Text Comprehension Scores Research Articles

Digital and print media texts and their comprehension by young adults – preliminary research results

The purpose of this article is to identify differences in the comprehension of print and digital media texts among young adults. This is due to the paradigm of transactional communication models (Yaros 2009 et al.), which assumes interaction between the medium and the audience, which corresponds to current changes in the media environment (Herkman 2008) and the accelerated digitization of mass media. The discussion of interaction with electronic texts and hypertexts (Singer 2017; Mangen 2013; DeStefano 2007 and others) opens up new research horizons and topics. Researchers from abroad (Norway, UK, etc.) have reported conflicting results regarding the level of comprehension of print and digital media texts, due to the length of the text, type of digital medium, target groups, etc. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of digital communication in both media and other areas (education). In order to solve the formulated research problems, a descriptive-mapping and correlation research plan was developed, using a standardized method adapted to the digital environment. A total of 486 respondents were surveyed, 173 of whom met the criteria for participation in both measurements, with an average age of 21.82. The results (compiled using MS Excel and SPSS software) show that there is no difference in the level of comprehension of media texts presented in print and digital form. At the same time, we found that although the values of correlation coefficients indicate that a higher level of text difficulty can lead to lower text comprehension scores (negative “r” values), a higher level of text difficulty is not related to the level of text comprehension. The results are discussed, not only limitations but also broader contexts (e.g., non-cognitive factors) are considered, and some implications for media practice and education are proposed.

22 Semantic Processing and its Relation to Brain Pathology in Individuals with Autosomal Dominant Alzheimer's Disease: Preliminary Findings from the Colombia-Boston Biomarker Study

Objective:Semantic processing dysfunction has been shown to be an early indicator of cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and has been linked to early accumulation of AD-pathology. We examined semantic processing and its relation to AD pathology in non-demented individuals from a Colombian kindred with autosomal dominant AD due to the Presenilin1 E280A mutation (PSEN1).Participants and Methods:A total of 13 cognitively unimpaired PSEN1 mutation carriers (mean age: 36.92± 4.94), 7 carriers with mild cognitive impairment (MCI; mean age: 45±2.65), and 17 family non-carriers (mean age: 36±6.38) from the Colombia-Boston (COLBOS) longitudinal biomarker study were included. We used the Bateria IV Woodcock-Munoz verbal analogies and text comprehension subtests to examine semantic processing, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) to assess global cognition and the CERAD word list delayed recall task to measure verbal memory. Participants also underwent PiB and flortaucipir-PET to measure mean cortical amyloid and regional tau burden (entorhinal cortex and precuneus), respectively. Mann-Whitney U tests and Spearman's Rho correlations compared group differences in semantic processing, and its associations with age and pathological markers. Post-hoc analyses excluded carriers with MCI and controlled for education.Results:Carriers (including cognitively unimpaired and symptomatic individuals) performed significantly worse on the MMSE (carriers: 14.55, non-carriers: 24.24; U=81.00, p=.006), CERAD word list delayed recall (carriers: 13.63, non-carriers: 25.32; U=48.00, p=.001), and text comprehension (carriers: 16.36, non-carriers: 23.81; l/=107.00, p=.042,) than non-carriers, and showed a trend towards worse performance on verbal analogies (carriers: 17.16, non-carriers: 23.68; U=124.50, p=.077). There were no differences in text comprehension or verbal analogies performance between cognitively-unimpaired carriers and non-carriers.Across the whole sample, age was negatively associated with performance on verbal analogies (r=-.341, p=.039), but not text comprehension (r=-.136, p=.428). Among carriers only, better MMSE and CERAD delayed recall performance was associated with higher verbal analogies (r=.561, p=<.001; r=.662, p=<.001, respectively) and text comprehension scores (r=.468, p=.004; r=.480, p=.003, respectively). Greater amyloid burden was associated with worse verbal analogies performance (r=-.432, p=.007) and text comprehension (r=-.430, p=.008). Greater entorhinal cortex (r=-.384, p=.016) and precuneus tau burden (r=-.318, p=.049) was associated with worse performance on verbal analogies, but not text comprehension. These associations did not survive when excluding carriers with MCI or controlling for education.Conclusions:Preliminary results show that non-demented mutation carriers had worse performance in semantic processing than non-carriers and performance was associated with markers of AD pathology. These findings suggest that changes in semantic processing may be early indicators of disease progression in individuals at increased risk for Alzheimer's disease dementia. Future studies with larger samples need to examine the role of education and the longitudinal trajectory of semantic processing dysfunction in AD.

