Revisiting the role of linguistic complexity in ESL reading comprehension

Jessie Saraza Barrot

Abstract


This study investigated the two linguistic components positioned at the two ends of the continuum that influence ESL reading comprehension: lexical and syntactic features. Specifically, the present study aims to determine these two linguistic features of the texts most comprehensible to pupils. Sixty (60) pupils from three grade levels (2, 4, and 6) were asked to read four texts with varying text difficulty level from which the most comprehensible text per grade level was identified after a comprehension test. The findings revealed that the pupils reading comprehension progress as they advance in grade level. Moreover, the findings revealed that the lexical feature of the reading texts advances with grade level which indicates that lexical features is a viable factor in determining the readability of the text; that is, the more advanced the lexical features are, the more difficult it can be processed for comprehension. Unlike lexical features, the syntactic features of the selected reading texts exhibit an erratic pattern indicating that such features may not be a crucial factor in text readability and in reading comprehension as a whole.


Full Text:

PDF

References


Agnihotri, R. & Khanna, A. (1991). Evaluating the readability of school textbooks: An Indian study. Journal of Reading, 35 (4), 282-288.

Alderson, J. (2000). Assessing reading. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Anderson, R. & Davison, A. (1986). Conceptual and empirical bases of readability formulas. USA: Bolt, Beranek and Newman.

Arya, D., Hiebert, E., & Pearson, P. (2011). The effects of syntactic and lexical complexity on the comprehension of elementary science texts. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 4 (1), 107-125.

Barry, S., & Lazarte, A. (1998). Evidence for mental models: How do prior knowledge, syntactic complexity, and reading topic affect inference generation in a recall task for nonnative readers of Spanish? Modern Language Journal, 82, 176–193.

Bernhardt, E. & Kamil, M. (1995). Interpreting relationships between L1 and L2 reading: Consolidating the linguistic interdependent hypothesis. Applied Linguistics, 16, 15-34.

Bügel, K., & Buunk, B. P. (1996). Sex differences in foreign language text comprehension: The role of interests and prior knowledge. Modern Language Journal, 80 (1), 15-30.

Coady, J. (1997). L2 vocabulary acquisition: A synthesis of the research. In J. Coady, and T. Huckin (Eds.), Second language vocabulary acquisition (pp. 273-290). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Chen, Q., & Donin, J. (1997). Discourse processing of first and second language biology texts: Effects of language proficiency and domainspecific knowledge. Modern Language Journal, 81, 209–227.

Crossley, S., Louwerse, M., McCarthy, P., & McNamara, D. (2007). A linguistic analysis of simplified and authentic texts. Modern Language Journal, 91, 15–30.

Crowhurst, M., & Piche, G. (1979). Audience and mode of discourse effects on syntactic complexity in writing at two grade levels. Research in the Teaching of English, 13, 101-109.

Davison, A. & Green, G. (1988). Introduction: In A. Davison & G. M. Green (Eds.), Linguistic complexity and text comprehension: Readability issue reconsidered, (pp. 1-4). Hillsdale NJ: Erlbaum.

Davison, A., Wilson, P., & Herman, G. (1986). Effects of syntactic connectives and organizing cues on text comprehension. Champaign, IL: Center for the Study of Reading.

Distefano, P. & Valencia, S. (1980). The effects of syntactic maturity on comprehension of graded reading passages. Journal of Educational Research, 73 (5), 247.

Droop, M. & Verhoeven, L. (1998). Background knowledge, linguistic complexity and second language reading comprehension. Journal of Literacy Research, 30(2), 253-271.

Ellis, R. (2009). The differential effects of three types of task planning on the fluency, complexity, and accuracy in L2 oral production. Applied Linguistics, 30 (4), 474-509.

Folse, K. (2006). The effect of type of written exercise on L2 vocabulary retention. TESOL Quarterly, 40 (2), 273-293.

Hamsik, M. (1984). Reading, readability, and the ESL reader. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of South Florida.

Hinkel, E. (2006). Current perspectives on teaching the four skills. TESOL Quarterly, 40 (1), 109-131.

Hudson, T. (2007). Teaching second language reading. New York: Oxford University Press.

Hunt, K. (1970). Syntactic maturity in schoolchildren and adults. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 35 (1). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Iwashita, N., Brown, A., McNamara, T. & O’Hagan, S. (2008). Assessed levels of second language speaking proficiency: How distinct? Applied Linguistics, 29 (1), 24-49.

Laufer, B., & Sim, D. (1985). Taking the easy way out: Non-use and misuse of contextual clues in EFL reading comprehension. English Teaching Forum, 23, 7–10, 22.

Lee, S. & Muncie, J. (2006). From receptive to productive: Improving ESL learners’ use of vocabulary in a postreading composition task. TESOL Quarterly, 40, 295-320.

Pulido, D. (2007). The effects of topic familiarity and passage sight vocabulary on L2 lexical inferencing and retention through reading. Applied Linguistics, 28 (1), 66-86.

Qian, D. (2002). Investigating the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and academic reading performance: An assessment perspective. Language Learning, 52, 513-536.

Read, J. (2000). Assessing vocabulary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Schmitt, N., Jiang, X. & Grabe, W. (2011). The percentage of words known in a text and reading comprehension. The Modern Language Journal, 95 (1), 26-43.

Skehan, P. (2009). Modelling second language performance: Integrating complexity, accuracy, fluency, and lexis. Applied Linguistics, 30 (4), 510-532.

TAKS Released Tests. Texas, USA: Texas Education Agency. Retrieved October 20, 2010, from http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/taks/released-tests/

Vandergrift, L. (2006). Second language listening: Listening ability or language proficiency. Modern Language Journal, 90 (1), 6-18.

Vellutino, F. (2003). Individual differences as sources of variability in reading comprehension in elementary school children. In A. Sweet & C. Snow (Eds.), Rethinking reading comprehension, (pp. 51-81). New York: Guilford Press.

Widdowson, H. (1978). Teaching language as communication. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Wolfe-Quintero K., Inagaki, S. & Kim, H. (1998). Second language development in writing: Measures of fluency, accuracy, and complexity. Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press.


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


 

 

 

eISSN : 2550-2247

ISSN : 0128-5157