Volume 37, No. 1

Permanent URI for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/10125/110068

Browse

Recent Submissions

Now showing 1 - 10 of 23
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    L2 reading in healthcare contexts: Informed research methods with language diverse patients
    (University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2025-06-23) Brantmeier, Cindy; Agyepong, Dorothy Pokua; Dube, Amanda; Strube, Michael; Van Rheenen, Jacaranda; Wills, Jessie; Paithankar, Uma; Thompson, Rachel G.A.; Brevik, Lisbeth M.; Gudmundsdottir, Greta Björk; Smith, Christi; Vorawandthanachai, Thammatat; Ssewamala, Fred; Nabunya, Proscovia
    This study is a renewed effort for applying theory and research in Applied Linguistics (ApL) to today’s healthcare needs. Previously, to analyze language use with linguistically diverse patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers bridged self-assessment (SA) research in ApL to Public Health through the development of an instrument used with 338 healthcare workers (Brantmeier et al., 2021). SA was previously researched in second language (L2) studies with a contextualized, criterion-referenced instrument where learners self-diagnose strengths and weaknesses across language abilities. Studies validated the relationship between the SA instrument and language achievement (Brantmeier, 2005; 2006; Brantmeier & Vanderplank, 2008; Brantmeier et al., 2012; Liu & Brantmeier, 2019). The present study uses a subset of data (Brantmeier et al., 2021) to highlight findings related to reading and substantiates the need for research-based understandings of second and foreign language reading in healthcare contexts.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Online extensive reading: Japanese EFL university students’ attitudes, perceptions, and outcomes
    (University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2025-06-23) Elam, Jesse R.; Thomas, Dax; Grimes-MacLellan, Dawn
    During the COVID-19 pandemic, an exploratory mixed-methods study was conducted on the reading attitudes, perceptions, and outcomes of 50 first-year Japanese EFL university students participating in an online extensive reading (ER) enhanced curriculum using Xreading in order to better understand its affective and cognitive effects. Quantitative data was collected using an adapted version of Yamashita’s (2013) Reading Attitudes Inventory and the Extensive Reading Foundation Online Self-Placement Test (ERFOSPT). Qualitative data was gathered using open-ended surveys and converged on the constructs of the inventory where statistical changes were observed. Other qualitative data was collected about Xreading using an ER perceptions survey to assess students’ views of participating in online ER. Results from this study illustrate that students’ feelings about ER and their perceptions of reading online were generally positive. Furthermore, students’ ERFOSPT levels increased, suggesting online ER is a suitable approach in the context of this study.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Morphological awareness and affix knowledge in EFL reading via vocabulary breadth
    (University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2025-06-11) Morita, Mitsuhiro; Yamashita, Junko
    Morphological knowledge is a complex construct integral to vocabulary breadth and reading comprehension. To understand its complexity, researchers examine its dimensionality. First, this study contributes to this broad topic by investigating whether morphological awareness and affix knowledge, related concepts with a long history of investigation in second language (L2) research, constitute separate dimensions. Second, we examined how these concepts contribute to reading comprehension with vocabulary breadth as a mediator. We evaluated 508 Japanese university students using a series of linguistic tasks and analyzed their performance through confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Our findings showed that morphological awareness and affix knowledge are distinct constructs. The study further revealed significant direct and indirect pathways from both variables to reading comprehension, mediated by vocabulary breadth, with a stronger overall effect of morphological awareness. Potential reasons for this result and pedagogical implications are discussed.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Finding the sweet spot: Strategic reading for fill-in-the-blank items
    (University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2025-06-11) Kim, Jieun; Lee, Byungmin
    While it has been observed that second language learners selectively read information to answer comprehension questions, the amount of textual information required to correctly answer a question remains unclear. This study sought to identify the effects of this strategic reading on reading comprehension performance and explore how proficiency modulates its effects. A total of 279 Korean high school students across four proficiency levels responded to 18 multiple-choice fill-in-the-blank items from the English section of College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT). Reading passages were modified into four versions with varying amounts of textual information to enforce selective, strategic reading. A multilevel logistic regression analysis revealed that learners with the lowest proficiency performed poorest in the complete passage condition, while those with the highest proficiency performed best, suggesting that the sweet spot of reading for fill-in-the-blank items varies depending on proficiency. The findings are discussed in the context of second language instruction and assessment.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Choosing lexically appropriate texts: Vocabulary mastery level or text-range vocabulary size?
    (University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2025-05-19) Ha, Hung Tan; Nguyen, Duyen Thi Bich; McLean, Stuart; Matthews, Joshua
    Ensuring classroom reading materials align with learners’ lexical knowledge is crucial, often requiring teachers to infer vocabulary knowledge from vocabulary test performance. However, the best approach to match learners with lexically appropriate texts based on vocabulary test scores remains unclear. This study compared two methods: vocabulary mastery level and text-range vocabulary size. A meaning-recall vocabulary levels test and a reading comprehension test were administered to 304 tertiary-level Vietnamese learners of English. Learners were alternatively grouped based on either vocabulary mastery level (no mastery, 1000-word mastery, or 2000-word mastery) or text-range size (1000, 2000, or 3000-word knowledge). Analysis revealed that the text-range vocabulary size approach provided a more accurate means of matching learners with comprehensible texts. These findings offer valuable insights for teachers and researchers in English language education, highlighting practical strategies for selecting reading materials that best support learners’ comprehension and language development.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Teaching reading: A playbook for developing skilled readers through word recognition and language comprehension by Douglas Fisher, Nancey Frey, and Diane Lapp
    (University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2025-05-12) Nguyen, Bao Trang Thi
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Day and Bamford’s (2002) Ten Principles for Teaching Extensive Reading Revisited: A Methodological Synthesis of Research Practice
    (University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2025-05-12) Arai, Yuya; Takizawa, Kotaro
    Despite the preponderance of research on extensive reading (ER), the research field still suffers from a lack of common understanding of what ER is and how it should be implemented. From the perspective of Day and Bamford’s (2002) seminal ten principles for teaching ER, the present methodological synthesis aimed to systematically review and critically appraise the reporting practice of how previous studies implemented ER. A total of 72 primary studies were retrieved and reviewed. The findings suggested that many studies did not explicitly report ER characteristics in their articles, making it difficult to understand how ER was operationalized and practiced. Suggestions for future studies are discussed.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Two Book Reviews of the Same Book: Why We are Publishing Both
    (University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2025-04-07) Kurgat, Evans; Soktoeva, Baiarma
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Extensive Reading by Jing Zhou
    (University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center, 2025-04-07) Arai, Yuya