A systematic review and meta-analyses on the psychological effects and mechanisms of the second-person pronoun "you".

Wordless picture books rely entirely on carefully sequenced illustrations to convey a story, requiring readers to actively construct meaning from visual cues. This study aimed to examine whether the narratives created by 30 Grade 7 students using a wordless picture book demonstrated the presence of literary elements such as character, setting, and plot. Data analysis revealed that while all participants could identify the characters, only a few provided detailed descriptions of the main character’s traits and actions. In describing the setting, only one student used vivid language to create a mental image, and although all students included some sequence of events, only a few organized the plot in a logical and coherent order. These findings indicate that interpreting wordless picture books is an active process in which readers supply the language to accompany illustrations, drawing upon prior knowledge and personal experiences. The study further suggests that incorporating wordless picture books regularly in classroom practice can enhance vocabulary, critical thinking, narrative comprehension, and oral language fluency. Exposure to a variety of genres may also foster creativity, storytelling skills, and deeper engagement with literary concepts. Therefore, wordless picture books represent a promising instructional strategy to support holistic literacy development and the understanding of literary elements among the Junior High School school learners.

This study explores how parental mediation in digital children’s literature enhances multimodal literacy in early childhood. It analyzes the experiences of eight mothers of children aged 5–6 years, gathered through asynchronous written interviews and examined using thematic analysis. The findings demonstrate that multimodal features of digital narratives, such as visuals, audio, and interactive elements, stimulate vocabulary growth, narrative comprehension, and creative expression. Crucially, these outcomes are strengthened when parents actively co-read, guide discussions, and critically select appropriate content. The study highlights that digital literature extends beyond entertainment to become a pedagogical tool for literacy development when mediated effectively. It further underscores the need to integrate digital narratives into early childhood education, aligning them with contemporary pedagogical strategies emphasizing parental involvement, multimodal engagement, and balanced screen-time management.

Reciprocal association between theory of mind and reading comprehension of narrative (but not expository) text in middle childhood: A latent change score approach

Measuring brain sensitivity to semantic distance in spoken narrative comprehension.

Young children's updating of mental representations of story characters and events based on verbal and pictorial information.

This article examines the aesthetic, political, and historical significance of material objects in Satyajit Ray’s Shatranj Ke Khilari (1977), while exploring how the film translates Munshi Premchand’s short story into a cinematic meditation on decadence, dependency, and colonial subjugation. By employing the frameworks of Kracauer, Bazin, and Balázs, the essay situates Ray’s visual strategies within the discourse of material aesthetics, where objects, textures, and spatial arrangements acquire expressive and ideological resonance. The study analyzes carefully curated inanimate objects as mnemonic devices through which Ray reconstructs the historical memory of Awadh’s annexation (1856). Furthermore, through a close reading of the quotidian lives of Awadh’s ruler, King Wajid Ali Shah, and his noblemen, Nawab Mirza Sajjad Ali and Nawab Mir Roshan Ali in the film, the article investigates how Ray’s film becomes a subtle commentary on their colonial defeat and cultural dispossession. Additionally, by evaluating the film’s historical authenticity and character dynamics, the article highlights Ray’s distinctive approach and demonstrates the potential of visual media to enhance our comprehension of historical narratives through the interplay of aesthetics and cultural memory.

This study explores the stylistic elements in the short story The Last Word written by Dr. A. R. Tabassum. The study aims to explore the linguistic features of Dr. A. R. Tabassum's short story The Last Word focusing the elements such as repetition, alliteration, and allegory to uncover the impact of these devices in contribution to the overall meaning of the text. Moreover, it also adds the interplay of various semiotic modes like textual, visual and auditory within the text to reveal the complexities of the story's non-linear structure and thematic depth. The text of the story The Last Word was analysed by using Paul Simpson’s framework in Stylistics: A Resource Book for Students (2004). This framework facilitates the exploration of multiple semiotic modes, including visual, auditory, and textual elements, allowing for a comprehensive examination of these components that contribute to the narrative's meaning. The qualitative research method involved a close reading of the text to identify key stylistic devices such as repetition, alliteration, and allegory qualitative analysis methods were utilized to interpret their significance in context. This paper reveals the embedded meaning in the text and highlights the interplay of linguistic choices and evocative imagery to enhance the narrative’s emotional resonance and reader engagement. The findings indicate that a multimodal approach not only enriches the understanding of the story but also reveals the complexities of its non-linear structure and thematic depth. Ultimately, this analysis underscores the significance of integrating multimodal stylistics in literary studies, advocating for a broader comprehension of narratives that engage and affect readers through various semiotic modes.

