Differences in Text Comprehension Amongst 7-8-Year-Old Children

Abstract

The aim of this research was to compare the effectiveness of the three receptive language modes of oral reading, silent reading and listening, for comprehension of short pieces of text. Thirty-six children were used in the study, aged between 7:06 and 8:06 years old. Three parallel passages at two levels of the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability (NARA) were used as texts. The order of presentation of each mode, and the particular text used for each mode, were both varied as part of the design. A complex Analysis of Variance design was used, incorporating the following independent variables: (a) Reading Attainment of children; (b) Sex of children; (c) Order of presentation of text; (d) Mode of presentation of text; (e) Form of text. The dependent variable was NARA comprehension scores. Interaction effects were noted between certain combinations of the Independent Variables of Attainment, Sex, Form and Order. The Level 1 reading task did not discriminate effectively between the different attainment groups. As a consequence of this, the attitude of certain groups of children to the task seemed to affect their performance more than did their level of attainment. At both Levels 1 and 2 of the NARA the results demonstrated significant differences between the mode groups, with the silent reading group performing more poorly than either the oral reading or listening groups. This was thought to be because: (a) The subjects were free to establish meaning whilst listening, and this assisted comprehension. (b) The subjects' act of verbalization in the oral reading mode, helped to establish meaning.