The Influence of Content Familiarity, Gender Difference and Proficiency Level on Reading Comprehension Performance: A Study on Malaysian Undergraduate Students in UPM

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Waseem Alkelani ◽  
Hadina Habil
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
The Other ◽  
Independent Variables ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Content Familiarity ◽  
Malaysian Students

Much research has been done on the influence of several variables individually on Reading comprehension, but the influence of these variables as a whole was not given much attention. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between reading comprehension as a dependent variable and three independent variables namely: gender differences, English language proficiency level and content familiarity. An additional goal was to examine the interrelation between the three independent variables. The participants were 127 male and female Malaysian students attending English language proficiency classes at the English language department in University Putra Malaysia (UPM). The study employed a quantitative approach and the data was collected through a questionnaire which was of three main parts: two reading passages (one is content-familiar and the other one is content- unfamiliar texts) and a written interview. All participants were asked to answer the whole survey and then they were classified on the basis of their proficiency level and gender. The major findings revealed that there was a direct relation between content familiarity and reading comprehension while there was an indirect relation between each of gender differences and English language proficiency level on one side and reading comprehension on the other side.

Postpassage Questions: Task and Reader Effects on Comprehension and Metacomprehension Processes

1987 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 261-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beth Davey
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
Significant Interaction ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Constructed Response ◽  
Deaf Readers ◽  
Disabled Readers ◽  
Task Conditions

This investigation explored the effects of question task conditions on reading comprehension and metacomprehension for subjects differing in reading ability and English language proficiency. Proficient readers, disabled readers, and deaf readers read expository passages and completed selected-response and constructed-response question tasks under both lookback and no-lookback conditions. In addition, subjects rated their perceived comprehension adequacy both after reading each passage and after responding to the questions. Several significant interaction effects were found for both demonstrated and perceived comprehension performance, most notably with lookback tasks. However, overlaps between comprehension and metacomprehension processes were not comparable across reader groups. Implications are drawn for further research concerning interactions of individual differences with reading comprehension tasks.

scholarly journals The Comparative Effect of Teaching Concept Mapping in Reading on Extrovert and Introvert EFL Learners' Self-Regulation

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 161
Author(s):  
Mania Nosratinia ◽  
Fatemeh Abbasi
Keyword(s):  
Concept Mapping ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Teaching Concept ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Pre Treatment

The present study attempted to compare the effect of teaching concept mapping in reading on extrovert and introvert English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners' Self-Regulation (SR). The participants were 60 female EFL learners at the intermediate level of English language proficiency, between 18 and 20 (Mage = 19). The Preliminary English Test was employed in order to select homogeneous participants in terms of English language proficiency level, followed by administering Eysenck's Personality Inventory (1985). The language-wise homogeneous introvert (n = 30) and extrovert (n = 30) participants were assigned randomly into two experimental groups of 30. To identify the pre-treatment and post-treatment levels of participants' SR, the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (1991) was administered twice. The two groups were instructed using the same material and implementing Harris and Graham’s (1996) concept mapping instruction model. The analysis of the scores using an Independent-Samples t-Test revealed that extrovert participants exhibited a significantly higher SR level as a result of being exposed to concept mapping. The study concludes with a discussion on the obtained results and the probable reasons leading to them, followed by presenting some implications for EFL teachers, learners, and syllabus designers. 

scholarly journals Relationship between Teachers’ Competency Level in Teaching English Language and Students’ English Language Proficiency in Secondary Schools in Rwanda

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (7) ◽  
pp. 104-122
Author(s):  
Girimbabazi Serge ◽  
◽  
Mrs Adegoke Oyebimpe ◽  
Dr. Hesbon Opiyo Andala ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Proficiency ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
English Language Teachers

