ReadMe

In ReadMe, we ask: how do readers process texts, and how is this influenced by linguistic difficulties and reading goals? Do readers differ in which factors are more important than others, and how can practitioners effectively support reading comprehension across different readers?

To answer these questions, we study the reading processing and comprehension of adult and child readers, both in their first language German and in English as a foreign language. Reading processing is tested using eye-tracking methodology, and reading comprehension is tapped through comprehension questions. To study differences between readers, we combine reading data with tests of word knowledge.

ReadMe has started in October 2018. The first testing phase will begin in February 2019 and focus on adult learners of English as a foreign language. In this first study, we will ask: how do readers’ standards of coherence and word identification difficulty influence their local reading processing? First results are expected for summer 2019. In summer and autumn 2019, a consecutive testing phase will explore these questions in child and adolescent readers in local secondary schools. First results are expected for winter 2019. As of 2020, further experiments are planned that will test targeted reading instructions aimed at improving adults’ and children’s reading processing and comprehension. Using insights from the first two study phases, these instruction-based experiments will explore which reading activities are beneficial for different readers.

The research questions addressed by ReadMe are relevant to current discussions in the research fields of text processing and second and child language acquisition. At the same time, ReadMe aims to have an impact beyond the research community; for teaching practitioners, the later instruction-based experiments will provide direct insights into the effectivities of different reading activities across readers.