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Background: Older patients are more likely to have medication-related problems, which are associated with changes in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, multimorbidity, and polypharmacy. Polypharmacy and inappropriate prescribing are well-known risk factors which commonly cause adverse clinical outcomes in older people. Prescribers struggle to identify potentially inappropriate medications and to choose an adequate tapering approach. Methods/design: The goal of the study is to translate and culturally adapt MedStopper®, an original English language web-based decision aid system in deprescribing medication, to the Portuguese population. A translation-back translation method, with validation of the obtained Portuguese version of MedStopper® will be used, followed by a comprehension test. Discussion: This is the first research in the Portuguese primary care setting that aims to provide a useful online tool for the appropriate prescription of older patients. The translated version in Portuguese version of the MedStopper® tool will represent an advance that seeks to continue improving the management of medications in the elderly. The adaptation into Portuguese of the educational tool provides clinicians with a screening tool to detect potentially inappropriate prescribing in patients older than 65 that reliable and easier to use. Trial registration: Retrospectively registered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research into multimedia learning has mainly focused on cognitive factors to investigate different instructional conditions and design principles. Emotional aspects have so far been widely neglected. This study investigates how the cheerful emotional interface design influenced learners’ cognitive processes, emotional valences, learning outcomes, and subjective experience. This study used the PRISMA statement to identify the major themes from the literature. Following the strict inclusion and exclusion criteria for selecting records, we identified 47 articles for the analysis. This study used the VOS viewer for the themes using the content analysis and key term occurrences. The result shows two significant pieces, cognitive outcomes and affective outcomes, further divided into cognitive processes, emotional valences, learning outcomes, and subjective experience. In addition, the findings showed that learners using the cheerful emotional design had more positive emotions and higher comprehension and transfer test scores. Furthermore, learners who received the cheerful emotional design saw the materials as less challenging and expended more mental effort digesting them than learners who received the neutral design. They reported better motivation, contentment, and perception of the learning materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the role of basic linguistic skills (vocabulary, syntax, orthography, and morphological awareness), basic cognitive skills (working memory), and higher-order cognitive skills (inference making and reading monitoring) in reading Chinese as a second language (L2). A total of 252 international students from Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Laos were recruited, and a range of measures including a Chinese reading comprehension test (HSK level 3), four linguistic knowledge tests on Chinese lexical, syntactic, and orthographic knowledge as well as morphological awareness, a reading span test, an inference making task, and an inconsistency detection test. The results of hierarchical multiple regressions showed that the measured linguistic skills and cognitive skills explained 80% of the variances in L2 Chinese reading, among which morphological awareness made the largest contribution. The path analysis revealed that linguistic skills and working memory contributed indirectly to reading comprehension via inference making and comprehension monitoring, while the two higher-order cognitive skills made direct contributions. Overall, this study demonstrates that inference making and comprehension monitoring contributed directly to reading comprehension, while linguistic skills and working memory functioned indirectly via the higher-order cognitive skills It also highlights the importance of morphological awareness in a hierarchical model of L2 Chinese reading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to look at the impact of blended learning methodologies on the reading comprehension achievement of Libyan EFL primary school pupils. To achieve this purpose, a quasi-experimental two-way betweengroup factorial design was used. A total of 120 Libyan EFL respondents from four different schools were randomly assigned to one of the two groups. The experimental group (N=60) consisted of 30 males and 30 females who were given reading comprehension education in general English understanding as well as blended learning materials created by the researchers. However, 30 males and 30 females in the control group (N=60) acknowledged typical classroom training grade 9 textbooks. Both groups were assessed in their reading comprehension EFL achievement before and after the intervention using an achievement English test, and their scores were compared using inferential statistics of the independent sample t-test, paired sample t-test, and the factorial between two groups ANCOVA, all of which were performed in SPSS V.27. According to the finding, blended learning has a statistically significant positive effect on improving reading comprehension in EFL students, with a considerable effect size between groups. Furthermore, in the case of blended learning, no statistically significant interaction impact between teaching modality and gender was discovered. In Libyan EFL schools, blended learning can be used to improve reading comprehension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing