Language and Literacy Education Commons^™

Teaching Reading: Literature Review: A Review Of The Evidence-Based Research Literature On Approaches To The Teaching Of Literacy, Particularly Those That Are Effective In Assisting Students With Reading Difficulties, Ken Rowe, National Inquiry Into The Teaching Of Literacy (Australia)

School and system improvement

Underlying a key purpose of the present review is the conviction that claims about what constitute effective literacy teaching, and of reading in particular, should be grounded in findings from rigorous evidence-based research. To this end, the present review of the research literature on teaching practices for students, with and without reading difficulties, relies largely, though not exclusively, on well-designed meta analytic syntheses that: (a) partial out methodological artefacts from the effect sizes; and (b) base their analyses on the actual procedures and components of instruction used in the studies reviewed. Following a brief outline of the background and purposes …

Teaching Reading: Report And Recommendations, Ken Rowe, National Inquiry Into The Teaching Of Literacy (Australia)

School and system improvement

The objectives of the Inquiry were to review and analyse recent national and international research about literacy teaching approaches; identify the extent to which prospective teachers are provided with reading teaching approaches and skills that are effective in the classroom and have the opportunities to develop and practise the skills required to implement effective classroom reading programs; identify the ways in which research evidence on literacy teaching and policies in Australian schools can best inform classroom teaching practice and support teacher professional learning; examine the effectiveness of assessment methods being used to monitor the progress of students' early reading learning; …

A Comparison Study Between Writing On Handheld Computers And Pencil-Paper In The Elementary Classroom, Ling-Chin Ko

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare the difference in writing effort associated with two methods, pencil and paper and handheld computers in the third grade classroom. The methods were compared in terms of the quality of the stories written, and the length of the stories in number of words, and time on task during writing of the stories. Three hypotheses were defined to identify the effect of writing efforts associated with the two methods, two classes and the effect on the interaction between the methods and the class. All three hypotheses were analyzed with a two-way MANOVA test. …

Flarr Pages: Volume 1, Pages 1-43, Foreign Language Association Of The Red River

FLARR Pages

During Spring and Fall conferences of FLARR, since the Fall of 1994 (the organization holds joint meetings with MCTLC in the Spring), 159 presentations were were delivered. Of those talks, about one quarter were submitted to FLARR Pages and appear now in Volume #1. The journal articles are a sampling of the issues and concerns of the past decade. They represent, as do all the presentations (see Appendix A), the innovative ways in which faculty have responded to current demands and challenges of teaching, research, service, programming, and many other areas of professional life, both in the public schools and …

A Comparison Of Anonymous E-Peer Review Versus Identifiable E-Peer Review On College Student Writing Performance And Learning Satisfaction, Ruiling Lu

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of anonymous e-peer review with identifiable e-peer review on student writing performance and learning satisfaction. It also investigated whether anonymous e-peer review facilitated a greater amount of critical peer feedback.

Quasi-experimental design was used to test group differences on the dependent variables. Participants were 48 freshmen enrolled in two English Composition classes at Old Dominion University in the fall semester of 2003. The two intact classes taught by the same instructor were randomly assigned to the anonymous e-peer review group and the identifiable e-peer review group.

The results showed that …

The Effects Of Breakthrough To Literacy On The Phonological Awareness Skills Of Students In Early Elementary School, Amy W. Woodward

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This study researched the effects of Breakthrough to Literacy (1998), a phonological awareness computer-based program, on elementary school students in grades kindergarten through three. The treatment group received the Breakthrough to Literacy program in kindergarten. The control group received the traditional curriculum without this program. The students were assessed on phonological awareness skills at the end of kindergarten, the fall and spring of grade one and grade two. Their reading comprehension skills were also assessed at the end of grade 3. Results indicate that Breakthrough to Literacy improved the phonological awareness skills of students who received the program in grades …

Using Computer Translation Websites To Further The Objectives Of The Foreign Language Standards, David C. Alley

