Supporting reading comprehension through the use of technology

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
April D. Fugett ◽  
Sandra Wright
Author(s):  
Johnny B. Allred

Digital tools and practices are becoming more integral to what happens in classrooms at all levels, so it is helpful to examine how teachers and students are utilizing technology during literacy practices. This chapter presents a review of research regarding instructional practices and classroom environments that cultivate purposeful use of technology for literacy development. Specifically, this chapter investigates aspects of online conversations that promote social construction of knowledge, reflective dialogue, and increased reading comprehension; it also provides insights for educators who seek to enhance or transform the structure of their students' online conversations about assigned readings. This review of research is guided by the following research questions: (a) What are the general affordances of online discussions? (b) What types of comments are students making in such discussions? and (c) What are the observed effects of online discussions on reading comprehension?


2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
Abbas Ali Rezaee ◽  
Neda Sharbaf Shoar

In recent years, improvements in technology have enhanced the possibilities of teaching and learning various subjects. This is specially the case in foreign language instruction. The use of technology and multimedia brings new opportunities for learning different areas of language. In this regard, the present study attempts to find out if the use of multimedia, images and movies, helps learners in learning vocabulary items included in a reading comprehension text. For this purpose, 70 students studying English at pre-intermediate level have been selected. These participants are then divided into three groups, each of which receives a different kind of instruction. The members of the first group were required to read some texts in which certain vocabulary items were included as the target of teaching. Those in the second group received the same texts with some pictures added so that the grasp of the unknown words would become facilitated. The students in the third group were exposed to the same material along with some movie strips. The strips were selected in a way to include the specific vocabulary items. The course duration was about 45 days. At the end of the course, all the students in the three aforementioned groups were sat for taking a vocabulary test. The test format was multiple-choice. The results of the ANOVA indicated that annotating reading comprehension passages with movie clips contributes to better learning and recall of vocabulary through reading texts.


RELC Journal ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sima Khezrlou

The ways that Iranian universities prepare their students for their future academic and professional lives are changing. Many universities have launched innovative practice in the use of technology in teaching and learning, aiming to present student learners with an engaging experience. The adoption of an innovation necessitates considering the beliefs about it as a substantial part of its integration. The purpose of this study was to explore Iranian university learners’ attitudes towards a computerized reading program in promoting vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension. A total of 52 participants read multi-glossed computerized texts in FonF ( N = 27) and FonFs ( N = 25) conditions. In FonF condition, learners read the texts for comprehension and accessed the multimedia glosses, whereas in FonFs, participants were presented with a word list of the target lexical items prior to on-screen reading. Evidence from both quantitative and qualitative measures unravelled the overall success of the program in bringing about a gradual and consistent improvement in learners’ vocabulary learning and reading comprehension. Whereas vocabulary acquisition benefited equally from both FonF and FonFs practices, reading comprehension performance was greater under FonF condition. The effects that each instructional practice had on the different aspects of computer assisted language learning in vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension are discussed in detail.


Author(s):  
Laura Kieran ◽  
Christine Anderson

When considering instructional supports for struggling adolescent readers, Fisher and Ivey (2006) suggested that the interventions be comprehensive, include a variety of authentic reading and writing opportunities, and be based on varied assessment data. The researchers developed a schedule for Maya, an 8th grade student to work on vocabulary and reading comprehension via games that reviewed discreet skills as well as social media per Maya's preferences. The use of technology interventions for Maya allowed her to read, listen to, and think about meaningful texts, while maintaining balance with instruction in skills related to reading for a variety of purposes.


Author(s):  
Imran Khan ◽  
Ainol Haryati Ibrahim ◽  
Asiah Kassim ◽  
Raja Muhammad Ishtiaq Khan

The role of technology in language pedagogy and learning is significant both in EFL and ESL contexts. Educational technology facilitates language teachers to enhance their teaching practices by implementing certain strategies to assist learners to achieve their academic goals successfully. However, the adoption and effective use of technology in EFL classes depends on the positive attitudes of the learners. An attempt was made to explore EFL learners' attitude towards technology-enhanced instructions of reading comprehension at Majmaah University, Saudi Arabia. The sample consisted of 60 male EFL learners, divided into two groups. The research tools used for collecting the data were quantitative approach and an attitude scale questionnaire to explore the learners' attitude towards Active Reading Software (ARS) instruction. The experimental group received four-week treatment in the computer labs using ARS. The analysis of data showed positive attitudes of EFL learners toward Active Reading Software as a learning tool in improving reading comprehension achievement.


2014 ◽  
Vol 75 ◽  
pp. 162-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larysa V. Lysenko ◽  
Philip C. Abrami

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 562-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawna Duff

Purpose Vocabulary intervention can improve comprehension of texts containing taught words, but it is unclear if all middle school readers get this benefit. This study tests 2 hypotheses about variables that predict response to vocabulary treatment on text comprehension: gains in vocabulary knowledge due to treatment and pretreatment reading comprehension scores. Method Students in Grade 6 ( N = 23) completed a 5-session intervention based on robust vocabulary instruction (RVI). Knowledge of the semantics of taught words was measured pre- and posttreatment. Participants then read 2 matched texts, 1 containing taught words (treated) and 1 not (untreated). Treated texts and taught word lists were counterbalanced across participants. The difference between text comprehension scores in treated and untreated conditions was taken as a measure of the effect of RVI on text comprehension. Results RVI resulted in significant gains in knowledge of taught words ( d RM = 2.26) and text comprehension ( d RM = 0.31). The extent of gains in vocabulary knowledge after vocabulary treatment did not predict the effect of RVI on comprehension of texts. However, untreated reading comprehension scores moderated the effect of the vocabulary treatment on text comprehension: Lower reading comprehension was associated with greater gains in text comprehension. Readers with comprehension scores below the mean experienced large gains in comprehension, but those with average/above average reading comprehension scores did not. Conclusion Vocabulary instruction had a larger effect on text comprehension for readers in Grade 6 who had lower untreated reading comprehension scores. In contrast, the amount that children learned about taught vocabulary did not predict the effect of vocabulary instruction on text comprehension. This has implications for the identification of 6th-grade students who would benefit from classroom instruction or clinical intervention targeting vocabulary knowledge.


Author(s):  
Pauline A. Mashima

Important initiatives in health care include (a) improving access to services for disadvantaged populations, (b) providing equal access for individuals with limited or non-English proficiency, and (c) ensuring cultural competence of health-care providers to facilitate effective services for individuals from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health, 2001). This article provides a brief overview of the use of technology by speech-language pathologists and audiologists to extend their services to underserved populations who live in remote geographic areas, or when cultural and linguistic differences impact service delivery.


Author(s):  
Darlene Williamson

Given the potential of long term intervention to positively influence speech/language and psychosocial domains, a treatment protocol was developed at the Stroke Comeback Center which addresses communication impairments arising from chronic aphasia. This article presents the details of this program including the group purposes and principles, the use of technology in groups, and the applicability of a group program across multiple treatment settings.


2009 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 82-89
Author(s):  
Janet L. Proly ◽  
Jessica Rivers ◽  
Jamie Schwartz

Abstract Graphic organizers are a research based strategy used for facilitating the reading comprehension of expository text. This strategy will be defined and the evolution and supporting evidence for the use of graphic organizers will be discussed. Various types of graphic organizers and resources for SLPs and other educators will also be discussed.


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