Reading-related Activities Research Articles

Beyond cognition: The relation between parents’ reading-related activities and reading-related achievement emotions in Chinese students

Beyond cognition: The relation between parents’ reading-related activities and reading-related achievement emotions in Chinese students

Word frequency and reading demands modulate brain activation in the inferior frontal gyrus

Processing efficiency differs between high- and low-frequency words, with less frequent words resulting in longer response latencies in several linguistic behavioral tasks. Nevertheless, studies using functional MRI to investigate the word frequency effect have employed diverse methodologies and produced heterogeneous results. In this study, we examine the effect of word frequency through complementary analytical approaches and functional connectivity analyses. Furthermore, we examine whether reading demands, which have been shown to influence reading-related activation, modulate the effects of word frequency. We conducted MRI scanning on 54 healthy participants who performed two versions of a single-word reading task involving high- and low-frequency words: a low-level perceptual reading task and a high-level semantic reading task. The results indicate that word frequency influenced the activation of the pars orbitalis and pars triangularis of the inferior frontal gyrus, but only in the semantic reading task. Additionally, the ventral occipitotemporal cortex exhibited stronger regional activation during the semantic reading task compared to the perceptual reading task, with no effects of word frequency. Functional connectivity analyses demonstrated significant coupling among regions within both the dorsal and ventral reading networks, without any observable effects of word frequency or task. These findings were consistent across group- and individual-level analytical approaches. Overall, our results provide further support for the involvement of the inferior frontal gyrus in semantic processing during reading, as indicated by the effect of word frequency and the influence of reading demands, highlighting the role of the ventral reading network. These findings are discussed in line with their implications for lexical and pre-lexical reading processing.

A Model of the Home Literacy Environment and Family Risk of Reading Difficulty in Relation to Children’s Preschool Emergent Literacy

This study extends the research on the preschool home literacy environment (HLE) in the context of the family risk (FR) of reading disability (RD) by examining a multiple-deficit model of RD. A total of 1,171 six-year-old Norwegian children were assessed at school entry, the onset of formal reading instruction in Norway. Their parents completed a questionnaire regarding their own RD, education, and the HLE. The final sample after applying the inclusion criteria was 794 children and their parents. The findings suggest, first, that two HLE factors (access to print and reading-related activities) should be distinguished rather than treated as a single factor (“exposure to print”) as the majority of previous studies have done. This finding suggests a three-factor HLE model that includes parents’ reading interests and habits, reading-related activities, and access to print. Second, family risk of RD is related to some extent to the HLE, even after controlling for parents’ education. Third, children’s experiences in their home environments and their emergent literacy may not be independent of their family risk of RD. More importantly, this study highlights the potential protective role of the HLE, especially when there is a history of RD within the family. The reason is that the positive association between the HLE and children’s code-related emergent literacy remains significant when controlling for family risk of RD (access to print → emergent literacy: 0.39 [0.01, 0.68], p < 0.01; reading-related activities → emergent literacy: 0.37 [0.02, 0.35], p < 0.01; parents’ reading interests and habits → emergent literacy: 0.26 [0.001, 0.15], p < 0.01). This finding supports that children’s emergent literacy can be improved via a modifiable, dynamic factor such as the HLE.

Pre-Reading Activities and Reading Comprehension in an English as a Second Language Classroom

Reading comprehension is the skill of understanding and interpret the meaning of a text. Engaging and exposing students to more reading related activities with interaction and critical thinking would be of great help to enhance the comprehension skills of the students. The purpose of this study is to find out the effectiveness of pre-reading activities such as KWL strategy, graphics information, WH-Questions and vocabulary in improving the learners’ reading comprehension skill. The respondents were the limited sixty (60) grade 9 students of Sta Catalina National High School for the school year 2022-2023. Two groups of respondents comprised thirty (30) students who undergone the treatment and served as the first experimental group while the other thirty (30) students served as the second experimental group who used two different pre-reading activities. The first experimental group undergone the pre-reading activities, KWL strategy and Graphics Information while the other one undergone WH-Questions and Vocabulary. Based on the results of the experiment, there is no significant difference in the mean pretest and posttest of the experimental group 1 using the KWL and graphics information pre-reading activities. However, there is significant difference in the direct recalling questions reading competence. In terms of mean pretest and posttest of the experimental group 2 using WH-questions and vocabulary, there is also no significant difference. Same with experimental group 1, only in direct recalling questions found significant. It is also found out that there is no significant difference between the pretest scores of the two experimental groups of respondents before using the pre-reading activities. In terms of posttest of the two experimental groups, all the four variables have no significant difference although some improvement in the posttest scores is evident, only direct recalling questions were found to have significant difference in the mean posttest scores. The result of the scores of the experimental group 1 is higher than that of experimental group 2.