Dimensions

Inexperienced students of foreign languages often equate learning a language with translation. Armed with a bilingual dictionary, students convert their sophisticated English thoughts into tortured German, French, or Spanish. The widespread use of computer translation Web sites has only compounded this problem. Students’ reliance on translation as a primary strategy for foreign language learning reveals some fundamental misconceptions about language and translation. Standard 4.1 of the Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century (1999) states that comparisons of the target and native languages can help students better understand the language learning process and the limitations of translation. Ironically, …

Rebuilding A Dying Foreign Language Education Program, Karen Verkler

Dimensions

Handed an undergraduate foreign language education program that was dying and in danger of being eliminated from the curriculum of the College of Education at the University of Central Florida, the author was directed to rebuild it. The author shares the results of formative evaluation of the program and steps taken to effect program enhancement. The areas of revision were all-encompassing: revamping the program to reflect current teacher certification requirements, modifying course content to address current foreign language trends and research, changing the clinical experience to include K-8 levels, initiating program and course offering advertisement, improving the advisement of foreign …

Developing Vocabulary Beyond The Word, Marian M. Brodman

Dimensions

Research in second language acquisition has generated new knowledge about the operations of the brain and the way it facilitates the learning of vocabulary. In addition, the field of corpus linguistics has brought us new information about words and the ways in which they are used in texts—their frequency, the words often occurring with them in the same text, and their syntactical features. The article will discuss the implications of this language acquisition research for second language teachers as they assist their students in developing knowledge of the lexis. Going beyond the word to prefabricated phrases and word associations can …

Effects Of Flex Programs On Elementary Students’ Attitudes Towards Foreign Languages And Cultures, Krista S. Chambless

Dimensions

A recent study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of early foreign language programs on elementary school children’s attitudes and motivation to learn a foreign language. Specifically, the researcher investigated the impact of a 3-week foreign language exploratory (FLEX) program, the Small World Program, on students’ attitudes toward the languages and cultures that had been studied, as well as those that had not been studied. The researcher further assessed the impact of the FLEX program on the individual students’ desire to engage in further foreign language learning. Finally, the study compared attitudes of the FLEX program participants with those of …

Languages And Language Learners

Dimensions

SCOLT Dimensions Volume 40

The Reading Process: Realistic Expectations For Reading In Lower-Level Language Courses, Robert M. Terry

Dimensions

Teaching reading in lower-level language courses does not mean teaching classical literary texts to students who are just beginning to learn the intricacies of another language. We must separate the pragmatic realities of introducing students to a new language, of delving into a text written in that language, and of understanding the essence of the author’s message from the cognitive performance of analyzing a text and of being able to read between the lines. Students will begin to reach the level of reading abilities that we anticipate and expect in upper-level courses only when they have been taught how to …

Improving Foreign Language Writing Competence, Carmen Schlig

Dimensions

Process writing has long been used in English-language composition and English as a Second Language courses, and in recent years it has been adopted in foreign language classes as well. Nevertheless, many teachers and learners still see foreign language writing as an exercise in perfecting grammar and vocabulary. Explicit instruction on the process of insightful writing is unusual in the foreign language classroom. This article presents a study of third-year Spanish courses and addresses (1) whether the different modalities of error correction promote improvement of writing skills and (2) whether students’ awareness of the processes of reading and writing favors …

Graduate Teaching Assistant Training: Pathways To Success, Darrell J. Dernoshek, Lara C. Ducate

Dimensions

Graduate teaching assistant (GTA) training is integral to the successful operation of introductory foreign language (FL) classes at many post-secondary institutions. Addressing the improvement of GTA supervision and the overall quality of introductory-level language classes, this study consists first of an overview of the most current practices in GTA training in the United States. The second part of the article presents the parameters of the qualitative study on GTAs in the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at the University of South Carolina-Columbia (USC Columbia). The study itself consists of the following: (1) peer observations of GTAs, in which the …

Assessment And Assessment Design 1994-2004: An Annotated Bibliography, Carol Wilkerson

Dimensions

This article describes an authentic assessment project developed at the Center for Western European Studies in conjunction with the University of Pittsburgh. For this project, Adair-Hauck was asked to identify four to five second language teachers who might be interested in forming a focus group to pilot-test some alternative assessment strategies. Five high school teachers from three school districts met regularly with Adair-Hauck to discuss problems, concerns, and solutions for integrating authentic assessment into classroom instruction. Results of these discussions and a number of assessment tools are presented.

