Volume 14, No. 1

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https://hdl.handle.net/10125/68047

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Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    From the Editors
    (University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2002-04) RFL Staff
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    Collaborations: English in Our Lives, Intermediate 2, Student Book by Jean Bernard, Donna Moss, Lynda Terrill
    (University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2002-04) Lam, Thuy Da
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    Reading Power (2nd Ed.) and More Reading Power by Beatrice S. Mikulecky, & Linda Jeffries
    (University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2002-04) Ishida, Saori
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    Extensive Reading and Language Learning: A Diary Study of a Beginning Learner of Japanese
    (University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2002-04) Leung, Ching Yin
    Motivated by the continued growth of research on extensive reading as well as the positive results from a variety of studies (e.g., Bell, 2001; Camiciottoli, 2001; Elley & Mangubhai, 1983; Mason & Krashen, 1997; Nash & Yuan, 1992; Renandya, Rajan, & Jacobs, 1999; Tse, 1996; Walker, 1997), an investigation was conducted on the impact of extensive reading on an adult's self-study of Japanese over a 20-week period. Data were collected from multiple sources, including a learner diary, audio-recordings from several private tutorial sessions, and vocabulary tests. The results of this study show that extensive reading can enhance vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension, and promote a positive attitude toward reading. The challenges that the learner encountered during the extensive reading process and how they were dealt with are also addressed.
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    Transfer Effects of Repeated EFL Reading on Reading New Passages: A Preliminary Investigation
    (University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2002-04) Taguchi, Etsuo ; Gorsuch, Greta J.
    In English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts, there has been a growing recognition that reading provides important opportunities for second language (L2) development in second language learners (Day & Bamford, 1998). This is particularly true in EFL settings in which sources of L2 input are limited (Gebhard, 1996). However, EFL learners face a number of problems effectively utilizing reading as a venue for L2 development. One of the more salient problems is that EFL learners' reading rates may be slow, indicating that they are reading laboriously word by word (Coady, 1979). Mikulecky (1990) suggests that L2 readers are trapped in a feeling of security, in that they believe reading every word leads to better understanding of the text meaning. Unfortunately, such slow reading may discourage learners from practicing reading. It is clear that methods that help students learn to read faster and with better comprehension may encourage students to read more and more fully utilize opportunities for growth in the L2 through reading. This study focuses on one such method -- repeated reading (RR) -- and its use with nine first year Japanese university EFL students of beginner to intermediate English proficiency.
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    Reassessing Readers' Comprehension Monitoring
    (University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2002-04) Yang, Yu-Fen
    For the past three decades, most metacognitive studies in the research field of reading have focused on how metacognition functions best in specific, successful strategies, instead of investigating how comprehension monitoring can be developed. This results in knowing what metacognitive strategies to use and how they are used, but still does not account for their successful and automatic utilization. The internalization of metacognitive competency therefore seems to deserve further investigation. The present study aims at reassessing both proficient and less-proficient readers' comprehension monitoring. The findings of this study show, first of all, that proficient readers displayed more competency in monitoring their on-going thinking process since they tended to monitor their reading process all the time in order to compensate for words that had not been previously decoded. Secondly, the proficient readers employed higher levels of comprehension monitoring which included internal and external consistency (Baker, 1985, 1996). Thirdly, comprehension monitoring can be developed by interaction with a knowledgeable person. Teacher intervention enhanced the less-proficient readers' development of comprehension monitoring by providing them with basic language knowledge as a resource for comprehension monitoring and integrating sporadic information. Finally, the present study suggests that comprehension monitoring is no less significant than reading strategies. Comprehension monitoring can only become possible when there is something available to be monitored (Perfetti, Maureen, & Foltz, 1996). Instruction of basic language knowledge, therefore, should come before that of comprehension monitoring.
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    Possible Effects Of Strategy Instruction on L1 and L2 Reading
    (University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2002-04) Salataci, Reyhan ; Akyel, Ayse
    The present study investigates the reading strategies of Turkish EFL students in Turkish and English and the possible effects of reading instruction on reading in Turkish and English. The study addresses the following questions: a) Does strategy instruction in EFL reading affect EFL reading strategies and reading comprehension in English? b) Does strategy instruction in EFL reading affect reading strategies in Turkish? The participants consisted of 8 Turkish students enrolled in a pre-intermediate level class of a one-year intensive English course offered at a Turkish-medium technical university. The data came from think-aloud protocols, observation, a background questionnaire, a semi-structured interview and the reading component of the PET (the Preliminary English Test). The results indicated that strategy instruction had a positive effect on both Turkish and English reading strategies and reading comprehension in English.