Role In Reading Comprehension Research Articles

Awareness and analysis: concurrent and predictive roles of two morphological processes in early reading comprehension

IntroductionWe examine how awareness and analysis of morphemes contribute to children's reading comprehension and its development. A multidimensional perspective on reading comprehension posits morphological awareness and morphological analysis play distinct roles in reading comprehension. Assuming individual differences in growth in these aspects of morphological processing, their concurrent influences can vary depending on children's reading comprehension abilities, and predictive influences can change as children's reading comprehension abilities improve.MethodThe current longitudinal study examined the concurrent and predictive influences of awareness and analysis on children's reading comprehension from Grades 1 to 3. Data from 171 public school children, with diverse reading comprehension abilities, were collected across five waves and were analyzed using cross-lagged panel structural equation modeling.ResultsResults showed concurrent relationships among morphological awareness, analysis, and reading comprehension in Grades 1 and 2, and morphological analysis having a concurrent relationship with reading comprehension at the end of Grade 3. Morphological awareness in all waves but Wave 3, at the end of Grade 2, predicted subsequent reading comprehension. Morphological analysis did not predict subsequent reading comprehension.DiscussionFindings support the multidimensional conceptualization of awareness and analysis as distinct morphological processes that play early-wave concurrent and across-wave predictive roles in children's reading comprehension development.

On the Dynamics of Inferential Behavior while Reading Expository and Narrative Texts.

Inference plays a key role in reading comprehension. This study examines changes in inferential behavior while reading different genres. The inferential behavior of 28 students with reading disabilities (RDs) and 44 students without RDs was quantified while they read expository and narrative texts. First, the average rates of inference attempts and correct inferences were measured during reading. Then, the same rates were measured separately during early and late reading to see if there was a change in inferential behavior. The results show that the change in inferential behavior depends on the genre. While reading the expository text, both groups showed no significant change in their inference making. In contrast, while reading the narrative text, both groups showed higher rates of inference attempts, and only the students without RD showed a significant increase in correct inferences. The implications of these findings for the design of more engaging and effective reading programs are discussed.

Automated Assessment of Inferences Using Pre-Trained Language Models

Inference plays a key role in reading comprehension. However, assessing inference in reading is a complex process that relies on the judgment of trained experts. In this study, we explore objective and automated methods for assessing inference in readers’ responses using natural language processing. Specifically, classifiers were trained to detect inference from a pair of input texts and reader responses by fine-tuning three widely used pre-trained language models. The effects of the model size and pre-training strategy on the accuracy of inference classification were investigated. The highest F1 score of 0.92 was achieved via fine-tuning the robustly optimized 12-layer BERT model (RoBERTa-base). Fine-tuning the larger 24-layer model (RoBERTa-large) did not improve the classification accuracy. Error analysis provides insight into the relative difficulty of classifying inference subtypes. The proposed method demonstrates the feasibility of the automated quantification of inference during reading, and offers potential to facilitate individualized reading instructions.

Critical Thinking in Reading Comprehension: Fine Tuning the Simple View of Reading

Critical thinking has been identified as an essential skill for the 21st century, yet little research has investigated its role in reading comprehension. Executive functions (EF) and critical thinking overlap, where the latter often rely on the proficient operation of EF and vice versa. Extending the simple view of reading, the active view of reading considers the contribution of language comprehension and decoding to reading comprehension by including the role of EF. In the present study, we assess 360 seventh-grade English language learners attending schools in three states in India. We gathered measures of reading comprehension, critical thinking and listening comprehension, reading fluency, academic vocabulary, and encoding. Using multiple regression to fit a linear model, the best-fit model explained 59.3% of the total variance in reading comprehension. Two indicators of critical thinking, induction and deduction, were significant predictors of reading comprehension, along with listening comprehension, encoding, and academic vocabulary. Also of interest was the result showing reading fluency to be a non-significant predictor of reading comprehension. Results of this study add empirical support for the role of critical thinking in reading comprehension.

