Abstract
Text complexity as a research problem is equally relevant in linguistics and education since its solution provides an algorithm to match readers of certain categories to texts. Numerous studies have been conducted to identify quantitative and qualitative parameters that affect text complexity in ESOL. However, text complexity range within one proficiency level remains a research niche. The current study is aimed at identifying the range of text complexity fluctuations within one proficiency level and their appropriateness for readers. We conduct a multi-factor analysis and contrast 66 English texts for Basic State Examination (OGE) in readability, average sentence length, word length, number of verbs and nouns, cohesion and lexical diversity. The text features computed with the two online services, Text Inspector and Coh-Metrix, provide slightly different quantitative results though consistent in qualifying the range of text complexity fluctuations as high. The research findings refute the hypothesis of a linear nature of text complexity growth in the textbooks designed to increase students’ proficiency and confirm the lack of correlation between the revealed and claimed complexity of texts. The algorithm suggested by the authors can be useful for textbook writers and test developers selecting reading material for any proficiency level.
Highlights
IntroductionThe current study aimed at identifying the range of complexity fluctuations of texts selected to teach one proficiency level, BSE (OGE), and their appropriateness for readers of the claimed proficiency level, fills the research niche
The problem of reading comprehension has been a focus of numerous studies in foreign language learning as it is viewed to be of high importance for teachers, textbook writers, exam materials developers and students [1]
We offer an algorithm which could be of further use in similar educational contexts
Summary
The current study aimed at identifying the range of complexity fluctuations of texts selected to teach one proficiency level, BSE (OGE), and their appropriateness for readers of the claimed proficiency level, fills the research niche. The second research question refers to the character of readability progress in three sources used in the research The hypothesis behind this part of the study is that texts are to be sequenced appropriately from less to more difficult (readable). The study was designed and conducted in four stages: 1) Compiling BSE (OGE) Corpus; 2) classification of texts based on the types of reading in BSE (OGE); 3) computing text metrics: average sentence length, average word length, readability (Flash-Kincaid grade), verbs count, nouns count, referential cohesion, lexical diversity; 4) identifying the range of the above mentioned fluctuations influencing text complexity
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