Factors Associated with Reading Performance in English

Aims: Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic are three essential skills a pupil should learn and acquire. The purpose of this study was to identify factors associated with pupils’ reading; the pupils’ level of reading performance and the significant relationship between the level of reading performance and factors associated with reading performance.&#x0D; Study Design: The study employed Content Analysis with Descriptive Correlation.&#x0D; Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in selected schools in the division of El Salvador City during the school year: 2022.&#x0D; Methodology: The respondents were all the One hundred-twenty (120) Grade 3 pupils at the selected schools in El Salvador City. This study used a researcher-modified survey questionnaire that underwent validity and reliability testing.&#x0D; Results: The results showed that pupils’ reading performance was at a Frustration level, while factors associated with reading performance were rated as Unlikely. It was concluded that pupils' reading performance was significantly correlated to reading performance. Thus, it must be given consideration and attention. The researcher recommends that parents, teachers, and stakeholders should unite in providing and supporting reading-related activities and interventions for better performance and outcomes.&#x0D; Conclusions: As was clearly illustrated in data analysis and results, in conclusion: According to the results of the student's reading performance, the majority of the students are still experiencing frustration. This performance is still regarded as being quite poor. While the reading materials are accessible at home, parents have less time to monitor and support their children. As a result of being alone or receiving less support and attention from their family members at home, students may develop negative attitudes toward reading and poor study habits. There was a strong correlation between the student's reading ability and the elements that affect reading ability. As a result, elements related to reading ability are important for how well they read in English. Based on the findings and conclusion of the study, it is recommended that: Due to the students' alarming reading performance, teachers, parents, and stakeholders must collaborate to establish reading programs and activities for the students. The best solution to whatever pupils' problem is a collaboration between teachers and parents. Teachers might think about stressing to parents and other stakeholders how important it is to help, mentor, and give time to their kids so they feel supported in their academics and problems. The students will get inspiration and self-assurance in this way as they understand that their families are behind them. To help instructors deliver reading activities and services and to motivate and engage stakeholders in creating a better teaching and learning environment, administrators may consider workshops and training sessions, particularly on various reading methods and interventions.

Reading-Related Activities in English Textbook for Grade 7th Junior High School and How Teacher Exploited Texts in the Classroom

The use of textbook in the reading class is one of the efforts that can be done by teachers in helping students to improve their abilities, namely by applying reading-related activities contained in the textbooks to the learning process in the classroom. This study aims at analyzing reading-related activities that are available in English textbook entitled “Effective English; Bahasa Inggris untuk SMP/MTs Kelas VII” was used for 7th Grade students and describing how the reading texts were exploited by the English teacher in the classroom. This study employed a qualitative descriptive research design. The subjects of this study were seventh grade students and an English teacher at Junior High School. Data were collected through document analysis, class observations, and interviews. The data in this study were analyzed through the data analysis procedures which include data collection, data reduction, data presentation, and drawing conclusions. The results of this study indicate that there are only a few reading-related activities in the English textbook entitled, namely lexical items and questioning activity. Meanwhile, the teacher’s strategies in exploiting the reading texts were also limited as the teacher closely used reading-related activities available in the textbook. This study was limited in time, number of subjects, and data sources so that further research is suggested for more generalizable findings.

Reading-Related Activities in English Textbook and How the Texts are Exploited in Junior High Schools

In order to make the teaching and learning reading process run effectively, it is important to consider the suitability of reading activities which contain in English textbook. This study aims to analyze reading-related activities that are available in English textbook for Grade 9 and observe how the reading texts are exploited in English classes by the English teacher. This study employed qualitative descriptive method in which the data collection was done through document analysis, classroom observation, and interview. The data were analyzed by the criteria of reading-related activities. The result showed that, there are several reading-related activities discovered from the English textbook of grade 9. Then, reading-related activities that occurred most frequently in the textbook are skimming/scanning-details (short answer) and questioning-short answer. Meanwhile, the English teacher use text exploitation strategies. According to the interview, the English teacher mostly relied on the existing reading activities in the English textbook. Thus, the use of English textbook in teaching and learning, especially the use of reading activities it is very essential in developing students' reading skill.

