taught using traditional methods. A reading comprehension test was administered to assess the study goals after verifying its validity and reliability. The findings showed that Classpoint technology had an impact on enhancing reading comprehension abilities in the test group compared to their counterparts, in the control group with an eta squared value of 0.428. This indicates that 42.8% of the variance in reading comprehension performance can be attributed to the use of Classpoint technology. More clearly, the results found that the experimental group showed significant improvement in all areas of reading comprehension: literal, inferential, and critical-evaluative comprehension. The results emphasize how digital tools, for education such as Classpoint can boost the reading comprehension skills of non-native Arabic learners effectively. Nevertheless, the study small sample size could restrict the generalizability of the findings. Nevertheless, the results indicate that incorporating tools like Classpoint in language education might prove to be beneficial in enhancing reading comprehension skills among non-native Arabic learners. This supports the idea that there’s potential for use of technologies in educational environments.

The primary goal was to expand our understanding of text reading fluency (efficiency or automaticity)-how its relation to other constructs (e.g., word reading fluency and reading comprehension) changes over time and how it is different from word reading fluency and reading comprehension. We examined (1) developmentally changing relations among word reading fluency, listening comprehension, text reading fluency, and reading comprehension; (2) the relation of reading comprehension to text reading fluency; (3) unique emergent literacy predictors (i.e., phonological awareness, orthographic awareness, morphological awareness, letter name knowledge, vocabulary) of text reading fluency vs. word reading fluency; and (4) unique language and cognitive predictors (e.g., vocabulary, grammatical knowledge, theory of mind) of text reading fluency vs. reading comprehension. These questions were addressed using longitudinal data (two timepoints; Mean age = 5;24 & 6;08) from Korean-speaking children (N = 143). Results showed that listening comprehension was related to text reading fluency at time 2, but not at time 1. At both times text reading fluency was related to reading comprehension, and reading comprehension was related to text reading fluency over and above word reading fluency and listening comprehension. Orthographic awareness was related to text reading fluency over and above other emergent literacy skills and word reading fluency. Vocabulary and grammatical knowledge were independently related to text reading fluency and reading comprehension whereas theory of mind was related to reading comprehension, but not text reading fluency. These results reveal developmental nature of relations and mechanism of text reading fluency in reading development.

This study examined the independent contribution of morphological awareness and orthographic awareness in reading comprehension, controlling for working memory and reading fluency in Arabic-speaking children. Participants (N = 244) from grades four and five, were classified into typical comprehenders (n = 207) and poor comprehenders (n = 37). All the participants underwent reading comprehension tasks (sentence comprehension and reading maze), orthographic awareness tasks (word choice and parsing), morphological awareness test (root morpheme awareness), working memory test (listening sentence span), word reading fluency, and word reading accuracy and fluency (reading in one minute). The results indicated that morphological awareness and orthographic awareness contributed significantly to reading comprehension (composite scores) only in the typical comprehenders group. Although morphological awareness showed significant predictive relation with reading comprehension, orthographic awareness was a stronger predictor of reading comprehension while controlling for working memory and reading fluency. The findings are discussed, and future directions for research are suggested.

Reading comprehension is an essential skill for academic achievement and lifelong learning, yet challenges persist among primary-level learners in the Philippines, particularly in the remote barangays of Manticao, Misamis Oriental. This study investigated the impact of interactive reading activities on developing reading comprehension skills among Grade 4 learners at Mahayahay Integrated School. The research focused on interactive methods such as story sequencing, drama role-playing, and questioning strategies to enhance student engagement and comprehension. The study is grounded in three theoretical frameworks: Interactive Reading Theory, Constructivist Learning Theory, and Social Learning Theory, all of which emphasize active engagement, collaboration, and meaningful learning experiences. By applying these theories, the research examined how interactive reading activities influence the reading proficiency of learners, specifically focusing on pretest and posttest scores using the Phil-IRI assessment tool. Findings revealed a significant improvement in reading comprehension scores following the intervention. The majority of students progressed from the Frustration Level to the Instructional Level, indicating the effectiveness of story sequencing in enhancing reading skills. These results underscore the importance of incorporating interactive and engaging reading activities into the curriculum to improve reading comprehension and foster a love of reading among primary-level learners.This study highlighted the potential of interactive reading methods in improving literacy and provides actionable insights for educators, administrators, and policymakers in the Manticao District and beyond.

This paper discusses and examines the effects of a fluency reading instruction cycle onstudents’ progress in there ading skill. To reach this objective, the study implemented the Fluency Oriented Reading Instruction (FORI) approach, a research-based integrated fluency routine framework, to determine if the components of reading fluency (automaticity, word recognition accuracy, prosody, and comprehension) improve. The present research was conductedatthe department of English in the ENS-C where an experimental pretest-posttest with control group design was used. Pretest and posttests of reading fluency, reading comprehension and reading prosody were administered, and a t test was used to compare the means of correct word per minute (CWPM), prosody, and comprehension within an experimental group and a control group. The results indicated that the FORI is an effective approach to improve students’reading fluency and comprehension as demonstrated by CWPM improvement, prosody gains, and comprehension achievements as well.

Guided reading (GR) approach has been shown to have positive effect on reading fluency and comprehension. However, most studies on GR have focused on primary schools, specifically the Foundation Phase. Therefore, this study employed the GR approach to examine its possible effects on the reading proficiencies of Grade 9 English Second Language (ESL) learners in Gauteng province. Social and cognitive constructivism underpinned the study, which employed action research to determine the possible effects of implementing GR on the reading proficiencies of a sample of eight Grade 9 ESL learners who were purposively selected to participate in this study. Data were collected through interviews, observations, and reflection cards, oral and written reading tests. Results indicated that GR approach had caused a significant improvement in these learners’ reading fluency and comprehension because of collaborative learning and scaffolding. In addition, GR also developed a sense of ownership in their learning, a sense of community and innovative and inquisitive minds. The study recommends that learners who struggle with reading be identified early, and GR intervention strategies be implemented and monitored. Every school needs to have a reading policy and the Education Department should ensure that it is implemented and monitored. Keywords: guided reading, reading proficiencies, reading fluency, reading comprehension, second language

Language exposure and learning motivation are two of the most essential aspects in learning any language. In English language acquisition, the development of these two components facilitates the development of other language skills, such as reading comprehension. In turn, reading comprehension is one of the significant indicators of fluency in second or foreign language acquisition. If a correlation can be determined between either language exposure or learning motivation and the development of reading comprehension, educators and specialists can focus their efforts on increasing these predictor variables in curriculum development to further reading comprehension and, ultimately, fluency. This study focused on the reading comprehension of senior high school students in Palembang, Indonesia and sought to find out whether or not there was any significant correlation between students’ English language exposure and reading comprehension, students’ learning motivation and reading comprehension, and among the predictor variables (English language exposure, learning motivation) and the criterion variable (reading comprehension). The samples of this study were 210 eleventh graders in SMA Unggulan, a high-performing senior high school in Palembang. The data were analyzed by using correlational and regression analyses. The findings showed significant positive correlations among English language exposure, learning motivation, and reading comprehension. The contribution of English language exposure to reading comprehension was 41.8%, while the contribution of learning motivation to reading comprehension was 51.7%. Moreover, the contribution of predictor variables to the criterion variable was 58.9%.