Fay B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival, Karen Rowell, Rosemary Chance, University Of Southern Mississippi

Fay B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival Programs

The program for the thirty-eighth annual Fay B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival held on the campus of The University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi in 2005.

Building Your Argument: A Guide To Postgraduate Writing Skills, Paddy O'Toole

Shannon Research Press

Building your argument: A guide to postgraduate writing skills is aimed at helping postgraduate students learn the skills relating to their study. It outlines principles derived from study into what postgraduates are taught about academic writing, compared with what they need to know. Building your argument: A guide to postgraduate writing skills is designed to help students understand the task of completing a piece of academic writing that includes or is based on a literature review. Academic writing generally requires the writer to:

• focus the work to argue for particular conclusions;

• gather evidence to support those conclusions;

• …

The Impact Of Reciprocal Teaching Strategies On Reading Comprehension, Mary Jo Fitzgerald

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of Reciprocal Teaching is to improve reading comprehension through the use of cognitive strategies. The strategies encourage student's self-directed prediction, clarification of information, generation of questions about the content, and summarization of material covered. It also promotes collaboration between the student and teacher in the learning process. Reciprocal Teaching was introduced to teachers at a staff meeting, and they were told they were expected to use these strategies in their classrooms. Teachers were given two choices for training. One was a two-day workshop in August and the other was a thirty-four hour program offered throughout the school year. …

Development Of An Implementation Guide For Literature Circles From Teacher Led To Student Led In An Upper Elementary Classroom, Brandon C. Debritz

All Graduate Projects

The focus of this project was to review the available literature on the topic of literature circles from the framework of a balanced literacy program and to create materials to be used by intem1ediate elementary teachers for implementing student led literature circles into their reading curriculum. The results of the research show that through specific teacher guidance, children are empowered with choices and are provided with opportunities to dialog with classmates in a context of creating connections. The project includes an instrnctional framework to establish literature circles, a progression of teacher led to student led applications, and intermediate literature book …

Toolkit For Assistance With The Emergent Reader, Theresa Joanne Phelps

All Graduate Projects

Following the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Initiative in 2002, educators were faced with new obstacles never before experienced. Reading levels were at an all time low with nearly 70% of inner city fourth graders unable to read at a basic level on national reading tests. Because reading is the backbone of all academic areas, struggling readers need much more consideration and attention than they have needed before. The five main components of an effective reading program that are focused on in this project are vocabulary, phonics, phonemic awareness, comprehension and fluency. This toolkit contains assessments and strategies …

Effective Reading Strategies That Enhance Reading Comprehension For Students With Specific Learning Disabilities, Angela Erin Hinkle

All Graduate Projects

This curriculum project provides reading comprehension strategies for students with Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD). This project material can be used with either narrative texts or expository texts, that teach academic subjects. The use of graphic organizers, summarization techniques, strategic reading techniques, and vocabulary instruction techniques are described and examined. Lesson plans that may be used with current classroom curriculum guides and based on the researched reading comprehension strategies are described.

Balanced Literacy Through The Use Of A Progressive Daily Message In A Kindergarten Classroom, N. Elizabeth Debritz

All Graduate Projects

The focus of this project was to review available literature on using a daily message within the framework of a balanced literacy program, and create specific lessons and activities to use in a kindergarten classroom that help students become successful readers and writers. Throughout this project the students will be experiencing powerful communication between teacher and students, and student to student, practicing various literacy skills, responding to print daily, and interacting with text and other students. These activities will help foster their attitude and ability to read independently.

The Critical Relationship Of Dramtic Play And Literacy Development: Primary Plays Handbook, Activity Packets And Dramatic Play Kits For The Primary Classrooms, Connie Lewellyn

All Graduate Projects

Dramatic play is a critical element of programs for young children as a means of acquiring literacy. Literacy-enriched play encourages children's exploration of reading and writing in the world around them. Although child-structured dramatic play is widely recognized as being important, few opportunities are provided for primary educators to incorporate this type of drama into their reading curriculums. This project provides a foundation to implement dramatic play activities in the preschool through third grade reading curriculums.