Improving Expository Text Comprehension in Adolescent Spanish–English Bilingual Learners With Learning Disabilities Using a Graphic Organizer

The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of a graphic organizer for improving the expository text comprehension of adolescent Spanish–English bilingual students with learning disabilities. Students included two females and one male. Using a multiple baseline single case design, students were taught to create a funnel map graphic organizer for 10 descriptive text passages. Students’ performance was assessed on their ability to correctly create the funnel map (criterion variable) and to comprehend expository passages during baseline, intervention, and maintenance phases. Each participant learned to create an accurate funnel map within four sessions. Text comprehension scores began to increase within three sessions. Results showed the positive effect of using the funnel map for improving comprehension of expository texts. Individual TAU effect sizes (.81–.92) and overall TAU-U effect sizes (.86) and a Between Case-Standardized Mean Difference (BC-SMD) of 1.87 showed the intervention to be highly effective.

On the readability of texts presented in sentence-by-sentence segments to beginner readers: Evidence from self-paced reading and eye tracking

Many digital reading applications have built-in features to control the presentation flow of texts by segmenting those texts into smaller linguistic units. Whether and how these segmentation techniques affect the readability of texts is largely unknown. With this background, the current study examined a recent proposal that a sentence-by-sentence presentation mode of texts improves reading comprehension of beginning readers because this presentation mode encourages them to engage in more effortful sentence wrap-up processing. In a series of self-paced reading and eye-tracking experiments with primary school pupils as participants (6–9 years old; n = 134), reading speed and text comprehension were assessed in a full-page control condition—i.e., texts were presented in their entirety—and in an experimental condition in which texts were presented in sentence-by-sentence segments. The results showed that text comprehension scores were higher for segmented texts than for full-page texts. Furthermore, in the final word-regions of the sentences in the texts, the segmented layout induced longer reading times than the full-page layout did. However, mediation analyses revealed that these inflated reading times had no, or even a disruptive influence on text comprehension. This indicates that the observed comprehension advantage for segmented texts cannot be attributed to more effortful sentence wrap-up. A more general implication of these findings is that the segmentation features of reading applications should be used with caution (e.g., in educational or professional settings) because it is unclear how they affect the perceptual and cognitive mechanisms that underlie reading.

A pilot study of AID-COMp: An innovative speech-language intervention for patients with early-stage major neurocognitive disorder.

Major neurocognitive disorder (MND) alters cognition, memory and language, and consequently affects communication. Speech-language therapy (SLT) may alleviate communication difficulties. This pilot study explored the effects of intensive SLT emphasizing memory, language, and discourse impairment and complementary communication strategies, called Aid for Communication-For Persons Who Live with MND (AID-COMp). We employed a mixed design using quantitative and qualitative methods with four dyads, including a person living with MND (PwMND) and a family carer. The design included a control period, and we tested participants before (T1) and after 2 months without therapy (T2). AID-COMp was then provided intensively three times per week for 10 sessions and participants were tested again (T3). Participants were also involved in an individual qualitative interview after therapy ended, probing their experience and possible effects on their lives. AID-COMp included: (1) spaced retrieval to teach the use of a memory book; (2) semantic and phonological therapy for lexical access; (3) discourse treatment based on the analysis of the macrostructure and microstructure of stories in pictures and texts; and (4) PACE therapy for generalization. Carers were not included in treatment, did not attend sessions and were only involved in the evaluations. Measures included language, communication, cognitive and well-being tests. Paired t-tests (one-tailed) compared scores for the control period, that is, T1 versus T2. We compared scores after therapy (T3) with those at T2. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed qualitatively. For the control period, only text comprehension scores significantly decreased in PwMND. After therapy, improvements occurred on the Boston Naming Test (BNT), the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) and the well-being measure for the PwMND. Carer scores were unchanged after therapy except for their perception of the PwMND's communication which improved. Qualitative findings comprised three themes: (1) understanding therapy; (2) recovering abilities and relationships; and (3) naming further needs. We hypothesize that AID-COMp addressed the underlying impairments associated with MND and provided various tools to PwMND for composing effectively with them. Indeed, AID-COMp appears to provoke some degree of improvement of language skills, cognition and emotional well-being. These improvements may lead to more confidence in conversation and the recovery of relationships between the PwMND and their entourage. It is also possible that improvements acted positively on one another. These preliminary findings warrant further controlled studies with more participants, including a qualitative exploration of participant experiences. What is already known on the subject MND affects cognition and communication, which are crucial to a good relationship between a carer and a person with MND. Interventions involving only PwMND have been shown to be effective, but do not address all the communication impairments in the mild stage of MND. These interventions may require many therapy sessions. Generally, SLT interventions do not examine the potential effects of an intervention on carers. What this paper adds to existing knowledge AID-COMp, an intensive intervention of 10 sessions over 1 month, was provided to people living with MND in the community. It included training the person with MND in using a memory notebook combined with semantic and phonological therapy, a new discourse therapy and PACE therapy, addressing several communication deficits. After a control period of 2 months without intervention and a 1-month intensive intervention, the results showed significant improvement in naming, cognition and communication, and PwMND well-being. Moreover, the carers witnessed the impacts of therapy in their everyday life interactions with the PwMND. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work AID-COMp can provide communication support for PwMND that has further benefits reported by both PwMND and carers. We described AID-COMp in detail to inspire clinicians in providing SLT for unserved PwMND. Future research studies should use controlled designs, more participants and a qualitative component.