The improvement of students’ English proficiency depends on the level of teaching English language and the competency of teachers in teaching career. The purpose of this study therefore, was to investigate the relationship between teachers’ competency in English language and students’ English language proficiency within secondary schools of Karongi in Rwanda. The study adopted correlation research design research design. Data collection tools were questionnaire and interview guide. The target population was 1794 people comprised of 1560 students, 14 Sector Education Officers, 20 Head Teachers, 200 teachers. A simple random sampling and purposive sampling techniques were used to get a sample size of 395 respondents. The study findings revealed that majority of the students with a total of 290 (91.2%) agreed that in their school, teachers are not competent enough in English language. Moreover, almost 292 (91.8%) of the respondents agreed that in their school, students English reading, writing, listening and speaking proficiency level is low and 70 (90.9%) of key informants agreed that both in public and private secondary schools of Karongi District, students’ English language proficiency level in reading, writing, speaking and listening is low. The correlation results showed the association between between teachers’ inability to teach in English, teachers’ inability to read classroom interactions in English language, teachers’ incompetency in English language, teachers’ inability to express themselves in English language as well as teachers’ inability to develop English language educational materials) and dependent variables (students’ reading, writing, speaking and listening English language proficiency and students’ English language proficiency (reading, writing, speaking and listening English proficiency) is positive. The study recommended the Ministry of Education through Rwanda Basic Education Board to avail enough English teaching and learning materials, including charts, textbooks and dictionaries which are adequate in enhancing English language proficiency mastery among students at an early age. All stakeholders of the education sector are recommended to support English teaching and learning activities in Rwanda, as it is the only and one shortcut for making Rwandans master the English language. Keywords: Teachers’ competency, English Language, English proficiency, Rwanda

scholarly journals Sociolinguistic Factors in the Development of English Language Proficiency Among Students in Malaysia

ELT-Lectura ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Melvina Melvina
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
School Environment ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Home Support ◽  
Native Language Proficiency ◽  
Malaysian Students

Sociolinguistics factors influence the level of English Language proficiency among Malaysian students. Thereare three contextual factors involved which are the participants, the environment and culture. Participants refer to the students who come from different backgrounds with diverse needs and goals of learning the language. Language distance, native language proficiency, prior knowledge of the second language, dialect and register language status and attitudes play a crucial role in this factor. Besides that, the participants’ integrative and instrumental motivations are also contributing factors to the different level of proficiency in second language acquisition. The second factors is the environment which includes home support, the school environment and the community. Home support is concerned with atmosphere that parents create at home regarding language use, the school environment refers to peer groups, teachers and the learningprocess, whereas the community deals with the society that the students interact with. Finally cultural factors such as cultural differences and settings also have brought the different levels of proficiency among students in Malaysia.

scholarly journals Test-Taking Strategies and Reading Comprehension: A Correlational Investigation

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-165
Author(s):  
Fadi Al-Khasawneh
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
English Language ◽  
Placement Test ◽  
Test Taking ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Data Collection Process ◽  
Test Taking Strategies ◽  
Efl Students

There is an increasing interest of studies investigating the correlation between Test-Taking Strategies (TTSs) and reading comprehension achievement among EFL learners. The relationship between the aforementioned variables is still unclear and more studies are needed on this area. The major concern of this study is to examine the correlational relationship between the use of test-taking strategies and reading comprehension. The sample of this study included 64 undergraduate students majoring in English language in King Khalid University, Saudi Arabia. The present research employed three instruments for data collection process; English Language Placement Test was used to distribute students according to their proficiency level, two reading passages taken from TOEFL reading comprehension tests, and a questionnaire adapted from Cohen and Upton (2007) asking about TTSs. The results of the present study illustrated that Saudi EFL students used test-taking strategies at a moderate level. There was no statistically significant correlation between test-taking strategies use and students’ achievement in reading comprehension test. There was also no significant differences between test-taking strategies and students; achievement in reading comprehension attributed to language proficiency level. Some pedagogical implications for EFL teachers were presented and discussed.