Reading-Related Activities in English Textbook and The Way Teacher Exploited in the Classroom

Students in junior high school level still face difficulties in understanding the text provided in textbook. The main cause is the textbook content that has not met the standards and the activities implemented by the teacher in the class are not optimal. The aims of this study were to analyse reading-related activities available in the English textbook used for Grade 8th junior high school and describe how the texts are exploited in the classroom by the teacher. The subjects of this study was English textbook used in the learning process and the English teacher. This research was conducted by applying qualitative descriptive analysis. Document analysis, classroom observation, and interviews were used to collect the data. The data is analyzed through four data analysis processes which involve data collection, data reduction, data display, and conclusion. The finding shows that there are reading-related activities found in English textbooks. The activities available in the English textbook are skimming/scanning, lexical items, inferring, questioning, and summarizing. Moreover, the text exploitation done by the English teacher in the classroom are short answer activity, multiple-choice tests, true/false activity, brainstorming activity, and completing activity.

Analyzing Reading-Related Activities In English Textbook For Grade VIII And How The Texts Are Exploited In The Classroom

Some students still have challenges in reading, such as pronunciation, identifying the text’s content, and accent. Then students did not participate actively since there is still limited activities of reading conducted during the learning process. This study aimed at analyzing reading-related activities that are available in English textbook used for grade 8 students in SMP Cipta Dharma Denpasar and observing how the texts are exploited by teacher in English class. The subject of this study was an English textbook used in the school and English teacher.This current research used qualitative descriptive analysis as the research methodology. The data collection was done through observation of the English textbook and the teacher’s strategy in conducting the learning in the classroom. In analyzing the data, this study is involving four processess including data collection, data reduction, data display, and conclusion (drawing/veryfying). From the analysis of the English textbook, the results showed there are several reading-related activities available in the textbook namely skimming/scanning, reference activity, lexical item activity, activating, inferring, and questioning. The most frequent exploitation of text done by the teacher are short-answer activities, searching-selecting, completing, and matching activities. Therefore, this study suggests more research regarding the texts exploitation done by English teacher in different levels of schools and classrooms.

Exploring Students’ Responses to Reading Assignments in First-year University Mathematics Courses

ABSTRACT Although reading homework is common in university courses, compliance rates vary. Using interviews, this study explored how five students responded to reading assignments in their introductory college mathematics classes and how they viewed reading and reading-related activities relative to their academic successes. Qualitative content analysis of the interview data and resultant case studies revealed that the participants completed their readings and undertook associated activities to produce gains in confidence, preparedness, mastery, achievement, and self-responsibility. This research offers an in-depth view of students’ reading and reading-related practices, highlights the importance they attributed to these behaviors, reveals how their mathematics comfort levels influenced their approaches to reading assignments, exposes complicating factors that impacted their academic achievements, and points to the value of using pedagogic interventions to encourage reading in math courses.

THE ALIGNMENT OF THE OMANI EFL READING CURRICULUM WITH THE COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH: LEARNER'S AND TEACHER'S ROLE ANALYSIS

This paper aims to investigate the alignment of the Omani English language curriculum with the communicative approach as indicated by the instructional approaches reflected in the Omani EFL reading curriculum for the second language (L2) reading. The alignment is examined by determining the types of Learner roles reflected in the Omani EFL Grade Twelfth reading curriculum and the types of teacher roles reflected in the Omani EFL Grade Twelfth reading curriculum. Two main questions arise here. Which are "What types of learner roles are implemented in the Omani EFL Grade Twelfth reading curriculum?" another question is "What types of teacher roles are reflected in the Omani EFL Grade Twelfth reading curriculum?" This data was gathered by analyzing the reading task statements extracted from the Engage with English (EWE) Curriculum Specifications Document, the Engage with English textbook, and classroom observations in selected schools. Then the researcher adopted the method analysis in Richards &amp; Rodgers and Sidek's model. The most important result is that the analysis of the first question shows that most of the reading-related activities in EFL reading curriculum documents were planned as individual tasks (69.9%) more than as pair/group tasks (30.0%). Moreover, in terms of the pattern of the teacher role, the reading-related statements in the EFL teachers' book (68.6% and 76.6%, respectively) were planned to be moderate and director in nature. In comparison (34.2% and 23.4%), the reading-related statements in the EFL teachers' book were designed to be a catalyst.

