Korean High School Students' L1 Summary Writing as a Predictor of EFL Reading Comprehension

Abstract

This study examines the role of the L1 summarization task as a predictor of English reading comprehension for Korean EFL high school students. Participants were given two different types of reading passages, along with five multiple-choice question items and one summarization task item for each passage. A rubric for summary writing was constructed for the purpose of the study and examined on its reliability and use. Correlation analysis between reading comprehension and summary writing reported a moderate to high correlation. A simple linear regression analysis of the test results indicates that L1 summary writing can be a predictor of Korean EFL learners' English reading comprehension. Despite the findings in this study, the survey results inquiring about the participants' views on summarization tasks suggest the difficulties and limitations of implementing summarization tasks in high-stakes assessments.