Abstract:

Foreign language teaching practices have emphasized oral language instruction at the expense of written language instruction. In addition, many foreign language and literature departments have made a division between language studies and literary studies, a division in which the number of students who pursue literary studies are far less numerous than those who pursue language studies. Some educators now believe that it is time to reemphasize reading and literature in the profession. Computer-enhanced reading instruction holds considerable promise as a means to reintroduce "culturally dense" texts into the curriculum, perhaps earlier than originally possible in traditional approaches to teaching. Finally, the tracking capabilities of reading programs allow researchers to collect data that can shed light on students' use of reading strategies.

Author: Mary Ann Lyman-Hager