ABSTRACT
This chapter showcases eleven L1 reading research studies that have made major contributions to our understanding of reading and learning. The studies are explained in easy-to-understand terms to show how and why researchers carry out their research and how results are interpreted. A review of these studies will help practitioners understand important aspects of reading and reading research, including the following:
• the relationship between vocabulary and reading abilities
• the role of fluency in developing reading abilities
• the effect of morphological knowledge and metalinguistic awareness on reading abilities
• the value of strategies and discourse awareness for skilled reading
• the impact of specific instructional practices and curricula on reading skills development
• the role of motivation in the reading classroom
The first two chapters of this book outline a theory of fluent reading and differences between first-language (L1) and second-language (L2) reading. These introductory chapters highlight the fact that we know a lot about reading in general, but much less about L2 reading and how best to teach L2 reading more specifically. Chapters 1 and 2 also illustrate the benefits that we, as reading teachers, can gain from (a) understanding reading research and theory building, (b) developing abilities to interpret and evaluate research studies and corresponding implications for instruction and (c) carrying out small-scale action research projects in our own local contexts. What we can learn from each of these sets of activities has the potential to help us improve reading instruction. In essence, a goal for us as teachers and hopefully as researchers, should be to engage in evidence-based instructional
practices, whether that evidence comes from research studies reported in journals and books or from our own and others’ action research projects that suggest new options for instruction. In this chapter and the next, we consider how research can be understood, how it can be interpreted, and how good research studies on reading have been carried out. Chapter 3 focuses on understanding key L1 reading research studies and Chapter 4 shifts the focus to L2 reading research. Particularly important in this chapter is the link between specific research efforts and the types of implications from research that lead to theory building and recommendations for instruction (the latter is explored in more depth in Chapter 5).