ATTENTION TO FORM AND MEANING REVISITED

AbstractMotivated by a series of interconnected studies on simultaneous attention to form and meaning, we revisit L2 learners’ real-time processing of text by using eye-tracking as an unobtrusive method to provide concurrent data on attention allocation. Seventy-five L2 Spanish learners were instructed to attend to an assigned form in a reading passage and to press a button when they noticed it. After reading the passage, the learners answered 10 multiple-choice comprehension questions. The participants’ responses to the comprehension questions and their reading behaviors reflected in eye-movement data suggest that attention to grammatical form may hinder L2 learners’ simultaneous attention to form and meaning. However, individual differences in global text processing contributed to the differences in the participants’ text-comprehension scores over and above the task instruction to attend to form: Slower L2 readers who read the passage more carefully showed better text comprehension.

What Eye Movements Reveal About Later Comprehension of Long Connected Texts.

We know that reading involves coordination between textual characteristics and visual attention, but research linking eye movements during reading and comprehension assessed after reading is surprisingly limited, especially for reading long connected texts. We tested two competing possibilities: (a) the weak association hypothesis: Links between eye movements and comprehension are weak and short-lived, versus (b) the strong association hypothesis: The two are robustly linked, even after a delay. Using a predictive modeling approach, we trained regression models to predict comprehension scores from global eye movement features, using participant-level cross-validation to ensure that the models generalize across participants. We used data from three studies in which readers (Ns=104, 130, 147) answered multiple-choice comprehension questions ~30min after reading a 6,500-word text, or after reading up to eight 1,000-word texts. The models generated accurate predictions of participants' text comprehension scores (correlations between observed and predicted comprehension: 0.384, 0.362, 0.372, ps<.001), in line with the strong association hypothesis. We found that making more, but shorter fixations, consistently predicted comprehension across all studies. Furthermore, models trained on one study's data could successfully predict comprehension on the others, suggesting generalizability across studies. Collectively, these findings suggest that there is a robust link between eye movements and subsequent comprehension of a long connected text, thereby connecting theories of low-level eye movements with those of higher order text processing during reading.

Effet de la valence émotionnelle de textes sur leur compréhension et l'apprentissage de nouveaux mots chez des élèves de 5éme année de primaire.

The present study examines the influence of the influence of emotional valence of texts (positive, negative and neutral), on text comprehension and learning of the new words of 139 pupils of 5th grade. Eight stories were built in three versions-positive, negative and neutral. Each story included a pseudoword that appeared three times. The student had to detect pseudowords meaning from several clues inserted in the text. The purpose for reading did not focus attention to the learning of unknown words (incidental learning). After the reading, text comprehension and learning of unknown words were assessed (orthographic recognition task and definition task). Measures of receptive vocabulary, decoding, reading comprehension and verbal working memory were also administered. The text comprehension scores as well as those obtained at the definition task were significantly lower after the reading of positive texts rather than negative or neutral texts. The effect of text valence of new words learning has not been demonstrated. The results are interpreted in terms of distracting effect of the positive emotional content on text comprehension. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

The Effect of Vocabulary Intervention on Text Comprehension: Who Benefits?