Vietnamese EFL Students’ Perceptions and Self-reported Use of Lexical Inferencing in L2 Reading

Lexical inferencing has long been proven to play an important role in reading comprehension, specifically when it comes to strategies for dealing with unfamiliar terms in reading texts. Although much research has been done on the employment of lexical inferencing strategies in L2 reading, empirical evidence concerning the perceptions and practices of lexical inferencing strategies in Vietnamese contexts is just humble. To contribute to narrowing this gap, the current study is aimed to investigate Vietnamese EFL learners’ perceptions and self-reported use of lexical inferencing strategies in reading comprehension. Data were collected from 60 English-majored students at a private university in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam through a questionnaire. The results indicated that most students perceived lexical inferencing as being of significant values in L2 reading. As for the strategies in this regard, it was found that contextual and intralingual cues were commonly used in the participants’ lexical inferencing with the same level of frequency. It is suggested that more attention should be paid to lexical inferencing strategy instruction in EFL classrooms for the sake of students’ learning, especially their reading comprehension performance.

Sustained attention plays a critical role in reading comprehension of adults with and without ADHD

PurposeThe study aims to examine whether individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have reading comprehension difficulties, and if they do, which cognitive abilities underlie these difficulties. It focuses on the role of sustained attention in reading comprehension. MethodFifty adults with ADHD and 57 participants without ADHD performed tasks of short-term memory, vocabulary, and sustained attention, as well as a task of reading comprehension. ResultsThe two groups did not differ in short-term memory or vocabulary, but participants with ADHD received lower scores on both the sustained attention and the reading comprehension tasks compared to participants without ADHD. In addition, a regression analysis in which group was entered first and then scores on the cognitive tests showed that only sustained attention predicted reading comprehension. ConclusionsThe findings suggest that sustained attention is critical for reading comprehension and thus it should be incorporated into theoretical models of reading comprehension.

Vocabulary and reading comprehension: what are the links in 7- to 10 year-old children?

The aims of the present study are: (1) to examine the contribution that vocabulary makes to reading comprehension in the Simple View of Reading model in French-speaking children aged from 7 to 10 years based on the use of an index of efficiency (i.e., speed-accuracy index); and (2) to investigate the extent to which the contribution of vocabulary to reading comprehension might change according to children's school grade level. Measures of vocabulary depth, word reading (i.e., three levels of word representations, namely orthography, phonology, semantics), listening, and reading comprehension were collected using computer-based assessments in children from Grades 2 to 5 (N= 237). We examined the contribution of vocabulary in two contrasted groups: a younger group consisting of children from Grades 2-3 and an older group with children from Grades 4-5. A confirmatory factor analysis revealed that vocabulary is a factor separate from word reading, listening and reading comprehension. Moreover, the results from a structural equation modeling analysis showed that word reading and listening comprehension fully mediated the relation between vocabulary and reading comprehension. Consequently, vocabulary had an indirect effect via word reading on reading comprehension in both groups. Finally, word reading had a greater effect on reading comprehension than listening comprehension in both groups. The results suggest that word reading plays a central role in reading comprehension and is underpinned by the influence of vocabulary. We discuss the results in the light of the lexical quality hypotheses taken together with reading comprehension.

The effects of syntactic vs. semantic feature analysis of words on Iranian EFL learners' reading comprehension

IntroductionThe development of learners' semantic and syntactic knowledge of words and vocabulary plays an essential role in reading comprehension. This study attempted to investigate and compare the impact of instructing syntactic and semantic analyses of word features on Iranian EFL learners' reading comprehension.MethodsThree groups were selected: one was the control group and two were used as experimental groups. Students in all groups took part in a reading pretest. Two experimental groups received specific treatments, while the control group followed a traditional syllabus. All groups took part in a reading comprehension posttest at the end of the syllabus.Results and discussionThe results revealed that the syntactic analysis group outperformed the semantic analysis and control groups in the posttest. In addition, the participants in the semantic analysis group outperformed the students in the control group in the posttest. The results of this study could help teachers, learners, and textbook writers to improve reading skills in teaching, learning, and material development.

Correlation and Prediction of Students’ Level of Reading Comprehension through Their Perception of the Application of Transition Words

The role of reading comprehension and its correlation and prediction to other skills in terms of enhancing the proficiency level of students in English language has been widely recognized by researchers. However, research conducted on reading comprehension in roughly the last fifteen to twenty years shows no concrete evidence of identifying the knowledge of the transition words with the understanding of reading comprehension. This study was particularly designed to fill that gap and to measure students’ ability to differentiate among various categories of expressions in English language, such as descriptive, narrative, sequence, comparison and contrast, and cause and effect, and to identity the functions of their derivative transitions in the reading comprehension task. The current study adapted a quantitative method and collected data from 100 male and female EFL students at the tertiary level in a Bangladeshi university to conduct this study. To be specific, this research used transition words as the predictor variable/independent variable and reading comprehension as the dependent variable. The findings of the research suggested that there were positive and significant correlations between students’ knowledge of the transition words and their level of understanding the reading comprehension. In addition, the transitional word was found to be a strong predictor of reading comprehension. This study strongly suggests that students with a better understanding of transition words can perform equally better in their reading comprehension tasks. For tertiary level students, the knowledge of transitional words would be useful, and it would also have significance for lexical scholars and curriculum designers.

