Rethinking First Language–Second Language Similarities and Differences in English Proficiency: Insights From the ENglish Reading Online (ENRO) Project

This article presents the ENglish Reading Online (ENRO) project that offers data on English reading and listening comprehension from 7,338 university-level advanced learners and native speakers of English representing 19 countries. The database also includes estimates of reading rate and seven component skills of English, including vocabulary, spelling, and grammar, as well as rich demographic and language background data. We first demonstrate high reliability for ENRO tests and their convergent validity with existing meta-analyses.We then provide a bird’s-eye view of first (L1) and second (L2) language comparisons and examine the relative role of various predictors of reading and listening comprehension and reading speed. Across analyses, we found substantially more overlap than differences between L1 and L2 speakers, suggesting that English reading proficiency is best considered across a continuum of skill, ability, and experiences spanning L1 and L2 speakers alike. We end by providing pointers for how researchers can mine ENRO data for future studies

Re-thinking first language-second language similarities and differences in English proficiency:: insights from the ENglish Reading Online (ENRO) project

This paper presents the ENglish Reading Online (ENRO) project, which offers data on English reading and listening comprehension from N=7,338 university-level advanced learners and native speakers of English representing 19 countries. The database also includes estimates of reading rate and seven component skills of English (including vocabulary, spelling, and grammar), as well as rich demographic and language background data. We first demonstrate high reliability for ENRO tests and their convergent validity with existing meta-analyses. We then provide a bird’s-eye view of L1-L2 comparisons and examine the relative role of various predictors of reading and listening comprehension and reading speed. Across analyses, we found substantially more overlap than differences between L1 and L2 speakers, suggesting that English reading proficiency is best considered across a continuum of skill, ability, and experiences spanning L1 and L2 speakers alike. We end by providing pointers to how ENRO data can be mined for future research

Land And Environmental Art

Kastner sketches the complex relationship with the land in a survey of Land Art from its genesis in the counter-cultural practices of the 1960s through to contemporary Environmental Art. Wallis locates the aesthetic and critical characteristics of Land and Environmental Art and situates them within an art historical context. With extended captions, key works are compiled by theme and complemented by critical texts, artists’ statements, interviews and commentaries corresponding with the thematic division of the works. Index. Biographical notes. Bibl. 3 p. Circa 210 bibl. ref