Purpose Vocabulary intervention can improve comprehension of texts containing taught words, but it is unclear if all middle school readers get this benefit. This study tests 2 hypotheses about variables that predict response to vocabulary treatment on text comprehension: gains in vocabulary knowledge due to treatment and pretreatment reading comprehension scores. Method Students in Grade 6 (N = 23) completed a 5-session intervention based on robust vocabulary instruction (RVI). Knowledge of the semantics of taught words was measured pre- and posttreatment. Participants then read 2 matched texts, 1 containing taught words (treated) and 1 not (untreated). Treated texts and taught word lists were counterbalanced across participants. The difference between text comprehension scores in treated and untreated conditions was taken as a measure of the effect of RVI on text comprehension. Results RVI resulted in significant gains in knowledge of taught words (dRM = 2.26) and text comprehension (dRM = 0.31). The extent of gains in vocabulary knowledge after vocabulary treatment did not predict the effect of RVI on comprehension of texts. However, untreated reading comprehension scores moderated the effect of the vocabulary treatment on text comprehension: Lower reading comprehension was associated with greater gains in text comprehension. Readers with comprehension scores below the mean experienced large gains in comprehension, but those with average/above average reading comprehension scores did not. Conclusion Vocabulary instruction had a larger effect on text comprehension for readers in Grade 6 who had lower untreated reading comprehension scores. In contrast, the amount that children learned about taught vocabulary did not predict the effect of vocabulary instruction on text comprehension. This has implications for the identification of 6th-grade students who would benefit from classroom instruction or clinical intervention targeting vocabulary knowledge.

Improving Reading in Adolescents and Adults With High-Functioning Autism Through an Assistive Technology Tool: A Cross-Over Multinational Study.

People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience reading comprehension difficulties, often misinterpreting complex texts, metaphors, and idioms. We have developed and tested a new assistive technology tool for adaptive, personalized text simplification, called Open Book. This tool is an open-sourced, online platform that uses Natural Language Processing with the specific aim of assisting reading and aiding understanding of written text for people with ASD. The accessibility and effectiveness of Open Book was tested by examining the differences in text comprehension scores between the original texts and texts that were simplified by Open Book tool, randomly allocated to study participants. Two hundred forty-three participants (153 adults and 90 adolescents) with high-functioning ASD were recruited in the UK, Spain, and Bulgaria. Regarding the primary outcome, results showed that both adults and adolescents with ASD gave more correct answers for the simplified (M = 11.2, SD = 4.1) than original texts (M = 10, SD = 4.1; p < 0.001). This finding was consistent across age groups and countries. Regarding the secondary outcome, when participants were asked to blindly rate how easy was to understand each text, simplified texts were rated as easier (M = 7.6, SD = 2.4) to understand than the original texts (M = 8.7, SD = 2.6; p < 0.001). The Open Book software seems to have the potential to be a useful tool in assisting reading among people with ASD. Our findings support our primary hypothesis that texts simplified through Open Book were easier to comprehend compared to original texts.

Fine-Grained Assessment of Children's Text Comprehension Skills.

Text comprehension is an essential skill for achievement in personal, academic, and professional life. Therefore, it is tremendously important that children’s text comprehension skills are actively monitored from an early stage. Text comprehension is, however, a complex process in which different reading abilities continuously interact with each other on the word, sentence, and text levels. In educational practice, various tests are used to measure these different reading abilities in isolation, which makes it very difficult to understand why a child scores high or low on a specific reading test and to adequately tailor reading instruction to the child’s needs. Dynamic assessment has the potential to offer insights and guidance to teachers as cognitive processes that are important for learning are examined. In dynamic tests, students receive mediation through instruction when answering test questions. Although computer-based dynamic assessment in the reading domain holds potential, there is almost no support for the validity of dynamic measures of text comprehension. The aim of the present study is to determine design principles for the intended use of computer-based dynamic assessment of text comprehension. Based on the dynamic assessment literature, we developed a model for assessing the different reading abilities in conjunction. The assumption is that this model gives a fine-grained view of children’s strengths and weaknesses in text comprehension and provides detailed information on children’s instructional needs. The model was applied in a computer-based (fourth-grade) reading assessment and evaluated in practice through a three-group experimental design. We examined whether it is possible to (1) measure different aspects of the reading process in conjunction in order to obtain a full understanding of children’s text comprehension skills, (2) measure children’s learning potential in text comprehension, and (3) provide information on their instructional needs. The results show that while the model helped in explaining the children’s text comprehension scores, unexpectedly, mediation did not clearly lead to progress in text comprehension. Based on the outcomes, we substantiate design principles for computer-based dynamic assessment of text comprehension.

The effects of activating prior topic and metacognitive knowledge on text comprehension scores.