Relative Roles of Grammar Knowledge and Vocabulary in the Reading Comprehension of EFL Elementary-School Learners: Direct, Mediating, and Form/Meaning-Distinct Effects

Despite the recognized importance of grammar knowledge to the reading comprehension of EFL learners, research findings on the relationships among grammar knowledge, vocabulary, and reading comprehension are inconclusive. Attention needs to be paid to issues such as the distinct roles of the two grammar knowledge components of form and meaning, and the direct and mediating roles of vocabulary in EFL reading comprehension. This study recruited 1,149 sixth graders as research participants to evaluate these issues. The measurement tools were standardized EFL competence tests for vocabulary size, grammar forms and meanings, and reading comprehension. Structural equation modeling (SEM) regression models indicated that vocabulary played a more-significant role in reading comprehension than grammar knowledge; moreover, the effects of grammar knowledge were reduced but still significant when grammar meanings were excluded. The SEM mediating model of this study also indicated that grammar knowledge not only exerted a direct effect on reading comprehension but also indirectly influenced reading comprehension via vocabulary.

Do Struggling Adult Readers Monitor Their Reading? Understanding the Role of Online and Offline Comprehension Monitoring Processes During Reading

Comprehension monitoring is a meta-cognitive skill that is defined as the ability to self-evaluate one’s comprehension of text. Although it is known that struggling adult readers are poor at monitoring their comprehension, additional research is needed to understand the mechanisms underlying comprehension monitoring and their role in reading comprehension in this population. This study used a comprehension monitoring task with struggling adult readers, which included online eye movements (reread and regression path durations) and an offline verbal protocol (oral explanations of key information). We examined whether eye movements predicted accuracy on the passages’ reading comprehension questions, a norm-referenced reading assessment, and an offline verbal protocol after controlling for age and traditional component skills (i.e., decoding, oral language, working memory). Regression path duration uniquely predicted accuracy on the questions; however, decoding and oral vocabulary were the most salient predictors of the norm-referenced reading comprehension measure. Regression path duration also predicted the offline verbal protocol, such that those who exhibited longer regression path duration were also better at explaining key information. These results contribute to the literature regarding struggling adults’ reading component skills, eye movement behaviors involved in processing connected text, and future considerations in assessing comprehension monitoring.

The problem of semantic dyslexia in schoolchildren with general speech impairment

Introduction. The article addresses the problem of reading disorders among pupils with general speech impairment. The purpose of the research is to study the prerequisites for impairments in the reading process in primary schoolchildren with general speech impairment and determine the main directions of speech therapy to overcome semantic dyslexia. Materials and Methods. This study is based on Armenian and international scholarly literature on the role of reading comprehension in schoolchildren with general speech impairment, their development and socialization. Results. The study reveals the characteristic features of semantic dyslexia in children with general speech impairment (the 3rd level). Reading comprehension by children with general speech impairment is characterized by a range of disorders, which are mainly manifested in inaccurate knowledge and use words and expressions, in misunderstanding of the semantic and grammatical relations between words, in the problems of identifying the object and the subject in the sentence and the relations between them, in violation of semantic programming and language rules within the text, etc. Conclusions. The article clarifies the mechanism of reading disorders in children with general speech impairment (the 3rd level) and proposes ways and methods of correcting semantic dyslexia.

Examining the simple view of reading in Kiswahili: Longitudinal evidence from Kenya

The present study examines the applicability of the simple view of reading (SVR) (Gough & Tunmer, 1986) model of reading comprehension in Kiswahili, a language that has a transparent orthography. We examined the developmental relationships among nonword decoding, listening comprehension, oral reading fluency, and reading comprehension using longitudinal data from a sample of 628 Kenyan children, enrolled in first and second grade. Children completed eight different tasks. We fit autoregressive cross-lagged path models with maximum likelihood estimation to examine the developmental relationships. Our findings showed support for the SVR model, given that both nonword decoding and listening comprehension were significant predictors of reading comprehension in Kiswahili. Nonword decoding was the stronger predictor. The results further revealed that both accuracy and speed of nonword decoding played significant roles in reading comprehension in Kiswahili for beginning readers. Our findings suggest that oral reading fluency and accuracy were significant predictors of reading comprehension.

