This study examined the effects of the number of columns and type of justification on reading speed, reading comprehension, and satisfaction for online text. Sixty-six participants read a single narrative passage of approximately 2200 words presented in one of six conditions: one, two, or three columns and full- or left-justification. Results from this study found that reading speeds for the two-column full-justified condition and one-column left-justified condition were fastest overall. Fast readers performed best under the two-column full-justified condition, and slow readers performed best under the one-column left-justified condition. No significant differences were found for overall satisfaction or comprehension. Further studies are needed to examine the importance of individual difference in reading ability on online reading performance. / "May 2005." / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Wichita State University, Dept. of Psychology

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The Effect of Comparative Tests Between Self-questioning Strategy And Cooperative Learning (Group Discussion) on Junior High School Students' Chinese Reading Comprehension Abstract The main purpose of this study was to discuss the effect of comparative tests between self-questioning strategy and cooperative learning (group discussion) on junior high school students' Chinese reading comprehension. The questions explored here were: 1. How did self-questioning strategy influence reading comprehension ability? 2. How did self-questioning strategy and the group discussion of cooperative learning improve and influence reading comprehension ability? 3. How did self-questioning strategy and the group discussion of cooperative learning affect the levels of question types? The study used experimental research method. The subjects were 50 second grade students of junior high. According to the scores of the prior test on "reading comprehension ability," students were divided into an experimental group and a control group, and each one was composed of 25 students. The instrument was "test of reading comprehension ability," and the information acquired was dealt with statistical testing on the basis of t-test. The results were as followings: 1. After receiving the teaching of "self-questioning strategy," students' reading comprehension abilities were improved. 2. After the students in the experimental group received the co-teaching of self-questioning strategy and the group discussion of cooperative learning, their scores of the posttest on "reading comprehension ability" were superior to the scores of the students in the control group. 3. After the students in the experimental group accepted the co-teaching of self-questioning strategy and the group discussion of cooperative learning, their scores of the posttest on "high-level question type" were superior to the scores of the students in the control group. Finally the study discussed the above results in more detail, and provided suggestions and references of further research concerning teaching of the reading comprehension.

Although the importance of reading comprehension is generally recognized, a better understanding of the factors influencing measurement of reading comprehension may impact the ability to assess strengths and deficits. The current study examined the effects of text type and time limits on the rate of students' performance across four common assessments of reading comprehension. Results showed similarities between performance with narrative and expository texts and across time limit conditions for all of the assessments. In terms of comparing across reading comprehension assessments, the findings are limited by the differences in the response channels and stimulus conditions of each assessment. The results have implications for the development of measurement systems and the assessment of reading comprehension.