Reading-related Activities in English Textbook and Text Exploitation in the Classroom for Junior High School

Reading a text deepening is needed to make readers obtain the complete information of the text. However, Indonesian students are still having a low level of literacy. Therefore, suitable methods and facilities are needed to support Indonesian students reading ability improvement. This study aims to analyze reading-related activities available in the English textbook used for 7th-grade students in junior high school entitled "Pintar Bahasa Inggris untuk SMP/MTs Semester 1" and describe how the texts are exploited by the teacher in the classroom. The research used the descriptive qualitative method. The subjects of this study are the English textbook used by students and the English teacher. The data were collected through document analysis, classroom observation, and interviews. The data was analyzed through four data analysis processes which involved data collection, data reduction, data display, and conclusion. The findings of this research revealed that the textbook entitled “Pintar Bahasa Inggris untuk SMP/MTs Semester 1” published by Graha Printama Selaras, contains 8 out of 12 components of reading-related activities. The activities available in the textbook are skimming/scanning, reference, lexical item, activating, inferring, questioning, searching-selecting, and summarising activity. The most frequent text exploitation done by the teacher in the classroom is short-answer activities, brainstorming activities, true/false activities, multiple-choice tests, and completing activities.

Parental social class and GCSE attainment: Re-reading the role of ‘cultural capital’

This paper examines the roles of parental social class and cultural capital in inequalities in English school qualifications. The analytical focus is the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). Integral to Bourdieu’s theory of cultural reproduction is the conception that inequalities in cultural capital explain the unequal scholastic achievements of pupils from different social class backgrounds. This paper is a novel investigation using data from Understanding Society and linked administrative education records from the National Pupil Database. The central empirical findings do not support the Bourdiuesian position, and there is no evidence that the substantial parental social class inequalities that are observed in school GCSE outcomes can be explained by inequalities in cultural capital. Engagement in reading related activities are mildly influential, but engagement in highbrow cultural activities are not influential. This is an important finding as the concept of cultural capital has become more prominent in Government education policy.

Parental Involvement and Reading-Related Activities of Struggling Readers of English as a Second Language

The focus of the study is to explore the way the parents took part in their children’s English as a second language (henceforth ESL) learning at home. This qualitative study utilised interviews to garner information from seven participating parents of struggling readers of English as a second language in a Malaysian primary classroom. This paper intends to report the findings from the research question, namely: “How do the participating parents work with their children at home?” Two major themes emerged from the data: involvement; and challenges. In this paper, the partial results of one of the main themes discovered, that is involvement will be presented. This paper highlights reading-related activities that were carried out by the parents at home with their children. It is hoped from this study that educators could exploit the home reading activities of the struggling readers to inform teaching practices to effectively support those students in the ESL classroom.

Reading-related functional activity in children with isolated spelling deficits and dyslexia

ABSTRACT There is increasing evidence showing distinct neurocognitive underpinnings of different deficits of written language processing. This study investigated whether functional brain mechanisms related to isolated spelling problems can be distinguished from those observed for the combined profile of reading and spelling deficits (dyslexia). Two cognitive accounts explaining isolated spelling deficits were tested. Twenty-two children with typical development, 16 children with isolated spelling deficits and 20 children with dyslexia performed a reading-aloud task with words and pseudohomophones during fMRI. The whole-brain analysis for each condition revealed differential patterns of brain activity in the two deficit groups. No reliable differences between typically developing children and children with isolated spelling deficits could be observed in critical regions of the brain’s reading network. Children with dyslexia showed lower brain activity and reduced word-pseudohomophone effects in these regions. Our findings suggest that children with isolated spelling deficits can rely on (degraded) orthographic representations during reading.

Reading Aloud to Children, Social Inequalities, and Vocabulary Development: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial

This study presents the results of a randomized controlled trial assessing the impact of a shared-book reading (SBR) intervention that targeted children aged 4 living in socially mixed neighborhoods of the city of Paris. We selected a large, random sample of families and provided parents with free books, information on the benefits of SBR and tips for effective reading practices. We measured SBR frequency and children's vocabulary before and after this intervention, among treated and control children. The intervention had a large effect on SBR frequency. At the pre-test, SBR on a daily basis involved 41.2% of the families, and the treatment fostered this practice by 8 percentage points. SBR on a weekly basis was fostered by 14 percentage points. The intervention fostered SBR frequency only in low-educated households. This equalizing impact is an important finding against the background of previous research reporting that disadvantaged families tend to benefit less from SBR programs. The intervention also significantly enhanced children's language skills measured with standardized tests of receptive vocabulary. The effect size for the main treatment effect ranges from 0.12 at the post-test to 0.16 at the follow-up. Treatment effects are persistent six months after the end of the intervention. Children from low-educated and immigrant families improved their vocabulary as much as those from high-educated, native families. Moreover, the persisting positive impacts on vocabulary growth detected at the follow-up also involve children from disadvantaged families. Furthermore, these children more often attend schools with lower educational resources. It is therefore encouraging that the intervention has strong impacts in schools with initially low involvement in reading-related activities and with low educational resources.