Literacy development in children aged 5–6 is crucial for fostering cognitive growth, school readiness, and social competence. However, implementing effective literacy teaching strategies remains challenging in diverse educational settings. This study employs a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) to examine the impact of digital learning media on early childhood literacy, focusing on the competencies developed and factors influencing effectiveness. Analysis of 34 selected studies reveals that digital media significantly enhances literacy skills, particularly in language, communication, and cognitive domains. Interactive tools such as digital storybooks, educational applications, and learning games promote engagement, vocabulary expansion, narrative comprehension, and critical thinking. The active involvement of parents and educators is essential in guiding children and selecting developmentally appropriate digital content. Although the direct effects on reading and writing acquisition remain underexplored, findings suggest that integrating digital media in literacy instruction can make learning more enjoyable and effective. The study concludes that digital media serves as a promising pedagogical tool to strengthen early literacy when supported by active adult participation, thoughtful content design, and conducive learning environments.

The integration of technology in the preservation and empowerment of the Tidung ethnic language represents an approach aligned with contemporary technology-based education. This study outlines the use of the ADDIE instructional design model in developing the interactive media application i-Tidung, designed to support the preservation and learning of the Tidung language in Sabah. The application was created following the five core phases of the ADDIE model, which are analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. The study employed a 200-word Swadesh list as its primary dataset, with each transcribed entry annotated with its meaning for integration into the application. The i-Tidung application focuses on five key components of language learning: (i) oral communication, (ii) print awareness, (iii) phonemic and phonetic skills, (iv) narrative comprehension, and (v) basic writing skills. Additionally, knowledge-based quizzes were developed using the collected data. The application targets young Tidung speakers under the age of 18, aiming to strengthen their linguistic competence and cultural identity. Consequently, this interactive media application serves as both a resource and documentation for the Tidung ethnic language in Tawau, Sabah, while contributing to its sustainability and revitalisation

Understanding narratives requires at least transient access to the semantic system, to decode incoming content, and prolonged access to the default mode network to maintain and manipulate the narrative model. Subregions within the integrative semantic hubs in bilateral anterior temporal lobe appear differentially sensitive to the need to rapidly decode external input (exogenous processing) versus reflecting on context stored in the narrative model (endogenous processing). The latter is most consistently reported in the middle temporal gyrus portion of the hub, suggesting that this region serves as a critical hinge point, dynamically interacting with the default mode network to facilitate endogenous processing. The present study investigated this by characterizing the functional connectivity profiles of anterior temporal lobe subregions during movie-viewing and examining content-evoked changes in these profiles. Compared to other anterior temporal lobe subregions, middle temporal gyrus was more functionally connected to the default mode network, and these connections were strengthened during moments with limited incoming information, providing viewers with a chance to reflect on the content. Rather than being functionally distinct networks, the semantic and default mode systems dynamically interact to facilitate reflection or endogenous semantic processing. Future work should further characterize how neural systems dynamically shift from integrated to segregated states in response to everyday processing demands.

General background: Reading comprehension remains a core challenge in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning. Specific background: Many high school students struggle to understand narrative text structures and implicit meanings. Knowledge gap: Few studies have investigated the integration of the ZepQuiz platform within Game-Based Learning (GBL) to enhance narrative reading comprehension at the secondary level. Aims: This study examined the use of ZepQuiz as a digital learning medium to improve students’ reading comprehension and motivation in narrative texts. Results: Using a one-group pretest-posttest quantitative design, findings from 35 students showed a statistically significant improvement (p < 0.05) in reading comprehension and motivation scores after ZepQuiz implementation. Novelty: The research highlights ZepQuiz’s ability to integrate gamification elements—leaderboards, instant feedback, and time challenges—to promote engagement and cognitive processing. Implications: ZepQuiz can be applied as an innovative and interactive learning approach to support digital-based English education. Highlight & Keyword• Motivation improvement through gamified reading• Cognitive engagement in narrative comprehension• Technology-based EFL instruction Keywords: ZepQuiz, Game-Based Learning, Reading Comprehension,Narrative Text, English Education

ABSTRACT Understanding an oral narrative is a predictive skill for future reading comprehension. There are a variety of levers for promoting this comprehension in listening situations, and teacher narration seems to be one of those to be encouraged at school. This study aims to explore the extent to which expressive narration without gestures and dramatized narration have an effect on inferential comprehension of narratives. Pre-reader children (N = 165, aged 5–7, 55% girls) from the South of France answered inferential comprehension questions during story listening. Based on a within-subjects experimental design, narratives were presented in three modalities: with inexpressive narration, with expressive narration, and with dramatized narration, each child having seen all modalities. The results showed better inferential comprehension scores when the stories were presented with theatrical narration, particularly with regard to scores in the production of emotional inferences enabling an emotional mental state to be attributed to the protagonists.

The use of reading strategies is closely linked to readers’ proficiency levels. While extensive research has examined strategy use among EFL readers with varying proficiency, there remains a gap in qualitatively understanding the characteristics that distinguish good and poor EFL readers in narrative texts. The study addresses this gap through a qualitative case study involving four good and four poor Chinese college EFL readers. Data were collected primarily through think-aloud protocols to gain in-depth insights into their strategy use. Findings indicate that good readers effectively employed inference-making strategies to enhance comprehension and actively monitored their reading progress. Conversely, poor readers relied heavily on translation, struggled with making inferences, and demonstrated ineffective comprehension monitoring. These contrasting behaviors revealed three key differences between the two reader groups: approaches to assisting comprehension, inference-making abilities, and monitoring of comprehension. The study concludes that successful narrative comprehension depends on both linguistic competence and strategic reading awareness. It recommends explicit instruction on rephrasing and inference-making strategies, alongside guidance for active comprehension monitoring and adaptive strategy use. Future research is suggested to examine how strategy use evolves over time and how targeted instruction influences EFL readers’ strategic behavior.

