A Study of the Correlation between Awareness of Structural Relationships in English and Ability in Reading Comprehension

Abstract

IT HAS OFTEN been asserted that lack of gram] matical knowledge accounts for a great deal of in competence in reading, but the various studies in vestigating the correlation of knowledge of grammar and ability in reading have offered no conclusive j objective evidence to support the assertion. In fact, I most of the studies that have been made indicate that the two are not highly correlated. It should I be pointed out, however, that those who have inves tigated the relationship in question have not made a clear distinction between awareness of grammatical structure and knowledge of grammatical rules and terminology. They have generally based their find ings on measurements of the degree of mastery of the conventional English grammar course, which, in the opinion of many modern grammarians, does not adequately represent the essentials of gram matical structure.