popularity of listening to podcasts for the purpose of improving English among Armenian teenagers raises the question as to what impact this might have on incidental vocabulary learning. A positive impact would be very welcome, especially in Armenia, where podcasts might prove to be one of the few affordable technology applications. This prospect gave rise to a mixed-method, quasi-experimental study designed to answer the following research questions: (1) What is the relationship between incidental vocabulary learning and extensive listening to podcasts? (2) What is the relationship between the frequency of occurrence of the target vocabulary in podcast episodes and incidental vocabulary learning? (3) What is the relationship between the distribution of occurrence of the target vocabulary across the podcast episodes and incidental vocabulary learning? The instruments applied for data acquisition were Updated Vocabulary Levels pre- and post-Tests, project-designed pre- and post- tests, weekly listening comprehension tests, digital listening journal analyses and a post-survey. The results indicate that extensive listening to podcasts leads to significant vocabulary growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have shown that Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is marked by impairments in academic functioning in reading, writing, and mathematics. Yet, virtually no studies have examined academic functioning in terms of both basic skills (e.g., word recognition, handwriting/spelling, arithmetic calculations) and more complex advanced skills (e.g., reading comprehension, writing composition, and mathematical problem-solving) within the same sample. In the present study, 518 children with ADHD were compared to a control group of 851 children without ADHD (ages 8–18) and assessed on a comprehensive battery of reading, writing, and math assessments. It was hypothesized that ADHD diagnostic status would uniquely predict performance on advanced skill measures even after controlling for performance on basic skills in that academic domain. ADHD status was associated with worse performance across all academic tests. Results also indicated that ADHD independently predicted performance for measures of writing composition and one measure of reading comprehension, even after controlling for performance on basic skills in those domains. However, ADHD did not independently predict mathematical problem-solving performance. These findings add to the literature on ADHD and academic functioning and indicate that inattention may weaken skills necessary for effective reading comprehension and writing composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little evidence is available regarding the differential impact of reading versus reading and writing on multiple source comprehension. The present study aims to: (1) compare the inferential comprehension performance of students in reading versus reading/synthesis conditions; (2) explore the impact of performing the tasks on paper versus on screen with Read&Answer (R&A) software; and (3) explore the extent to which rereading, notetaking, and the quality of the written synthesis can explain student's comprehension scores. For the students in the synthesis condition, we also examined the relationship between the quality of the synthesis they produced and the comprehension they achieved. 155 psychology undergraduates were randomly assigned either to the reading (n = 78) or to the reading/synthesis condition (n = 77). From this sample, 79 participants carried out the task with the Read&Answer software, and 76 solved the task on paper. All the students took a prior knowledge questionnaire, and read three complementary texts about the conception of intelligence. Students in the reading condition answered an inferential comprehension test, whereas students in the synthesis condition were asked to write a synthesis before taking the same test. Results show no differences in comprehension between students in the four conditions (task and media). There was no significant association between rereading and task condition. However, students in the synthesis condition were more likely to take notes. We found that two of the categories for the quality of the synthesis, textual organization and accuracy of content had an impact on inferential comprehension for the participants who wrote it. The quality of the synthesis mediated between student's prior knowledge and inferential comprehension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzing constructed responses, such as think-alouds or self-explanations, can reveal valuable information about readers' comprehension strategies. The current study expands on the extant work by (1) investigating combinations and patterns of comprehension strategies that readers use and (2) examining the extent to which these patterns relate to individual differences and comprehension outcomes. We leveraged archival data from three datasets (n = 472) to examine how comprehension strategy use varied across datasets, texts, and populations (high school, undergraduate). Students' self-explanations were coded for strategy use and then further analyzed in terms of combinations and patterns of strategies. Our analyses revealed that almost all readers primarily engaged in paraphrasing and/or the combination of paraphrasing and bridging, with few instances of elaboration. Further, the combination of paraphrasing and bridging was the best predictor of performance on a comprehension test. In terms of patterns, switching between strategies was not correlated to reading comprehension and was negatively correlated with the combination of paraphrasing and bridging. Understanding which strategy combinations and patterns are optimal can be used to inform adaptive instruction and feedback that can aid in more individualized support for