Education Commons^™

Investigating Linguistic, Literary, And Social Affordances Of L2 Collaborative Reading, Joshua Thoms, Frederick J. Poole

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

This exploratory study analyzes learner–learner interactions within a virtual environment when collaboratively reading Spanish poetry in a Hispanic literature course at the college level via an ecological theoretical perspective (van Lier, 2004). The goals of the study are (a) to present empirical data that illustrate the theoretical construct of affordance in a virtual, collaborative reading environment, and (b) to investigate the pedagogical ramifications of using a digital annotation tool to involve learners in collaborative reading. Three distinct types of affordances emerged in the data: linguistic, literary, and social affordances. Our findings indicate that the number of literary and social affordances …

In Their Own Words: Chinese Students In American Universities, Nolan Weil, Jianzhong Luo

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

Purposes

• To explore Chinese students’ perceptions of their ESL experiences in the Intensive English Language Institute at Utah State University as compared with their prior learning EFL experiences in China
• To get a glimpse of Chinese students’ perceived quality of life at a major state university in the Intermountain West

Rethinking Materials For The Reading Class, Nolan Weil

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

With experienced teachers reading pedagogy revolves around activities that promote:
• Background knowledge
• Knowledge of text structure
• Vocabulary development
• Strategic reading
• Reading fluency
• Interactions around text
Inexperienced teachers can be mentored so that they learn to use texts to teach as experienced reading teachers teach. Publishers and materials writers can facilitate this by writing and publishing materials that have lots of stimulating text and instructional materials (e.g., pedagogical explanation, techniques, and recommendations) that empower teachers to teach.

The More They Read, The More They Can Read, Nolan Weil

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

We learn to read by reading, but improvement requires consistency and takes time. Extensive reading is not the silver bullet. Multiple approaches are necessary to promote high levels of L2 reading proficiency, but extensive reading is a vital component.

“Read It Again, Sam”: Giving Repeated Reading A Purpose, Nolan Weil

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

Readers’ Theater is an enjoyable and worthwhile activity in its own right. Moreover, the process of rehearsal in Readers’ Theater, by its very nature, entails repeated reading—a form of reading practice, which research has suggested has a positive effect on the development on reading fluency and ultimately on reading comprehension.

Vocabulary Size, Background Characteristics, And Reading Skill Of Korean Intensive English Students, Nolan Weil

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

This study examines the relationship between breadth of vocabulary, background experiences in learning English and student skill in the reading of an academic text. The author used the Swansea Levels Tests to estimate vocabulary sizes and collected information on background characteristics via questionnaire from eleven Korean students enrolled in an Intensive English program and five Korean undergraduate students at Utah State University. Eight of the Intensive English students were subsequently trained in a think-aloud procedure and then completed a research task in which they read a 960-word essay. The task required the students to think aloud as they attempted to …