THE ROLE OF PRINT EXPOSURE IN SUPPORTING COGNITIVE ABILITY AMONG OLDER ADULTS

Reading is an activity that has long been thought to have beneficial effects on cognitive ability, however, little is known about the effects of long-term reading engagement on cognition among older adults. Pre-test data are reported from an ongoing study of the effects of a literacy-based intervention on cognition among older adults. Participants (66.7% female) ranging from 60 to 79 years of age with education ranging from 11 to 19 years were administered a battery of measures, including print exposure checklists, which are objective indices for assessing long-term reading-related activities, as well as cognitive assessments. A composite measure of print exposure was based on the Author Recognition Test, Magazine Recognition Test, Non-fiction Author Recognition Test, and Fiction Recognition Test (alpha=.92). Cognition was assessed in a comprehensive battery, including measures of verbal ability, working memory, episodic memory, and verbal fluency (alpha=.83). Print exposure was marginally related to self-reported time spent reading (r=.27, p.4), suggesting criterion-related validity. Age-related declines were not evident for any of our cognitive measures in this sample, t(46)’s.8, and there was a modest increase in reading engagement with age (r=.36, p=.01). Controlling for verbal ability, print exposure had a significant positive influence on global cognition (standardized beta=0.38, p=.01); however, these effects were specific to episodic memory and verbal fluency, t(46)>2, p<.05. These preliminary findings are suggestive of selective cognitive benefits from continued literacy engagement in reading in later life.

Specificity of Reading Self-Efficacy Among Primary School Children

We investigated the specificity of reading self-efficacy among second- to fifth-grade children in Finland (N = 1,327). Bandura (1997) theorized that efficacy beliefs can be assessed at different levels of specificity; however, empirical support for this view is scarce among young children. Efficacy beliefs targeting reading-related activities were assessed at three specificity levels (general, intermediate, and specific). Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that these specificity levels are separable, but correlated, and the structure was invariant across gender and grade level. Self-efficacy factors were positively associated with reading fluency, but the strength of these associations varied according to specificity level. Findings suggest that reading self-efficacy in primary grades can and should be assessed at different specificity levels according to research aims.

Effects of Eccentric Viewing Training Program on Reading and ADL in Individuals With Central Scotomas: A Single-Subject Research Design

Objective : To examine the effects of the eccentric viewing training software on reading and Activities of Daily Living(ADL) for individuals with central scotomas in Korea. Methods : A single-subject A-B-A research design for two low-vision individuals with central scotomas was used to examine the effects. The research was conducted over 14 sessions, which included three sessions during a pre-training baseline period (A), eight sessions during an intervention period to apply eccentric viewing training software on Korean character stimulation (B), and three sessions in a post-training baseline period (A). To measure reading and ADL, participants were assessed for their reading speed, Canadian Occupational Performance Measure(COPM), and Assessment of Motor and Process Skills(AMPS). Results : An Analysis of the data showed that the participants’ reading speed increased compared to their pre-training baseline scores, showing the highest level of increase in the first two to three sessions of training. The participants improved their performance in the reading-related activities, although a comparison of their overall ADL function pre-training and post-training showed no change. Conclusion : These findings suggest that the eccentric viewing training based on specific language characters, Korean, is an effective intervention method for improvement in the reading skills of individuals with central scotomas.

Instruction in District-Designed Intensive Summer Reading Programs

This study reports on the instruction provided in district-designed intensive summer reading programs. The Tier 3 intervention was provided to 374 students from 24 school districts who were not meeting the end of third-grade reading benchmarks; students were exiting third grade and entering fourth grade. Observations of the 40 classes were conducted near the beginning, middle, and end of the average 23 days of instruction, and analyzed to capture the proportion of time spent in various instructional groupings (e.g., whole class, small group) and components (e.g., phonological awareness, comprehension). Findings revealed that most time was spent in whole-class instruction, despite the need to offer students a more intensive intervention. Only two thirds of instructional time was spent specifically in reading-related activities. Approximately 30% of literacy instruction was code-focused (e.g., phonics), and 70% was meaning-focused (e.g., comprehension). The discussion addresses the alignment of observations with prior research on effective instruction and implications for designing future district-designed intensive summer reading programs.