The role of reading comprehension in mathematical modelling: improving the construction of a real-world model and interest in Germany and Taiwan

To solve mathematical modelling problems, students must translate real-world situations, which are typically presented in text form, into mathematical models. To complete the translation process, the problem-solver must first understand the real-world situation. Therefore, reading comprehension can be considered an essential part of solving modelling problems, and fostering reading comprehension might lead to better modelling competence. Further, ease of comprehension and involvement have been found to increase interest in the learning material, and thus, improving reading comprehension might also increase interest in modelling. The aims of this study were to (a) determine whether providing students with reading comprehension prompts would improve the modelling sub-competencies needed to construct a model of the real-world situation and their interest in modelling and (b) analyze the hypothesized effects in two different educational environments (Germany and Taiwan). We conducted an experimental study of 495 ninth graders (201 German and 294 Taiwanese students). The results unexpectedly revealed that providing reading comprehension prompts did not affect the construction of a real-world model. Further, providing reading comprehension prompts improved students’ situational interest. The effects of providing reading comprehension prompts on the construction of a real-world model were similar in Germany and Taiwan. Students’ interest in modelling improved more in Germany. An in-depth quantitative analysis of students’ responses to reading prompts, their solutions, and their interest in the experimental group confirmed the positive relation between reading comprehension and modelling and indicated that the reading comprehension prompts were not sufficient for improving reading comprehension. Implications for future research are discussed.

How Chinese–English Bilingual Fourth Graders Draw on Syntactic Awareness in Reading Comprehension: Within‐ and Cross‐Language Effects

ABSTRACTSyntax, or sentence structure, plays a role in reading comprehension, but how students draw on their awareness of syntax in their reading remains unclear; the mechanism is even more ambiguous in bilingual students. In this study, we evaluated the direct and indirect contributions of syntactic awareness on first‐language Chinese and second‐language English reading comprehension among 227 Hong Kong Chinese–English bilingual fourth graders. We designed language‐shared and language‐unique tasks of syntactic awareness, assessed reading comprehension in both Chinese and English, and took other reading‐related cognitive and metalinguistic measures. We found a statistically significant direct effect of syntactic awareness on reading comprehension within both first‐language Chinese and second‐language English, along with indirect effects via word reading. Moreover, in their reading comprehension within both English and Chinese, students drew on awareness of syntactic features that are shared between English and Chinese more than those unique to either language. Students were also generally more accurate with language‐shared than language‐unique items, further pointing to the possibility of transfer. Our findings clarify dual roles for syntactic awareness in reading comprehension in Chinese and English, as well as transfer of awareness of syntactic structures in the two typologically distinct languages. We discuss these results in relation to theories of both reading comprehension and transfer.

The Role of Accessibility of Word Knowledge in L2 Reading Comprehension

Researchers have investigated that different dimensions of word knowledge may play distinct roles in second language reading comprehension. Yet, little research has addressed how learners’ efficiency of accessing those dimensions of knowledge functions in their comprehension. To fill the gap, the present study conceptualized accessibility of word knowledge (the efficiency of activating word knowledge) and examined its role in reading comprehension in relation to availability of word knowledge (having the knowledge itself) in Korean EFL context. A total of 115 11th grade students in a girls’ high-school participated in the study, and their different dimensions of word knowledge and reading comprehension were measured. A series of hierarchical multiple regressions were performed for the analyses. The key findings indicated that accessibility of word knowledge made a unique significant contribution to reading comprehension over and above availability of knowledge and self-reported English proficiency. In addition, participants’ accessibility of knowledge of word meaning relations had stronger predictive power than accessibility of knowledge of word meanings in explaining reading comprehension. Theoretical and pedagogical implications are discussed in relation to the findings.

Semantic memory and reading comprehension: the relationship through adulthood and aging.