readers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern large language models generate texts that are virtually indistinguishable from those written by humans and achieve near-human performance in comprehension and reasoning tests. Yet, their complexity makes it difficult to explain and predict their functioning. We examined a state-of-the-art language model (GPT-3) using lexical decision tasks widely used to study the structure of semantic memory in humans. The results of four analyses showed that GPT-3's patterns of semantic activation are broadly similar to those observed in humans, showing significantly higher semantic activation in related (e.g., "lime–lemon") word pairs than in other-related (e.g., "sour–lemon") or unrelated (e.g., "tourist–lemon") word pairs. However, there are also significant differences between GPT-3 and humans. GPT-3's semantic activation is better predicted by similarity in words' meaning (i.e., semantic similarity) rather than their co-occurrence in the language (i.e., associative similarity). This suggests that GPT-3's semantic network is organized around word meaning rather than their co-occurrence in text. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peer conflicts commonly happen in children's daily interaction, and strategies they employed to deal with the conflicts have an impact on peer conflict resolution. It has been illustrated that children's understanding of emotion plays an important role in social communication. However, there is little research focusing on the relation between emotional comprehension and peer conflict resolution strategies. In this study, 90 children of 3 to 6 finished the Test of Emotional Comprehension, and their preschool teachers were required to complete the Conflict Resolution Strategy Questionnaire, which scored each child's conflict resolution strategies. The results showed that: (a) the preference of conflict resolution strategies differed in age, and girls tended to adopt positive strategies; (b) children's emotional comprehension grew with age; and (c) children's conflict resolution strategies and emotional comprehension were closely related. Children's emotional comprehension can positively predict the overall conflict resolution strategies and negatively predicted negative strategies, whereas mental emotional comprehension can positively predict positive strategies. The factors affecting children's emotional comprehension and conflict resolution strategies, and their relationship were discussed in depth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aimed to investigate the implementation of Read, Encode, Annotate and Ponder (REAP) strategy using technology to improve analytical exposition text comprehension of the private senior high school students. The research was in an experimental study with pre-test and post-test design. In experimental class consisted of 26 students and in the control class consisted of 26 students as the sample of this research. The data were collected by using reading comprehension test with multiplechoice form and analyzed by using t-test formula. The finding showed that there was a difference mean-score before and after using REAP Strategy. So, by implementing REAP Strategy to students' analytical exposition text comprehension at grade XI of private senior high school students in Indonesia in digitalization era, the students' reading comprehension improved. Moreover, it is suggested next researchers, to conduct a deeper exploration in teaching expositional texts using REAP strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the impact of the Livescribe™ Symphony Smartpen assistive technology and the Cornell notetaking strategy on the lecture comprehension and quality of written notes of college student-athletes with learning disabilities. The study was conducted with five student-athletes who have documented learning disabilities over a 10-week period in a personal and community health undergraduate course at a public university located in southeast Virginia. Data were collected using immediate free recall exercises, comprehension tests, students' notes and rubric, and students then completed a notetaking experience survey. Overall, individual scores on the comprehension test increased from the pre-intervention (M=7.60, SD=2.61) to the post-intervention phase (M=10.4, SD=3.65). The students' free recall exercise scores also increased from the pre-intervention (M=6.00, SD=1.58) to the post-intervention (M=7.60, SD=4.04) phase. Participants rated their notetaking experience as having a positive impact on their ability to comprehend lecture material. The highest positive ratings identified that the Cornell notetaking strategy helped them to organize main ideas of their lectures easier. Previous notetaking research identified notetaking efficiency as a challenge for students with students only recording between 20 to 40% of main concepts presented during a lecture (Kiewra, 1985). Results of the notetaking experience survey revealed that students felt that the Livescribe™ pen made it easier to take notes during lectures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is a replication and extension of Morgan-Short et al.'s (2018) investigation into the role of attention in input processing by L1-Polish learners of L2-Spanish, with proficiency and language of assessment explored as two key methodological factors. Our aims were twofold: to investigate learners' comprehension in different conditions with their L2 proficiency controlled for, and to examine this process when learners were tested using different languages. Data from three trials (N = 136) were analyzed: Trial-English, Trial-Polish, and Trial-Spanish, where comprehension was tested in English, Polish, or Spanish, respectively. Results showed that both L2 proficiency and language of assessment significantly affected