Thesis (MEd)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study was designed to investigate whether metacognitive instruction could be used to improve the reading comprehension of isiXhosa-speaking English Second Language (ESL) learners in the FET phase. The metacognitive instruction encompassed increasing the learners’ metacognitive awareness, equipping them with metacognitive reading strategies and facilitating the transfer of these strategies to content subjects such as Life Sciences and Geography. The Vygotskian sociocultural theory that accounts for the roles of social, cultural, and historical contexts in comprehending text during academic reading tasks provided an appropriate theoretical framework for conducting the research. The study was comprised of one cycle of action research, framed within a paradigm of praxis. It took place in a high school in a disadvantaged community in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. A qualitative methodology allowed for in-depth insight into the metacognitive habits of ESL learners through various forms of data collection. Eight participants in Grade 10, ranging between 16 and 19 years of age, took part in the study. Their reading comprehension abilities varied, as did their English proficiency. The data were presented as collected in the phases of the action research cycle and summed up in three data processes. Each data set was embedded in the chronological timeline of the study’s progress and discussed in light thereof. Three broad themes were derived from the data, using qualitative content analysis. The data revealed that metacognitive instruction can improve the English reading comprehension of isiXhosa-speaking learners. This was reflected in both the quantitative and qualitative data sets. The quantitative data were used descriptively and interpreted qualitatively, in line with the qualitative methodology. The results of the study indicated that before metacognitive instruction can be successful, language proficiency, basic linguistic skills, and mental representations are crucial. The findings showed that mind mapping and constructing mental representations of the text are two effective metacognitive reading strategies that are easily transferable across the curriculum. They also revealed the strong link between culture and reading practices amongst different population groups. Cultural understandings of concepts such as respect and authority had a profound influence on the learners’ considerations of what it means to learn, read and understand. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie het ten doel gehad om te bepaal of metakognitiewe onderrig aangewend kan word ter verbetering van leesbegrip by Xhosasprekende leerders wat Engels Tweede Taal (ETT) in die fase verdere onderwys en opleiding (VOO) neem. Metakognitiewe onderrig het behels om die leerders se metakognitiewe bewustheid te verhoog, hulle dan met metakognitiewe leesstrategieë toe te rus, en hulle laastens daardie strategieë na inhoudsvakke soos Lewenswetenskappe en Geografie te laat oordra. Vygotsky se sosiokulturele teorie het ’n toepaslike teoretiese raamwerk gebied vir die navorsing, wat die rol van sosiale, kulturele en historiese kontekste in teksbegrip gedurende akademiese leestake in ag geneem het. Die studie het uit een siklus aksienavorsing binne ’n praktiese paradigma bestaan. Dit is in ’n hoërskool in ’n benadeelde gemeenskap in die provinsie Wes-Kaap, Suid-Afrika, onderneem. ’n Kwalitatiewe metodologie het deur middel van verskeie vorme van data-insameling diepe insig in die metakognitiewe gewoontes van ETT-leerders gebied. Altesaam agt graad 10-leerders van tussen 16 en 19 jaar, met wisselende leesbegripvermoëns én vaardigheid in Engels, het deelgeneem. Die data is aangebied soos dit in die fases van die aksienavorsingsiklus ingesamel is, en is in drie dataprosesse saamgevat. Elke datastel is op die chronologiese vorderingstydlyn van die studie geplaas en teen daardie agtergrond bespreek. Drie algemene temas is met behulp van kwalitatiewe inhoudsontleding uit die data afgelei. Die data het getoon dat metakognitiewe onderrig wél Xhosasprekende leerders se leesbegrip in Engels kan verbeter. Dít het uit sowel die kwantitatiewe as kwalitatiewe datastelle geblyk. In pas met die kwalitatiewe metodologie, is die kwantitatiewe data beskrywend aangewend en kwalitatief vertolk. Die studie het beklemtoon dat taalbedrewenheid, basiese taalvaardighede en geestesvoorstellings noodsaaklik is vir suksesvolle metakognitiewe onderrig. Die bevindinge toon dat konsepkaarte (“mind mapping”) en die konstruksie van geestesvoorstellings van die teks twee doeltreffende metakognitiewe leesstrategieë is wat maklik op die hele kurrikulum toegepas kan word. Die studie het ook ’n sterk verband tussen kultuur en leespraktyke onder verskillende groeperinge uitgewys. Die kulturele begrip van konsepte soos respek en gesag het ’n diepgaande invloed gehad op wat die leerders onder ‘leer’, ‘lees’ en ‘begryp’ verstaan het.

The focus on this study was on improving the oral reading fluency of third grade students who struggle in reading. One third grade teacher and six of her students participated in this 4 week study that examined the effect on fluency of newspaper reading and various constructive reading and engagement activites. These six students were assigned to an Optimal Learning Model pull-out fluency instruction using the newspaper as text. Results from the Developmental Reading Assessment instrument reveal significantly improved effects in the number if miscues, correct words per minute, and prosody for the six students. From the results, it is evident that struggling readers benefit from high-quality fluency instruction.

