Dòng Nội dung
1
A Meta-Analysis of Extensive Reading Research / Takayuki Nakanishi. // TESOL Quarterly Volume 49, Issue 1, March 2015.
2015
pages6–37

The purposes of this study were to investigate the overall effectiveness of extensive reading, whether learners age impacts learning, and whether the length of time second language learners engage in extensive reading influences test scores. The author conducted a meta-analysis to answer research questions and to identify future research directions. He included two types of empirical studies—those including group contrasts based on a comparison of a control group and experimental groups, and pre–post contrasts that only include experimental groups—in the analysis. After a thorough literature search with numerous search engines and manual and electronic examination of related journals, the meta-analysis included 34 studies (two PhD dissertations and 32 research articles) that provided 43 different effect sizes and a total sample size of 3,942 participants. Findings show a medium effect size (d = 0.46) for group contrasts and a larger one (d = 0.71) for pre–post contrasts for students who received extensive reading instruction compared to those who did not. In sum, the available research to date suggests that extensive reading improves students reading proficiency and should be a part of language learning curricula.
2
Reading Comprehension in Test Preparation Classes: An Analysis of Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge in TESOL / Christine Irvine-Niakaris and Richard Kiely. // TESOL Quarterly Volume 49, Issue 2, June 2015.
2015
pages 369–392.

This article examines the pedagogical content knowledge which underpins the practices in reading lessons of experienced teachers in test preparation classes. It takes as a starting point the assumption that practice is shaped by teacher cognitions, which are established through professional training and classroom experience. Thus, the study explores the nature of reading comprehension pedagogy and also the ways teachers vary and adapt their approach. The study, carried out in upper intermediate TESOL classrooms in Greece, draws on video-recorded classroom data, field notes, and interviews with four teachers. The analysis focuses on lesson structures, reading and test-taking strategy awareness raising, and teachers’ knowledge about texts. It validates the established reading skills lesson structure—pre-, while-, and postreading—but shows how this can vary in implementation. It suggests that the attention to strategies is not only explicit strategy instruction, but also situated demonstration by the teacher of how strategies can unlock the meaning of the text. The pedagogy overall is conditioned by the test preparation context of the program; the teachers are mindful of this goal and integrate references to the test to anchor the pedagogy in students’ current reality and to demonstrate how specific strategies can aid comprehension.