learners' performance, with their scores being lower in the -n morpheme condition but only when comprehension was tested in English or Spanish. We discuss these findings both theoretically and methodologically, making recommendations on designing future replication studies and improving the generalizability of L2 findings across multiple research sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of the College Of Basic Education is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Increasing numbers of international students enter university education via English language bridging programs. Much research has overlooked the nature of second language reading development during a bridging program, focusing instead on the development of literacy skills of international students who already meet the language requirement for undergraduate admission. We report a longitudinal eye-movement study assessing English passage reading efficiency and comprehension in 405 Chinese-speaking bridging program students. Incoming IELTS reading scores were used as an index of baseline reading ability. Linear mixed-effects regression models fitted to global eye-movement measures and reading comprehension indicated that despite initial between-subjects differences, within-subject change at each ability level progressed at the same rate, following parallel growth trajectories. Therefore, there was significant overall reading progress during the bridging program, but no evidence that the gap between low and high ability readers either closed or widened over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article evaluates how contextual factors influence the comprehension of complex sentences in young English learners in Bolivia and the United States. It highlights the impact of home and classroom contexts on second language acquisition and emphasizes the need for better support for English learners, particularly in understanding their unique cognitive skills and linguistic backgrounds.

The purpose of this study was to compare the relative effects of word reading and story component interventions in developing reading comprehension of narrative texts with four students with mild levels of intellectual disability. A multielement design was used in this study. The findings revealed that the story component intervention was more effective and efficient than the word reading intervention in developing students' reading comprehension of narrative texts, and also indicated that both interventions were significantly effective in enabling subjects to answer literal questions. Only the story component intervention was significantly effective related to inferential questions. Finally, the findings revealed that students could generalize their reading comprehension skills to stories of different lengths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied the effect of prior learning of symmetrical intraverbals on the emergence of complex intraverbals after reading a text. In Experiment 1, eighteen 7- and 8-year-old children read a text with sentences in which A and B stimuli and B and C stimuli were related (e.g., "The Alps" to "Mont Blanc," and to "Falcon"). Thereafter, all ABC intraverbals (e.g., C–A—"Name the mountain range of the falcon") were probed without reinforcement with written stimuli and written responses. In Condition 1, six children learned before intraverbals that relate the categories to the exemplars that served as stimuli in the text (e.g., "Name a mountain"—"Mont Blanc"—Exemplars) and learned intraverbals that relate the exemplars to the categories (e.g., "What is the Mont Blanc?"—"A mountain"—Categories.) In Conditions 2 and 3, 12 children did not learn Categories or neither Exemplars and Categories. All children in Condition 1 demonstrated the emergence of all ABC intraverbals, but not all children in Conditions 2–3 demonstrated emergence. Experiment 2 controlled that text presentations and teaching trials did not affect the results and replicated the effect. Therefore, learning simple discriminations symmetrical to one another facilitates further emergence with more complex discriminations—intraverbals—which evidence reading comprehension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the use of Nigerian English in lingua-franca interaction in Germany, focussing on the perspective of the German listener. Fifty-eight German-speaking respondents were asked to transcribe short extracts from English interviews recorded with Nigerian immigrants and sojourners resident in Germany. In addition to testing comprehension, respondents were requested to rate samples along parameters designed to measure speaker likability and competence. The study's two major findings are that, in spite of the absence of contextual clues, respondents perform better than expected in the comprehension task, but that the single greatest obstacle to comprehension is the presence of German-language material in the stimulus. As realistic English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) interaction in Germany necessarily involves a level of English-German mixing, the experiment thus points to a major practical problem in ELF interaction. The study also yields provisional findings on gender (with male voices being understood better than female ones) and interactions between assumptions about speakers and transcription performance that should be revisited in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article opens a conversation between disability studies and linguistics from the author's positionality from the Global South. It argues that capacity building for both the abled and disabled in the North is implicated in the disablement of people in the Global South. A decolonial orientation to disability studies values vulnerability, relationality, and ethics which are less privileged in the academy. The article demonstrates