Human Capital as the Main Determinant of Digital Divide: An Analysis of Technological Inequality in Countries Surveyed by the AsiaBarometer 2006

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamila Kolpashnikova
Keyword(s):  
Digital Divide ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Educational Level ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Multivariate Regression ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Main Determinant ◽  
Independent Variables

This paper focuses on the analysis of the digital divide within countries and regions surveyed in the Asia Barometer 2006 database, particularly in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam. The research constructs a model based on the available data from the database, which consists of eight independent variables, including access to fixed lines and mobile phones, household income, educational level, English language proficiency, gender, marital status, and age. Those variables are regressed against one dependent variable which represents an index of the Internet use. The OLS multivariate regression shows that the most important determinants of ICT usage are educational level, English proficiency, and age. In contradiction with previous works and findings, household income appeared to be not a strong determinant of the digital divide in 2006.

Script Familiarity and Its Effect on CAPTCHA Usability

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 74-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashraf Khalil ◽  
Salam Abdallah ◽  
Soha Ahmed ◽  
Hassan Hajjdiab
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
User Study ◽  
Research Area ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Interactive Proofs ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
New Research ◽  
Human Interactive Proofs

Many web-based services such as email, search engines, and polling sites are being abused by spammers via computer programs known as bots. This problem has bred a new research area called Human Interactive Proofs (HIP) and a testing device called CAPTCHA, which aims to protect services from malevolent attacks by distinguishing bots from human users. In the past decade, researchers have focused on developing robust and safe HIP systems but have barely evaluated their usability. To begin to fill this gap, the authors report the results of a user study conducted to determine the extent that English language proficiency affects CAPTCHA usability for users whose native language is not English. The results showed a significant effect of participants’ English language proficiency level on the time the participant takes to solve CAPTCHA, which appear to be related to multiple usability issues including satisfaction and efficiency. Yet, they found that English language proficiency level does not affect the number of errors made while entering CAPTCHA or reCAPTCHA. The authors’ results have numerous implications that may inform future CAPTCHA design.

scholarly journals English language proficiency level of Higher Secondary level students in Nepal

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-75
Author(s):  
Keshab Kumar Sijali
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Proficiency Test ◽  
Secondary Level ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Language Proficiency Test ◽  
Academic Year

The objective of this study is to investigate the proficiency level of English language of higher secondary level students in Nepal regarding their gender, nature of institution, medium of instruction and stream. The subject of this study comprises 529 learners from 22 higher secondary school of academic year 2015/6 among whom an English language proficiency test was conducted. The data obtained were analyzed using mean, Mann-Whitney U-test and Kruskal Wallis H-test of non-parametric test. The result showed that the English language proficiency level of higher secondary level students in Nepal was poor (M = 10.4490). Regarding the gender, the result showed that there was no statistically significant difference between female and male ELT students in their English language proficiency level. However, ELT students of government higher secondary level were found statistically significantly less proficient in English language than that of private higher secondary level .Similarly, the Nepali medium ELT students were found statistically significantly highly less proficient in English language than that of English medium. The result further showed that there was statistically significant difference in the English language proficiency level of higher secondary level students in Nepal from different streams

scholarly journals The Effectiveness of Using Infographics as an Aid for Reading Comprehension

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 226-229
Author(s):  
Revathy Manickam ◽  
Azlina Abdul Aziz
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Reading Materials ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Good Reading ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Primary School Pupils ◽  
Reading Session

Reading comprehension is one of the most vital skills that is needed in acquiring a language. However, the Malaysian pupils seem to have not master the skill and this have resulted in pupils lacking a good reading skill especially when it comes to English language. Therefore, it is important for the pupils to have a support system which would enable them to make better connection with their reading materials. Thus, the purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of using infographics to enhance reading comprehension among the primary school pupils with average and weak English language proficiency. The data of this research was collected through tests before the intervention and after the intervention. The data were collected from the test and was analysed. The finding of this research shows that there is a significant improvement of the mean score from the pre-test to the post-test. As this research has proven that the use of infographics was effective in enhancing reading comprehension among the pupils, it will benefit the teachers to use the intervention to help the pupils to comprehend the text better and also to will enable the pupils to experience fun their reading session.

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