Cerebellar engagement for narrative comprehension in Chinese-English bilinguals.

Narrative comprehension is inherently context-sensitive, yet the brain and cognitive mechanisms by which brief contextual priming shapes story interpretation remain unclear. Using hidden Markov modeling (HMM) of fMRI data, we identified dynamic brain states as participants listened to an ambiguous spoken story under two distinct narrative contexts (affair vs. paranoia). We uncovered both context-invariant states—engaging auditory, language, and default mode networks—and context-specific states characterized by differential recruitment of control, salience, and visual networks. Narrative context selectively modulated the influence of character speech and linguistic features on brain state expression, with the central character’s speech enhancing activation in shared states but suppressing activation in context-specific ones. Independent behavioral analyses revealed parallel context-dependent effects, with character-driven features exerting strong, selectively modulated influences on participants’ judgments of narrative evidence. These findings demonstrate that brief narrative priming actively reshapes brain state dynamics and feature sensitivity during story comprehension, revealing how context guides moment-by-moment interpretive processing in naturalistic settings.

Differences in Narrative Discourse Ability in Traumatic Brain Injury and a Neurotypical Comparison Group: Influence of Age, Education, and Sex.

This study focuses on culture-driven character design for Aventala: The Lost Tribe by transforming Indonesian endemic animals and cultural elements into humanoid forms documented in a character sheet. The objective is to formulate and validate a culture-driven character design pipeline via: (i) a personification sheet that maps physiology–fantasy–psychology–sociology, (ii) scene-based moodboards to align tone and persona, and (iii) a user study employing a six-indicator 5-point Likert instrument (mythology, culture, fantasy, naming, traits, and sheet readability) analyzed in a Business Intelligence dashboard. The method combines narrative comprehension (DRTA), qualitative data curation, sheet construction, moodboard development, and an online survey with the target audience. Results show a moodboard satisfaction level of 85.24% and character acceptance ranging from 83% to 86%, indicating coherence across cultural representation, fantasy elements, naming, and traits. These findings suggest the proposed pipeline is effective for evidence-based design, and the personification sheet serves as a practical cross-team artifact to guide iteration decisions.

Introduction: Executive functions (EF) are cognitive processes supporting language and reading. Children with dyslexia show reading difficulties primarily due to phonological processing, with additional reported deficits in EF. This study aimed to determine the differences in EF involvement during written (reading) versus oral language (narrative) comprehension in children with dyslexia versus typical readers neurobiologically and behaviorally. Methods: Reading, language, and EF behavioral measures and functional MRI data were collected from 55 typical readers (TR) and 65 English-speaking children with dyslexia ages 8-12 years during reading and narrative comprehension tasks. Differences within and between functional connectivity of EF and attention networks were calculated and then compared between groups and tasks using Fisher Z-transformation. Results: Children with dyslexia showed higher functional connectivity values in EF and attention networks in both reading and narrative comprehension tasks, whereas TR showed higher functional connectivity in narrative versus reading comprehension. Within groups, analysis showed higher functional connectivity within dorsal attention functional brain network (DAN) and between DAN-fronto-parietal (FP), cingulo-opercular (CO)-FP, and ventral attention functional brain network (VAN)-DAN, in the reading versus narrative comprehension task in the dyslexia group. TR showed higher functional connectivity within VAN, and between VAN-FP in the narrative compared to the reading comprehension tasks. Discussion: Children with dyslexia seem to greatly utilize EF and attention-related networks in narrative and reading comprehension tasks and demonstrate a greater network integration for the written versus oral comprehension task. TR, however, utilize these networks only during oral comprehension, which may point to a greater reliance on memory and processing effort in the absence of written information.

Audiovisual narratives are widely adopted as a resource for promoting children’s learning and critical multimodal literacy, which involves considering the social themes presented in multimodal texts. Previous research reveals that storytelling that employs achronological sequencing challenges children’s temporal cognition and narrative comprehension. Little is known, however, about how children’s comprehension of events relates to their interpretation of higher-level meanings, such as event causality and character development, which children’s films often convey through complex narrative strategies. To address this gap, this article proposes an empirical multimodal discourse–semantic approach to children’s reception of narrative complexity in film. The approach incorporates a social semiotic framework for analysing temporal relations in children’s narrative and a model of the relationship between children’s comprehension and their interpretation of film. The authors illustrate this approach through an exploratory investigation of 28 (7 to 10-year-old) children’s responses to two flashback scenes from popular Disney films. The results indicate that children’s comprehension of temporal relations supports their interpretation of event causality and character development. The investigation highlights the value of their approach for predicting and empirically testing the effect of complex narrative strategies on children’s film reception.