how such a crip linguistics might facilitate a different understanding of language competence and analysis. Bringing out the ableism in dominant models of language competence, the article illustrates how linguistics might conceive communication as anomalous embodiment. Such an orientation will move from grammatical norms to nonnormativity, and diversity to multiplicity, as speakers engage with social networks and material ecologies for generating meanings in distributed practice motivated by relational ethics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to evaluate the predicting role of executive functions, specially inhibition and flexibility, in reading comprehension. Participants were evaluated with inhibition and flexibility measures in first- grade, and later in third- grade their reading comprehension, oral and silent reading fluency, as well as their decoding skills were measured. Results show that first grade inhibition and flexibility are direct predictors of third- grade reading comprehension. When the indirect effect of inhibition and flexibility on reading comprehension was tested through measures of reading fluency and decoding, it was found that neither ORF nor decoding mediates the relationship between the variables. However, it was found that SRF is a variable that mediates the relationship between flexibility and reading comprehension. Results are discussed in the context of the relevance of early measures of inhibition and flexibility to explain reading comprehension and the role of SRF in this relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This investigation examined the impact of preintervention word‐reading ability on reading comprehension outcomes for ninth graders with learning disabilities, reading difficulties, and English learners in treatment and comparison conditions. Secondary data analyses were conducted for two separate but related experimental studies of intensive reading interventions. Both studies provided yearlong intensive reading interventions to ninth graders. The study included replication of a post hoc analysis employed in a previous study of ninth graders who also received 1 year of intervention. Results from both studies demonstrated that the effects of treatment were not moderated by decoding level for reading comprehension. Statistically significant effects of verbal ability were found. These findings suggest the effectiveness of intervention and that higher verbal skills improve students' comprehension, though the effects were more pronounced for Study One than Study Two. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glosses provide an effective way of fostering second language (L2) vocabulary acquisition. Expanding on previous research, we explored how a vocabulary test announcement prior to reading a glossed text influences the reading behaviors and subsequent vocabulary acquisition of L2 learners. The participants of this study comprised 65 Korean undergraduate students. The participants were assigned to either a vocabulary test announcement (TA) or a no test announcement (NTA) group. Thereafter, the researchers read to the participants a short story containing 16 glossed words displayed in the bottom margin. The students' responses to the reading comprehension test and a battery of vocabulary tests (i.e., form recall, meaning recall, and meaning recognition) were captured immediately and one week after the assessments. The results showed that while processing in-text target words and marginal glosses, no variation in eye-tracking measures (e.g., gaze duration and total reading time) was observed among the TA and NTA groups. In contrast, the TA group spent significantly longer time fixating on bottom-margin target words than the NTA group during eye-tracking measures. Regardless of the testing phase, the vocabulary test results showed that only the form recall scores in the TA group were significantly higher than the NTA group. However, the differences in meaning recall and recognition scores were not significant. Collectively, these results suggest that vocabulary test announcements likely enhance the favorable effects of glossed text, particularly through promoting visual word form acquisition. However, the effects do not strengthen form-meaning associations without compromising L2 learners' reading comprehension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Late elementary education constitutes a critical period in the development of reading comprehension strategies, a key competence in today's society. However, to date, appropriate measurements to map late elementary students' reading strategies are lacking. In this respect, the present article first describes the development and validation of the 26-item reading comprehension strategies questionnaire (RCSQ). To this aim, exploratory (sample 1: n = 1585 students) and confirmatory (sample 2: n = 1585 students) factor analyses were conducted. These analyses resulted in the RCSQ, consisting of five subscales: (1) overt cognitive reading strategies, (2) covert cognitive reading strategies, (3) monitoring, and (4) evaluating. For non-native and bilingual students, a fifth subscale 'using home language in view of comprehending texts' emerged. Second, multilevel analyses were performed to explore individual differences in late elementary students' reading comprehension strategy use. Implications for practice and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study investigated eleventh-grade students' metacognitive awareness of reading strategy use in Arabic (L1) and English (L3). In particular, (i) it examined whether there is any association between the use of MCRS in a reading comprehension task in English and Arabic among trilingual learners, and (ii) whether the application of MCRS when doing reading comprehension tasks in these languages predicted the reading comprehension scores in both languages. This study included 42 eleventh-grade students from a public high school in Morocco. The Metacognitive Reading Strategies Questionnaire (MRSQ), (Abu-Rabia, 2018), was utilized along with two reading comprehension tests, one in Arabic and one in English. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to see whether there is any connection between the use of MCRS in English and those used in Arabic. Multiple linear regression analyses were employed to predict the reading comprehension scores in Arabic and English based on MCRS use. Results revealed a significant correlation between the use of MCRS in both languages. MCRS were found to be underused among lower-achievers. Furthermore, the application of MCRS predicted higher reading comprehension scores in both study languages. Based on the findings, the study discusses some practical implications of MCRS use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to find the potential relationship between emotioncy (sense-induced emotions), reading strategy use, and reading comprehension test performance among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. To this end, 514 intermediate and upper-intermediate EFL learners were asked to complete a 30-item multiple-choice reading comprehension test along with the emotioncy scale and a standardized reading strategies questionnaire. Fitted regression models, a t-test, and a Mann-Whitney U test were utilized to analyze the data. The findings showed that higher levels of emotioncy may lead to higher scores in a reading comprehension test. Moreover, the learners who had higher levels of emotioncy employed more cognitive and metacognitive reading comprehension strategies and all their related sub-scales. Finally, the results revealed that the emotioncy level is a stronger predictor of reading comprehension success compared to the reading strategies employed by EFL learners. In the end, the findings were discussed in the context of language education and implications were provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid advancement of technology, integration of computer-mediated communication (CMC) has been widely used in recent English as a foreign language teaching and learning. Despite the prevalence of online CMC discussions, previous research has yielded inconclusive results. and empirical evidence on how online discussions affect EFL student reading comprehension is scarce. Thus. the purpose of this study was to conduct a quasi-experimental research to investigate how asynchronous and synchronous discussions influenced the reading comprehension of 50 university students in a Taiwanese collaborative learning context. Research instruments included 10 reading comprehension tests, a questionnaire survey. and semi-structured interviews. Major findings suggested that most of the participants used the synchronous discussion mode more frequently than the asynchronous mode when performing online reading tasks. Nevertheless. with increased asynchronous discussions, students' reading comprehension scores and satisfaction increased as well. Although the learners generally accepted both online discussion modes, the interview results revealed several drawbacks as well as advantages of the online discussion environments. Limitations of the study and implications for instructional pedagogy and future research were presented and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Translating experimental tasks that were designed to investigate differences between conditions at the group-level into valid and reliable instruments to measure individual differences in cognitive skills is challenging (Hedge et al., 2018; Rouder et al., 2019; Rouder & Haaf, 2019). For psycholinguists, the additional complexities associated with selecting or constructing language stimuli, and the need for appropriate well-matched baseline conditions make this endeavour particularly complex. In a typical experiment, a process-of-interest (e.g. ambiguity resolution) is targeted by contrasting performance in an experimental condition with performance in a wellmatched control condition. In many cases, careful between-condition matching precludes the same participant from encountering all stimulus items. Unfortunately, solutions that work for group-level research (e.g. constructing counterbalanced experiment versions) are inappropriate for individual-differences designs. As a case study, we report an ambiguity resolution experiment that illustrates the steps that researchers can take to address this issue and assess whether their measurement instrument is both valid and reliable. On the basis of our findings, we caution against the widespread approach of using datasets from group-level studies to also answer important questions about individual differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This current study explores the influence of learners' working memory capacity (WMC) on the facilitation effect of an instructor's presence during video lectures. Sixty-four undergraduates were classified into high and low WMC groups based on their performance in an operation span task. They watched three types of video lectures on unfamiliar topics in a random order: video lectures with an instructor's voiceover but without presence (VN), video lectures with the instructor's face picture (VP), and video lectures with the same instructor talking (VV). We collected their eye movement data during the video lectures and their learning performance in the comprehension tests following each video. Two-way ANOVA and post-hoc analyses showed that the instructor's presence significantly improved comprehension performance in only the low WMC group. They allocated more attention to the instructor's face picture and talking head than the high WMC group. Our results highlight the value of the instructor's presence as a