Research on prior knowledge activation has consistently shown that activating learners' prior knowledge has beneficial effects on learning. If learners activate their prior knowledge, this activated knowledge serves as a framework for establishing relationships between the knowledge they already possess and new information provided to them. Thus far, prior knowledge activation has dealt primarily with topic knowledge in specific domains. Students, however, likely also possess at least some metacognitive knowledge useful in those domains, which, when activated, should aid in the deployment of helpful strategies during reading. In this study, we investigated the effects of both prior topic knowledge activation (PTKA) and prior metacognitive knowledge activation (PMKA) on text comprehension scores. Eighty-eight students in primary education were randomly distributed amongst the conditions of the 2 × 2 (PTKA yes/no × PMKA yes/no) designed experiment. Results show that activating prior metacognitive knowledge had a beneficial effect on text comprehension, whereas activating prior topic knowledge, after correcting for the amount of prior knowledge, did not. Most studies deal with explicit instruction of metacognitive knowledge, but our results show that this may not be necessary, specifically in the case of students who already have some metacognitive knowledge. However, existing metacognitive knowledge needs to be activated in order for students to make better use of this knowledge.

Nomen est omen: Investigating the dominance of nouns in word comprehension with eye movement analyses.

Although nouns are easily learned in early stages of lexical development, their role in adult word and text comprehension remains unexplored thus far. To investigate the role of different word classes (open-class words: nouns, adjectives, verbs; closed-class words: pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, etc.), 141 participants read a transposed German text while recording eye movements. Subsequently, participants indicated words they found difficult and reproduced the story. Then, participants were presented an untransposed text version while also tracking eye movements. Word difficulty, subjectively assessed by an interview and objectively by eye movement criteria (general fixation rate, number of fixations on specific words), text comprehension scores, and regressive fixations from one word class to another in the transposed text indicated that the noun was the most influential word class in enhancing the comprehension of other words. Developmental, intercultural, and neurophysiological aspects of noun dominance are discussed.

Resilient readers? University students who are poor recoders but sometimes good text comprehenders.

The authors screened 194 university students to determine whether some could comprehend text well despite very poor recoding skills, measured by pseudoword reading. Most of the 17 poorest recoders had never been identified as reading disabled. We classified 6 poor recoders as resilient readers because their text comprehension scores were average or above, relative to the sample as a whole. They were indistinguishable from 6 matched typical readers on measures of text comprehension derived from oral-reading think-aloud protocols. There was no evidence that the resilient readers relied on superior verbal ability or working memory to compensate for poor recoding. The resilient readers were poor at spelling, reading isolated words, and reading text rapidly, but they showed adequate phonemic awareness.

Japanese text comprehension by Chinese and non-Chinese background learners

This research investigates the role of kanji in second language learners' reading comprehension of Japanese text. It explores how two subgroups of Japanese learners, with Chinese and non-Chinese backgrounds, approach text. Fourteen intermediate level learners of Japanese were recruited for each subgroup. They performed vocabulary and reading comprehension tests, and were interviewed immediately after the tests. Three sets of tests in the same format examined subjects' kanji vocabulary comprehension with and without context and text comprehension. The interviews were held to obtain insights into their difficulty in reading Japanese particularly in relation to both their kanji and text comprehension. The Chinese background subgroup scored substantially higher in kanji comprehension both with and without context thanks to their L1 knowledge. However, the non-Chinese subgroup performed better in text comprehension. The two subgroups used similar text comprehension strategies. The interviews after the tests suggest that relationships between kanji and text comprehension scores can be explained in terms of the initial schema settings for the two subgroups' Japanese reading.

The development of word‐coding skills in the born deaf: An experimental study of deaf school‐leavers

Single word spelling for picture names and lexical decision were examined systematically in a group of born‐deaf English school‐leavers with a reading age of between 9 and 10 years. The deaf were better at these word‐coding skills than their reading‐age matched peers. Like them they showed systematic effects of word regularity (phonological and orthographic) in their single word spellings. In lexical decision the deaf were as fast and as accurate as chronological controls and showed similar patterns of sensitivity to spelling regularity.While both the younger and older hearing control groups showed a consistent pattern of performance across the spelling and reading tasks, with regularity effects marked in the younger and less marked in the older group, the deaf by comparison showed somewhat disjoint patterns of reading and spelling processes. This is discussed in the context of variable patterns of word reading and spelling development in hearing children.Word reading and writing is better in these deaf students than is predicted by their standardized text comprehension scores. It is suggested that in the born‐deaf, word‐coding skills are isolated with respect to other language skills; they have not become contextualized. Moreover, the pattern of performance on these single word tasks suggests that the development of such lower level literacy skills is still incomplete.