Teaching Reading Effectively To Low Level Readers, Shawna Antonia Moore

All Graduate Projects

This project is the creation of a reading curriculum that has been developed for teaching reading effectively to low level readers. This curriculum provides explicit supplemental literacy instruction to accelerate students functioning below grade level. The curriculum was designed to supplement an already existing reading program. The main focus or theme, low-level readers becoming proficient at their appropriate level. To achieve success it is subdivided into the sections independent reading, read aloud, shared read, literature circles, guided reading instruction and family involvement.

Second Language Acquisition Through Reading, Comprehensible Input, Limited Grammar, And Cultural Study: A Handbook For The Secondary Language Teacher, Judith A. Willis-Nicolai

All Graduate Projects

Second language practitioners share the goal that their students reach communicative competence in the target language. Recent research findings regarding learning, however, have spawned a debate that has driven teachers to rethink the efficacy of the traditional practice of direct instruction of language usage. The Standards for Foreign Language Learning, as well as research that examines second language acquisition, support content-based instructional strategies that employ sustained language use, cultural infusion, and contextual grammar instruction in a constructivist classroom. This project reviews that research, then synthesizes and applies the findings of the research through the development of units that implement strategies …

Ang Nasyonalismo, Rehiyonalismo At Globalismo Sa Pagpaplanong Pangwika Sa Filipinas, Michael Coroza

Filipino Faculty Publications

Sa papel na ito, tinatalakay ang tunggaliang nasyonalismo-rehiyonalismo sa pagpaplanong pangwika sa Filipinas. Nililinaw rito na sa harap ng hamon ng globalisasyon, lalong dapat paigtingin ang nasyonalismo laban sa isang pagtuturing sa wika at bansa bilang simpleng instrumento lamang. Inuungkat at sinusuri dito ang ugat ng tunggaliang nasyonalismo-rehiyonalismo sa Filipinas at kung paano nito iniluwal ang isang wikang pambansa na dapat maging kasangkapan sa pambansang talastasan at isang simbolong normatibo ng kulturang Filipino.

Curriculum Design To Teach High School Students: How To Pull Evidence From Text, Karen Marie Hughes Bray

All Graduate Projects

Inadequate pe1formance of Washington State's public school students on national exams motivated the state legislature to pass the Basic Education Act in 1993. Graduation requirements were changed and expectations increased to specific skill levels in reading, writing, and several other subjects. The problem is that48% of North Central High School IO'" graders have averaged below standard in reading and 56% have averaged below standard in writing for the last six years. The project is designed to increase reading and writing skills at the high school level in classes outside of the academic arena by direct instruction. Washington State's Commission on …

Meaningful, Motivating Library Lessons That Matter To Students In Grade Four, Karen Louise-Bjorling Felch

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to develop a meaningful, motivating library curriculum to increase student learning in literacy for students in grade four. Current literature and research on the roles of the teacher-librarian, information literacy instruction, reading advocacy, specifically literature guidance and appreciation, and motivation were explored. A yearlong library curriculum map was created addressing topics and methods found to be effective in the review of current research. The library curriculum was aligned with the Marysville School District Elementary Library Curriculum Guide for Grade Four, the Washington State Grade Level Expectations in Reading, the Washington State Essential Learnings in …

Using Music As A Classroom Tool, Gail Foreman

All Graduate Projects

The main focus of the project was to develop resources that will use music as a tool to improve literacy and support learning in third grade self contained classrooms. Research provides strong data connecting the relationship of music to academic achievement, language arts and improved test scores. This project provides prototype lesson plans that support grade level expectations and uses t4e Washington State Essential Academic Learning Requirements as a basis for the concepts being taught. A unit of lesson plans was developed that integrates music into the language arts. Worksheets, graphic organizers and a music book list were developed as …

Dealing With Illiteracy, Helen Ann Myers

All Capstone Projects

This research project is to investigate illiteracy and join the battle to help alleviate this widespread disease, and its related problems. Illiteracy has been a very hotly debated issue in the United States for years. The number of illiterate adults is extremely high and the related challenges on this population are overwhelming. Because of this controversy, there is much debate over the best method of educating our young children to be good readers as well as how to address those who have difficulty reading.