social cue in video lectures, which is particularly beneficial for learners with a low WMC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of ESPOCH Congresses: The Ecuadorian Journal of S.T.E.A.M. is the property of Knowledge E DMCC and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Despite the fact that the effectiveness of experiment planning methods, especially when solving applied problems, has been proven more than once, the ideas of a multifactorial experiment are very slowly being introduced into science and engineering practice. The reasons for this are: the complexity of organizing the experiment; the parameters of the systems under study are of a complex dynamic nature and are subject to significant influences of changes in environmental conditions; the apparent complexity of the planning and calculation matrix discourages researchers with insufficient mathematical background; many manuals on the application of a multifactorial experiment are written at a level inaccessible to engineers, given the training in the disciplines of mathematical and computer cycles in technical universities. The experiment occupies the main place among the methods of obtaining information about the internal relationships of phenomena in nature and technology. As the processes and phenomena under study become more complex, the costs of the equipment and the experiment increase. During the tests, a large amount of experimental data is collected that requires processing and analysis. At the same time, the duration of the analysis, comprehension of the test results and their accounting for adjusting the characteristics of new products is very significant. The systems approach involves considering all elements of an active experiment as a single system. From these positions, it is necessary to present the general properties of the experiment as an object of study and give recommendations on the choice of mathematical techniques and methods that the experimenter can use when choosing decisions during the preparation of the experiment, its conduct and processing of the results. It is very important to choose methods and tools for processing experimental data. Despite the fact that, since 2002, many works have been proving the effectiveness of using the Excel analysis package for processing experimental data, the scientific and educational literature still uses coding of variables, randomization of experiments, and the choice of critical values of the criteria for assessing the quality of mathematical models from tables. In addition, optimization methods are not used in the works for forecasting. In this paper, in order to accelerate the process of introducing effective computer processing methods into science and engineering practice, the implementation of the methodology for processing active experiment data using Excel is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Memory limitations and probabilistic expectations are two key factors that have been posited to play a role in the incremental processing of natural language. Relative clauses (RCs) have long served as a key proving ground for such theories of language processing. Across three self‐paced reading experiments, we test the online comprehension of Hungarian subject‐ and object‐extracted RCs (SRCs and ORCs, respectively). We capitalize on the syntactic properties of Hungarian that allow for a variety of word orders within RCs, which helps us to delineate the processing costs associated with memory demand and violated expectations. Results showed a processing cost at the RC verb for structures that have longer verb‐argument distances, despite those structures being more frequent in the corpus. These findings thus support theories that attribute processing difficulty to memory limitations, rather than theories that attribute difficulty to less expected structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of testing, descriptive test names are desirable because they document the purpose of tests and facilitate comprehension tasks during maintenance. Unfortunately, prior work has shown that tests often do not have descriptive names. To address this limitation, techniques have been developed to automatically generate descriptive names. However, they often generated names that are invalid or do not meet developer approval. To help address these limitations, we present a novel approach to extract the attributes of a given test that make it unique among its siblings. Because such attributes often serve as the basis for descriptive names, identifying them is an important first step towards improving test name generation approaches. To evaluate the approach, we created a prototype implementation for JUnit tests and compared its output with human judgment. The results of the evaluation demonstrate that the attributes identified by the approach are consistent with human judgment and are likely to be useful for future name generation techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents the results of a sequential explanatory mixed-method approach to investigate the Iranian English language non-gainers of a computerized dynamic reading comprehension test (CDRT) by utilizing a learning style survey. Using an interventionist approach, the researchers used the CDRT software to explore English learners' perceptual learning-style preferences of non-gainers in CDRT. The study participants were selected from among 24 advanced English language learners attending a reading course at a language institute in Iran. The results of Learning Potential Score (LPS) formula categorized six of the participants as non-gainers of CDRT. They were asked to fill out a learning style survey individually and participate in an interview to express their attitudes toward using the software. The findings revealed some common tendencies regarding field-independency, impulsivity/reflectivity, and