This study examined the foreign language (FL) reading anxiety level of English‐speaking university students learning Chinese as a foreign language (n = 114) in the United States. Data from two anxiety measures, a background information questionnaire, and an email interview indicated that learners of Chinese experienced a level of FL reading anxiety similar to general FL anxiety. FL reading anxiety was associated with course level and experience with China but not with gender. Moreover, FL reading anxiety was found to be negatively correlated with FL reading performance among Elementary Level I and Intermediate Level students but not among Elementary Level II students. Unfamiliar scripts, unfamiliar topics, and worry about comprehension were identified as the major sources of FL reading anxiety. Findings suggest that reading anxiety was a salient problem for learners of Chinese whose native language was English.

The purpose of the current study was to characterize and compare the emergent-literacy skills, print interest, and home-literacy environment of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to their peers, as well as to examine the association between children’s emergent-literacy skills and their home-literacy environment. Results indicated that children with ASD had significantly higher alphabet knowledge and significantly lower print-concept knowledge when controlling for language ability compared with their peers. Children with ASD also had significantly lower print interest than their typical peers. Moreover, print interest and frequency of storybook reading were related to children’s alphabet knowledge. Clinical implications and areas for future research are discussed.

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Despite broad consensus that a research-to-practice gap exists in the education of students with autism, the extent of this gap has not been well studied. We surveyed 99 teachers in Ohio about their highest priority goals for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), their approach for addressing these goals, the degree to which students had made progress, and barriers to student progress. Only half of all teachers described an approach that included any evidence-based practice (EBP). Teachers often reported inadequate progress on Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals, and that identifying and implementing effective intervention practices were barriers to progress. We found some alignment between the outcomes prioritized by teachers and those measured by researchers in the literature, although teachers more highly prioritized academic and cognitive outcomes.

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