Student Number : 8801261D - MA research report - School of Human and Community Development - Faculty of Humanities / The ability to achieve academic success is dependent on the acquisition of academic language proficiency, basic to which is the ability to decode and comprehend relevant academic content, with limited contextual support. Research indicates that English Second Language (ESL) learners at primary and tertiary educational institutions in South Africa lack the skills necessary for academic success. This study investigated firstly, the relationship between academic achievement of Grade 8 learners and their decoding and spelling ability and secondly, the impact of a peer mentoring paired reading programme on reading and spelling skills of Grade 8 ESL learners. Results confirm a strong positive relationship between reading and spelling skills of learners and their academic achievement and suggests that the lack of reading skills is not confined to second language English learners only. The reading programme had a significant impact on the on the decoding skills of ESL learners and a small nonsignificant impact on spelling and comprehension skills.

by Wong Tai Yuen. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 112-128). / Acknowledgements --- p.i / Abstract --- p.iii / Contents --- p.v / List of Tables --- p.ix / List of Figures --- p.x / Chapter Chapter I --- Introduction / Chapter 1.1 --- The Problem --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Statement of the Problem --- p.7 / Chapter 1.3 --- Hypotheses --- p.7 / Chapter 1.4 --- Limitations --- p.9 / Chapter 1.5 --- Definitions of Terms --- p.10 / Chapter 1.5.1 --- Text / Chapter 1.5.2 --- Discourse / Chapter 1.5.3 --- Texture / Chapter 1.5.4 --- Context of Situation / Chapter 1.5.5 --- Cohesion / Chapter 1.5.6 --- Cohesive Ties / Chapter 1.5.7 --- Cohesive Harmony / Chapter 1.5.8 --- Coherence / Chapter 1.5.9 --- T-unit / Chapter 1.5.10 --- Holistic Rating / Chapter 1.6 --- Significance of the Study --- p.16 / Chapter Chapter II --- Review of the Literature / Chapter 2.1 --- "Language, Context and Text" --- p.18 / Chapter 2.2 --- Relationship of the Text to its Context of Situation --- p.18 / Chapter 2.3 --- Cohesion --- p.20 / Chapter 2.4 --- Coherence --- p.21 / Chapter 2.5 --- Cohesion and Coherence --- p.23 / Chapter 2.6 --- Cohesion and Coherence as Defined in this Study --- p.26 / Chapter 2.7 --- "Cohesion, Coherence and Reading Comprehension" --- p.27 / Chapter 2.8 --- "Cohesion, Coherence and Writing" --- p.29 / Chapter 2.9 --- The Connections between Reading and Writing --- p.30 / Chapter 2.10 --- Cohesive Ties --- p.33 / Chapter 2.11 --- How Cohesion Works --- p.41 / Chapter 2.11.1 --- Cohesive Devices as Signals / Chapter 2.11.2 --- How Cohesive Devices Help to Integrate Text / Chapter 2.11.3 --- Cohesion and Processing Efficiency / Chapter 2.11.4 --- The Given-New Contract / Chapter 2.12 --- Measuring Cohesion --- p.44 / Chapter 2.13 --- Measuring Coherence --- p.46 / Chapter 2.14 --- How Cohesion and Coherence Are Measured in this Study --- p.47 / Chapter Chapter III --- Procedure and Design of the Study / Chapter 3.1 --- Sampling --- p.49 / Chapter 3.2 --- Design of the Scale to Measure Students' Control over the Use of Cohesive Devices in Writing --- p.51 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- The Writing Test / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Measure of Cohesion / Chapter 3.2.3 --- Cohesive Errors / Chapter 3.2.4 --- Measure of Coherence / Chapter 3.3 --- Design of the Scale to Measure Students' Ability to Understand and Interpret Text --- p.68 / Chapter 3.4 --- Statistical Design --- p.71 / Chapter Chapter IV --- Results and Discussion / Chapter 4.1 --- Linguistic Competence of the Subjects --- p.73 / Chapter 4.2 --- Analysis of the Reading Test --- p.74 / Chapter 4.3 --- Analysis of the Written Test --- p.78 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- Frequency Count of Cohesive Features / Chapter 4.3.2 --- Holistic Rating Scores / Chapter 4.4 --- Multiple Regression Analysis --- p.82 / Chapter 4.4.1 --- Line of Regression / Chapter 4.4.2 --- Test of Multicol1inearity / Chapter 4.4.3 --- Test of Autocorrelation / Chapter 4.5 --- Discussion of the Findings of the Multiple Regression Analysis --- p.85 / Chapter Chapter V --- Conclusions and Implications / Chapter 5.1 --- Summing up --- p.98 / Chapter 5.2 --- Further Discussion: Limitations and Possibilities --- p.102 / Chapter 5.3 --- Implications for Instruction --- p.108 / Bibliography --- p.112 / Appendices --- p.129 / Chapter Appendix A --- Reading Test / Chapter Appendix B --- Writing Test

