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Showing 5 results for Reading Comprehension
Mohammad Hossein Keshavarz, Soroor Ashtarian,
Volume 11, Issue 1 (3-2008)
Abstract
The present study investigated the relationship between the reading comprehension of three types of text and the gender of Iranian EFL learners. To this end, several reading passages with the same length and readability were selected based on which a reading comprehension test was constructed on three different text types namely essay, history, and short story. After determining the validity and reliability of the reading comprehension test, it was administered to 62 male and female students who were at the same level of language proficiency based on their scores on the TOEFL Test. A one-way ANOVA was used to analyze the data, the results of which indicated that male and female EFL learners differ in their reading comprehension ability with females being better comprehenders of English passages. The results of a two-way ANOVA also showed that both males and females are better at comprehending essays followed by history and short story, i.e. different types of text are understood differently regardless of the gender of the subjects. The findings are interpreted to have direct implications for EFL teachers and instructors as well as syllabus designers and test developers.
Karim Sadeghi,
Volume 11, Issue 2 (9-2008)
Abstract
Cloze tests have been widely used for measuring reading comprehension, readability and language proficiency. There is still much controversy on what it really is that cloze measures. The result of much correlational research is contradictory and very unsatisfactory. Thus, with a qualitative orientation, this study attempts to look at the judgmental validity of cloze as a test of reading comprehension. To this end, a group of 32 native and non-native speakers of English sat a standard cloze test. The participants were expected to complete most of the blanks correctly if cloze measured reading comprehension properly, because the text had been intended for undergraduates while cloze-takers were all either PhD students or members of academic staff with a PhD. Surprisingly, the results indicated that none of the participants reached the minimum native speaker performance criterion of 70%. Invited to reflect on what they thought they were doing when reading the blanked text, most cloze-takers felt that the text they read was a puzzle or a guessing game. Provided with the deleted words and asked to re-read the text, they confessed that cloze reading was very different from the second reading. Further findings and implications for future research are discussed in the paper.
Mahmood Reza Atai, Fatemeh Nikuinezhad,
Volume 15, Issue 1 (3-2012)
Abstract
This study was designed to assess the relative contributions of vocabulary and syntactic knowledge as predictors of reading comprehension performance. It also sought to investigate the interrelationship between syntactic and word knowledge and reading comprehension performance. Participants included 159 male freshman and sophomore Iranian high school students. Data were collected through the reading section of a retired version of Preliminary English Test (2004), Vocabulary Levels Test, Word Associates Test, and Syntactic Knowledge Test. The results revealed that both grammar and vocabulary scores correlated positively with reading comprehension scores. Also, vocabulary correlated significantly with reading comprehension but not as strongly as syntactic knowledge did. Our analysis revealed that syntax explains a larger portion of the reading variance. To examine whether depth / breadth of vocabulary knowledge or syntax may have more predictive power in reading comprehension performance, multiple-regression analysis was conducted. Beta values indicated that grammar made statistically significant contribution to reading comprehension, although other variables explained the variance on the reading test. The results offer new insights into the significant mediating influence that learner’s knowledge of grammar may have in reading comprehension at low intermediate level.
Reza Pishghadam, Elyas Barabadi,
Volume 15, Issue 1 (3-2012)
Abstract
The main purpose of this study was to construct and validate a Computerized version of Dynamic Assessment (C-DA) and examine its effectiveness in enhancing reading comprehension. Feasibility and concern for psychometric properties of testing are issues that have limited the use of DA approaches. In this study, C-DA is offered as a solution for overcoming such limitations. To this end, a software package named Computerized Dynamic Reading Test (CDRT) was developed. The software is capable of providing test takers with strategy-based hints. For each test taker, two scores are assigned by the software a non-dynamic score which is based on test takers' first try of each item and a dynamic score which is based on the average hints they have employed. One hundred and four university students took the test. The findings of the study indicated that while observing the psychometric standards of testing namely, reliability and validity, C-DA was useful both in improving students' reading comprehension ability and in obtaining information about their potentiality for learning which goes beyond and over the initial performance level. While some test takers made the best use of the hints and could enhance their comprehension of the text, others could not use them to their advantage. The Information obtained from DA enables teachers to provide students with more individualized and consequently more effective instruction.
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Volume 18, Issue 1 (4-2015)
Abstract
Reading comprehension (RC) and critical thinking (CT) are the two basic cognitive skills that should be developed through involving language learners in a carefully planned instruction. Multiple intelligences (MI) instruction may assist learners in developing RC and CT in L2 education. This study probed the effect of MI-based reading instruction on the Iranian EFL learners’ RC and CT skills. In so doing, it compared the effectiveness of an MI-based reading instruction with a traditional one. To this end, 4 intact classes from several English language institutes, comprising 56 Iranian intermediate-level EFL learners, were selected and randomly assigned to MI-based (experimental) and traditional (control) groups. A multiple- choice RC test, a reading summary test, and the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal test were used as the instrumentations to collect data on the participants’ RC and CT. Analysis of covariance revealed a significant effect for the MI-based reading instruction. Furthermore, the RC scores increased more significantly in the MI-based group in comparison to the traditional one. However, the CT scores did not significantly improve in both groups. There was also no statistically significant difference in the CT scores between the two groups after the treatments. Iranian EFL educators are, then, encouraged to develop MI-based lessons and activities for diverse students and take explicit instruction for the enhancement of CT skills in EFL reading courses.
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