metaphoric/literal style preferences supported in learners' interviews. In this study, learners' style preferences potentially played an important role in reporting learners' performance; therefore, it is suggested to consider students' learning styles in making decisions about their abilities and disabilities in CDRT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Rastros Rostros is the property of Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Psychology & Education / Revista de Psicología y Educación is the property of Revista de Psicologia de Educacion and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Only recently has eye-tracking been used to investigate test-taker reading behavior, and results have been primarily used to confirm a range of cognitive tasks elicited by test items. This study explores test taker reading behavior for its own sake by describing how ESL readers of different proficiency levels behaviorally view multiple-choice passages and test items at different difficulty levels. Data were gathered from 51 students at three proficiency levels attending a university-sponsored intensive English program (IEP). Participants read eight validated reading comprehension items at varying difficulty levels while their eye movements were recorded on the passage, multiple-choice stem, correct answer, and distractors. Reading behavior demonstrated that language proficiency had a limited effect while passage difficulty had a stronger effect on reading behavior: participants gave less visual attention to the reading passage and correct answers within easier items and when they had higher language proficiency. The interaction of proficiency and item difficult on reading behavior is important in understanding how learners experience tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Theory & Practice of Second Language Acquisition is the property of Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Slaskiego and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The contemporary Romanian novel of the last three decades, having at its center a child-character, changes the reader's attitude towards its value also through the building of the narrative from the narrator's outlook. The author of the text addresses an adult reader, but entrusts the narration to a child's voice. In this case, both the author and the reader pass a comprehension test, the first simulating authentically the innocent speech, the other receiving the figurative narration as a narration itself (T. Todorov). If Aristotle does not value the character so much, considering that the interest towards this removes the narration from the innate sense (the action matters, the character being just its agent), then, in the modern novel that we analyze, the narrator's voice deserves special attention. Through it we follow the growing up, transformation and degeneration, education, disillusionment of the child-character. In this article we propose to state the relationship between the author and the narrator, to clarify the hypostasis of the narrator in the text, to constitute the typology of the narrator specific to the contemporary Romanian novel. Capitalizing „The Dictionary of Narratology" by Gerald Prince, we will identify in some novels of the last three decades the narrative voices exposed or faded, homodiegetic or heterodiegetic, dramatized, authorial, having the role of an agent etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerns about the negative effects of digitalization on students' reading comprehension, empirically backed by recent meta-analyses, question the efficacy of digital tools in the language arts classroom. By analyzing data from 4 and 8th grade US students from NAEP 2017, we aimed to test the generalization of the negative association between screens use and reading comprehension test scores within language arts classrooms, and to identify teachers' practices to support comprehension, which could reduce such a negative relationship. We used data from 149,400 4th grade and 144,900 8th grade students to predict their reading comprehension scores based on their frequency of use of digital devices in the language arts class, as well as on the specific learning activities performed with such devices. Results revealed that amount of daily use of digital devices was negatively related to scores on a reading comprehension test. In addition, teachers' uses of digital tools to support students' reading comprehension showed positive relations for student use of digital devices for reading projects, and negative relations for activities addressing specific reading skills, such as building and practicing vocabulary. We discuss these results in light of our current understanding of the effects of digitalization on reading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This study explored how reading motivation, self-regulated reading strategies and English vocabulary knowledge influenced students' English reading comprehension simultaneously in one model. A total of 543 students from five universities in Southern China completed a reading motivation questionnaire, a reading strategy questionnaire, two vocabulary knowledge tests, and a reading comprehension test. Multiple regression analysis results showed that reading efficacy and enjoyment, and vocabulary knowledge (i.e., both vocabulary breadth and depth) significantly predicted reading comprehension. When students were grouped into high, average, and low achievers on the reading test, monitoring strategies and vocabulary depth were found to significantly predict reading comprehension for the high achievers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Tikrit University for Humanities is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Tikrit University for Humanities is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)