Volume 31, No. 2

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10125/68082

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Now showing 1 - 13 of 13

From the Editors
(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2019-10) RFL Staff
Readings on L2 reading: Publications in other venues 2018–2019
(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2019-10) Harris, Shenika; Cavnar, Tim; Dolosic, Haley
On reading Harry Potter in French
(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2019-10) Macalister, John
Why might children’s literature be difficult for non-native speakers of English?
(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2019-10) Webb, Stuart; Macalister, John
Is children’s literature as hard as scholarly articles about children’s literature? A comment on Macalister and Webb (2019)
(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2019-10) McQuillan, Jeff
Response to the critiques of the Aka (2019) article, “Reading performance of Japanese high school learners following a one-year extensive reading program”
(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2019-10) Aka, Natsuki
Response to Aka: Supplementing extensive reading with bi- & multi-modal input
(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2019-10) Stephens, Meredith
Selective attention of L2 learners in task-based reading online
(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2019-10) Prichard, Caleb; Atkins, Andrew
Selective attention to task-relevant content is an essential strategy for readers. There is evidence that proficient readers more often consider their purpose and focus attention selectively. However, eye tracking research has revealed several limitations with survey data on reading strategies, and few second language (L2) reading studies have explicitly examined selective attention. This study includes two experiments utilizing eye tracking to determine how Japanese university-aged learners read an online text to research specific information. The first experiment evaluates the reading strategies of the participants and examines the effect on task performance. The second experiment investigates the effect of strategy training. The eye tracking results in experiment one suggested that many participants did not display strategic competence. Selective attention and the number of reading strategies identified in the data correlated with task-performance. The second experiment revealed that strategy training increased the use of selective attention and improved task performance.
Reading anxiety scales: Do they measure the same construct?
(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2019-10) Mikami, Hitoshi
This article discusses the interchangeability of three self-report measures for reading anxiety. Despite their differences in target constructs, the three scales have been used for similar lines of research. After computing shared variance between the target scales and examining the behavior of anxiety indexes in relation to the amount of graded reading and reading comprehension performance, the author reaches the conclusion that each of the three scales should be treated as a unique research tool (i.e., the scales are non-interchangeable with one another). The overall results also suggest the utility of each reading anxiety scale in educational research and practice.
Pedagogical effects of teaching test-taking strategies to EFL college students
(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2019-10) Lee, Jia-Ying
This study, an 18-week comparative experiment, examined the effects of instruction in test-taking strategy in English as a foreign language reading class. It involved an experimental group (68 students) taught test-taking strategies and a control group (66 students) that did not receive the instruction. Various means were used to investigate the pedagogical efficacy of the instruction of test-taking strategies. First, standardized reading tests revealed both groups’ reading comprehension performance for comparison before and after the experiment. Second, the effects of test-taking strategies on the experimental group were surveyed before and after the intervention. Third, the experimental group discussed perceptions regarding the intervention. Results show that the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group in the reading tests, had significantly better test-taking strategies, and strongly endorsed the usefulness of the instruction in test-taking strategy. This paper concludes with recommendations for teaching test-taking strategies to empower students to tackle reading tests.
L2 reading rate and word length: The necessity of character-based measurement
(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2019-10) Kramer, Brandon; McLean, Stuart
Reading rate, usually measured in words per minute, is a common operationalization of reading fluency in second language (L2) research and pedagogy. However, the impact of word length is often not addressed. This paper presents two studies showing how the number of characters in a text influences L2 reading time, independent of word counts, within classroom-based activities for Japanese university English as Foreign Language students. In Study 1, students (N = 160) read two sets of graded texts manipulated to differ only in the total number of characters. The texts with more characters required significantly more time to read, with a small effect size. In Study 2, the average reading times for students (N = 27) throughout a semester-long timed reading course were strongly associated with text length as measured in characters, controlling for differences in word counts. Together these studies support the inclusion of character-based counting units when measuring L2 reading rate or reading amount.
Effects of visual aids on intermediate Chinese reading comprehension
(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2019-10) Huang, Ting
This study adopted the between-subjects and within-subjects group designs to examine the impact of visual aids on 26 intermediate Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) learners’ reading comprehension in an American college. Students were assigned into two groups to complete multiple-choice and translation tasks to test effects of visual aids. The results show that visual aids have an overall positive effect on intermediate CFL reading. The results from the within-subjects design were partially statistically significant. This study postulates that this complication was due to factors such as learners’ backgrounds, the types of tasks, and the nature of the visual aids. Using Dual-Coding Theory, this study offers implications for CFL pedagogy.
Two approaches to extensive reading and their effects on L2 vocabulary development
(University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2019-10) Boutorwick, TJ; Macalister, John; Elgort Irina
One avenue for developing second language (L2) vocabulary knowledge is through Extensive Reading (ER). ER can provide opportunities for incidental learning to occur. Class time is often too restricted for sufficient attention to deliberate learning (Hunt & Beglar, 2005) meaning ER is important for L2 vocabulary development. This article builds on ideas in the recent two-part Reading in a Foreign Language ER discussion forum by investigating two implementations of ER and their effects on L2 vocabulary development: a traditional ER-only approach, and an ER-plus approach which supplements ER with post-reading discussion implemented in small groups. L2 English learners enrolled at a university in Aotearoa New Zealand read five graded readers during normal class time. Latent Semantic Analysis was used to measure the development of word association knowledge of 60 target words. The findings revealed facilitative effects of both ER approaches. Supplementing ER with discussion provided opportunities for further development.

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