本研究的目的在於探究合作學習的教學模式對於國民中學的學生在降低英語聽力焦慮和提升聽力能力雙方面上是否有效。本研究的研究對象是54位來自台灣北部地區的一所國民中學的學生，學生來自於經S型分班後同質性的2個普通班，2個班分別設定為對照組和實驗組，兩組在數量、性別、背景、聽力焦慮及聽力能力起始程度上皆相似。對照組施以傳統英語聽力教學模式：學生聽寫，教師給答案並講解的方式施教；實驗組則施以合作學習英語聽力教學模式：同學聽完練習後，交互討論練習答案的方式來學習。師生利用每週四堂英語課的前15分鐘來進行英語聽力合作學習，經過了約12週的教學後，兩組皆接受聽力焦慮量表的後測，及南一書局出版的聽力測驗。量表及測驗皆以獨立樣本t檢定來進行統計分析，研究結果顯示：實驗組和對照組相較之下，聽力焦慮降低的程度達到顯著差異；而聽力能力的部分，雖然實驗組比對照組在測驗分數上有進步，但進步幅度有限，未能達到顯著差異。除此之外，訪談問卷中的質性資料亦支持了量化結果。本研究冀希成為對於有意利用合作學習教學模式來教聽力的老師，在降低聽力焦慮和提升聽力能力上，一個教學上的參考。最後，研究者根據實驗的過程及結果，對未來合作學習或是聽力教學的研究，提出需要避免的情形及一些可進行的研究方向。 / This study is mainly to explore if the mode of cooperative learning can reduce junior high school students’ listening anxiety and promote their listening comprehension ability. The participants in this study were junior high school students from northern Taiwan. They were chosen from two homogeneous classes formulated by the normal s-style distribution. Two classes, decided as the control group and the experimental group, were the same in number, gender, background, listening anxiety as well as the listening comprehension ability. The control group was treated with the traditional mode of teaching listening: Students listened and wrote down their answers; the teacher gave answers and explanations. The experimental group was treated with the mode of cooperative learning: After students finished their listening practices, they exchanged notes and discussed answers by themselves. The initial fifteen minutes in every English class were employed to process the learning of cooperative learning four times a week. After twelve weeks, students in the two groups took the post-test of Foreign Language Listening Anxiety Scale and the listening comprehension test issued by Nan I Book Enterprise. Both instruments were measured by an independent-samples t-test. The result showed that the significant differences were attained in the listening anxiety. Nevertheless, the significant differences were not attained in the listening comprehension ability though the average score of the experimental group was higher than that of the control group. Besides, the qualitative data from the questionnaire also sustain the quantitative results. Hopefully, this study can serve as a reference for those teachers who would like to teach English listening comprehension by the mode of cooperative learning. Eventually, the researcher provided some directions to follow and some awkward situations to avoid for future studies based on the experimental process and results in this study.

"During the first term of the 1938 summer session at the North Texas State Teachers College, under the auspices of the reading laboratory, the Nelson-Denny Silent Reading Test was administered to students enrolled in four sections of a course in the psychology of teaching reading in the grades...For this purpose, this endeavor to analyze the existing condition has been made in order to assist in at least some small measure any future steps in alleviating this deplorable state."--1-2.