Volume 22, No. 2
Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
Browsing Volume 22, No. 2 by Issue Date
Now showing 1 - 10 of 12
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item From the Editors(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2010-10) RFL StaffItem An improper assumption? The treatment of proper nouns in text coverage counts(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2010-10) Brown, DaleItem Glossing is sometimes a distraction: Comments on Cheng and Good (2009)(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2010-10) Taylor, AlanItem Extensive graded reading in the liberal arts and sciences(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2010-10) Poulshock, JosephFor this research, learners did extensive graded reading (EGR) with traditional graded readers, and they also interacted with short graded stories in the liberal arts and sciences (LAS). This study describes the purpose and format of the LAS stories used by hundreds of university students and adult learners in Japan. It summarizes the results of two semester-long pilot projects done with 10 students in 2008 and 24 students in 2009, and it compares how both these groups perceived their experiences of doing EGR with traditional graded readers in combination with graded stories in the liberal arts and sciences. Lastly, this study examines how students learned vocabulary from the LAS stories that they used. The results support the idea that learners enjoy, are motivated by, and can gain vocabulary knowledge through using short graded stories in the liberal arts and sciences.Item Readings on L2 Reading: Publications in other Venues: 2009-2010(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2010-10) Brantmeier, Cindy; van Bishop, Tracy; Xiucheng, YuItem Self-assessment of word knowledge with graded readers: A preliminary study(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2010-10) Wan-a-rom, UdornThe study investigated how second language (L2) learners self-assessed word knowledge on a page of text taken from a graded reader. The case study subjects were five Thai high school learners of English. They were asked to assess their word knowledge using a page of continuous text. Data gained through observation, interviews, self-assessment and a translation test showed that such self-assessment of word knowledge resulted in learners using various reading techniques from simple translation to more complicated guessing from context. The results provide some insight into how self-assessment of word knowledge with graded readers is carried out and provides evidence to support the value of self-assessment as an easy procedure to direct learners to an appropriate reading level as suggested by the scholars in the field (Bamford & Day, 2004; Day & Bamford, 1998; Waring, 1997). Suggestions for pedagogical practice are given.Item Examining reading fluency in a foreign language: Effects of text segmentation on L2 readers(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2010-10) Yamashita, Junko; Ichikawa, ShingoGrouping words into meaningful chunks is a fundamental process for fluent reading. The present study is an attempt to understand the relationship between chunking and second language (L2) reading fluency. The effects of text segmentation on comprehension, rate, and regression in L2 reading were investigated using a self-paced reading task in a moving-window condition. The participants were intermediate and advanced level Japanese EFL learners. The difficulty of chunking a text negatively affected comprehension and smoothness for the intermediate learners, while the advanced learners were able to overcome chunking difficulty. In this study, although the negative effects of chunking difficulty were observed, the positive effects of assisting chunking were not clearly detected, which was interpreted as suggesting that the relationship between chunking and reading needs to be considered in light of the complex interplay between text difficulty and different aspects of reading.Item Second Language Reading Research and Instruction: Crossing Boundaries ZhaoHong Han and Neil J. Anderson (Eds.)(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2010-10) Temples, Amanda LanierItem Repeated-reading-based instructional strategy and vocabulary acquisition: A case study of a heritage speaker of Chinese(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2010-10) Han, ZhaoHong; Chen, Cheng-ling AliceRepeated reading, a procedure involving repetition of the same text, has received copious attention from first language reading research providing highly converging evidence of its potency for reading fluency, accuracy, and comprehension. In contrast, second language research on repeated reading has been scarce. The very few studies extant have, nevertheless, shown similar, albeit inconclusive, findings. The present study was an attempt to foray into a hitherto uncharted area in both first and second language research, by investigating vocabulary gains from implementing a set of repeated-reading-based pedagogical and learning procedures. Using one heritage speaker of Chinese as its subject, the study administered 20 sessions of assisted repeated reading over three weeks. Results indicated both intentional and incidental vocabulary gains that would not otherwise have been possible through conventional reading or vocabulary instruction.Item Connected Words: Word Associations and Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition by Paul Meara(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2010-10) Wallace, Erice