Literature shows a relationship between working memory and reading comprehension during lifespan and aging. In addition, a difference between genres of text was shown: the expository text affects the already limited cognitive resources of the older adults, whereas narrative text comprehension seems to be preserved. Undoubtedly, also semantic knowledge plays a key role in reading comprehension; though, and to our knowledge, there are no studies clearly showing the relation between semantic knowledge and reading comprehension in aging. In the current study, we administered to younger adults and older adults a semantic working memory task, two word-span tasks and two reading comprehension tests (narrative and expository genre) to investigate the role of semantic knowledge during comprehension. In line with previous findings, we found that younger adults used flexibly either taxonomic or thematic knowledge, whereas the older adults mainly used thematic knowledge (better preserved from age-related decline). Originally, we found that in younger adults, thematic knowledge accounted for narrative text comprehension, whereas backward span performance accounted for expository text comprehension. On the contrary, in older adults no specific predictors were found for narrative text comprehension, whereas both thematic knowledge and education level were significant predictors of expository text comprehension. Results were discussed in the light of the possible protective role of some factors such as education level and mostly, as an instance of cognitive reserve exemplified by use of thematic knowledge as a residual ability.

The Simple View of Reading in Italian beginner readers: Converging evidence and open debates on the role of the main components

The Simple View of Reading (SVR) model was investigated in Italian beginner readers to address the following research questions: (a) does listening comprehension play a stronger role in reading comprehension than reading accuracy and fluency in the initial stages of literacy?; (b) what is the role of vocabulary within the SVR framework? First graders (N = 149; mean age = 6;3) were assessed at the beginning (T1; no formal instruction) and end (T2; after 6 months) of the school year. Vocabulary breadth and depth, and non-verbal reasoning were assessed at T1. Reading and listening comprehension, accuracy and fluency for non-words and words were assessed at T2. Structural equation models showed that (a) listening comprehension had a stronger relation with reading comprehension than reading accuracy and fluency at T2; (b) vocabulary breadth and depth at T1 accounted for reading comprehension through listening comprehension at T2. Findings supported the relevance of listening comprehension and vocabulary, and of interventions on these skills, for reading comprehension in beginner readers of a highly transparent orthography.

Effects of frequency and idiomaticity on second language reading comprehension in children with English as an additional language

Vocabulary plays an important role in reading comprehension in both the L1 and the L2 (Murphy, 2018). In measuring vocabulary knowledge, however, researchers typically focus on mono-lexical units where vocabulary assessments tend not to take into account multi-word expressions which include phrasal verbs, collocations, and idioms. Omitting these multi-word lexical items can lead to an over-estimation of comprehension skills, particularly in reading. Indeed, adult learners of English comprehend texts containing a larger number of multi-word expressions less well compared to texts containing fewer of these expressions, even when the same words are used in each text (Martinez & Murphy, 2011). To investigate whether children learning English as an additional language (EAL) face a similar challenge, two reading comprehension tests were administered to EAL and monolingual (non-EAL) English-speaking children in primary school. Both tests contained the same common words, but whereas in one test some of the words occurred in multi-word expressions, in the other test they did not. Reading comprehension was significantly reduced for both groups of children when multi-word expressions were included. Monolingual participants generally performed better than children with EAL on both tests further suggesting that children with EAL may face a particular disadvantage in English reading comprehension. These results are discussed within the context of the importance of developing rich vocabulary knowledge in all children, and especially emergent bilingual children, within primary school and beyond.

Rethinking the Role of Knowledge in the Literacy Classroom

ABSTRACTKnowledge plays an inarguably critical role in reading comprehension. When considering the science of reading, it is important to engage with varying theoretical frameworks and empirical research that inform our collective understanding regarding the intersection of knowledge and literacy in K–12 classrooms. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to consider sociocultural and cognitivist perspectives on the role that knowledge plays throughout the reading process and to examine whose knowledge matters. Then, the authors address three tensions related to the role of knowledge in K–12 literacy instruction and offer research‐based perspectives on how educators, researchers, school leaders, parents, and community leaders can rethink knowledge to support students in learning from texts. First, the authors reframe the knowledge gap and suggest ways that teachers can privilege students’ knowledge as assets during literacy instruction. Second, the authors address the importance of supporting students in activating, integrating, and revising their knowledge during text processing and suggest evidence‐based instructional techniques that support students’ learning from texts. Finally, the authors contend that content knowledge is not the only type of knowledge that matters in reading and suggest how teachers can support readers in using other types of knowledge that are crucial to comprehension.