The interplay of glossing with text difficulty and comprehension levels

2021 ◽  
pp. 136216882110204
Author(s):  
Seyede Faezeh Hosseini Alast ◽  
Sasan Baleghizadeh
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
First Language ◽  
Think Aloud ◽  
Text Difficulty ◽  
L2 Reading ◽  
Think Aloud Protocols ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Impact ◽  
L2 Reading Comprehension ◽  
Underlying Processes

The aim of this experiment was to investigate how glossing influences second language (L2)reading comprehension in relation to text difficulty and the two local and global meaning representations. Fifty-eight undergraduate students were asked to read three easy, moderate, and difficult texts and, following each passage, answer twenty comprehension questions targeting local and global concepts in one of the two first-language-glossed and unglossed conditions. Half of the participants in each group were supposed to think aloud while reading. The results revealed a significant difference between the performance of glossed and unglossed groups on comprehension of local concepts in all three difficulty levels. However, the impact of glossing on comprehension of global concepts was significantly influenced by text difficulty. The qualitative analysis of think-aloud protocols suggested a substantial difference in glossing functionality on fluency between the easy and the difficult texts. Furthermore, it is suggested that revisiting the glossing effect in combination with text difficulty on the reading product and underlying processes might reconcile some divergent hypotheses on glossing impact on fluency.

Employing Personal Reading Logs through Short Stories to Enhance Students’ L2 Reading Comprehension Achievement

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Eliyas Sulaiman Mohandas ◽  
Nik Mastura Nik Ismail Azlan ◽  
Salwa Othman ◽  
Muhammad Aizat Azhari
Keyword(s):  
Short Stories ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
P Value ◽  
L2 Reading ◽  
Reading Score ◽  
Paired Samples ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Post Test ◽  
The Mean ◽  
L2 Reading Comprehension

This study aims to investigate whether the use of six selected short stories throughout the duration of a 14-week course could enhance students’ reading comprehension achievement at the end of the semester. Out of the six short stories read, three were chosen as in-class assignments known as ‘Personal Reading Logs’ (hereafter, PRLs). One group of semester two Diploma students taking a reading skills course was selected through a convenience sampling method. A pre-test was conducted by having the students answer a past semester reading quiz of which the results would then be compared to their post-test (final reading exam) results. A paired samples t-test revealed no significant difference in the reading scores of the pre-test and the post-test, t (17) = -.265, p > .05. Since the p-value was bigger than 0.05, this indicated that the mean reading score of the post-test (M = 50.556) was not significantly higher than the mean reading score of the pre-test (M = 49.722). Therefore, the null hypothesis which stated that there was no difference in the mean score of the pre-test and post-test was retained. Overall, the result refuted the findings of other studies promoting the effectiveness of using short stories to enhance L2 reading comprehension achievement.

scholarly journals The Impact of Incidental and Intentional L2 Vocabulary Learning on Depths and Breadth Dimensions of Vocabulary Knowledge

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 50
Author(s):  
Seyyed Rasool Mirghasempoor Ahmadi
Keyword(s):  
Learning Style ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
English Language ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Reading Program ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Different Dimensions ◽  
The Impact

Through the introduction of different dimensions of vocabulary knowledge, various studies attempted to examinenumerous effective factors on these dimensions. The present study aimed to show the effects of different vocabularylearning styles through extensive and intensive reading programs on depth and breadth aspects of vocabularyknowledge. To achieve this goal, 45 sophomore undergraduate students of English language teaching and translationin Payam-e-Noor University participated in this study. Initially, in order to homogenize the learners based on theirlevel of language proficiency, MEPT was administered. Then, by measuring the mean and standard deviation ofparticipants’ scores, the number of participants reduced to 35. The ultimate subjects’ scores on the readingcomprehension items of MEPT show that they are all at the intermediate level of reading ability. Participantsdivided into three experimental groups randomly: two groups were in the extensive reading program with differentform-focused and meaning-focused tasks as incidental vocabulary learning style. And the third group was in theintensive reading program as intentional vocabulary learning style. Participants in these experimental groups readlong stories or passages per week with ten goal-oriented words. After 8 weeks, Word Associates Test (WAT) andVocabulary Knowledge Scale (VKS) were administered to measure the acquired knowledge of new words and also,determining the effects of various learning styles on different dimensions of vocabulary knowledge. The results ofPaired-samples and Independent T-tests revealed that both incidental and intentional groups developed in the periodbetween the pre- and post-test, but, there was a significant difference between the effects of incidental vocabularylearning in the form of ER program and intentional vocabulary learning in the form of IR program. Moreover, therewas a significant difference between the effects of the form-focused and meaning-focused task.

scholarly journals A comparative study of Blended learning versus Conventional learning in higher education on the academic achievement of undergraduate students in the general chemistry course

2021 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 2770-2785
Author(s):  
Najeh Rajeh Alsalhi Et al.
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
General Chemistry ◽  
Blended Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Study Groups ◽  
Achievement Test ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Impact

The main goal of this study was to examine the impact of blended learning on the academic achievement of undergraduate students in the general chemistry (CHE101) course. The participants' learners of the study were (326) learners, who were randomly split into two groups, one of which taught by using blended learning (empirical group A, n = 163) and the other which with taught by using the conventional method (control group B, n = 163). To accomplish the objectives of the study, the researchers prepared the study tool, which is an achievement test, after confirming its validity and reliability. Data analyses showed that there is a statistically significant difference among the mean scores of learners in the two study groups on the achievement test, for the benefit of empirical group learners, who taught through blended learning. Moreover, the results revealed that achievement varied according to the College of the learners in the empirical group (in favor of those students of Pharmacy and Health Sciences College). However, there is no statistically significant difference in students according to the students’ gender variable and, according to the Academic year variable. The study recommended that blended learning be used more widely to cover different sectors of education.

scholarly journals Quantifying the impact of mathematics support on the performance of undergraduate engineering and computing students

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Calum Macdonald
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Mathematical Content ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Impact

The School of Computing, Engineering and Built Environment at Glasgow Caledonian University has provided mathematics support for all students in the school since 2012/13. This paper compares the performance of two groups of undergraduate students; those who engaged with mathematics support, through attending targeted lectures, and those who chose not to engage. Data collected over the five years from 2013/14 to 2017/18 for 4,690 engaging and non-engaging students, enrolled on modules with a substantial mathematical content, were analysed. Module marks achieved at first diet for the two groups of students, at all undergraduate levels, were selected as a measure of how mathematics support impacts on student performance. The study showed that there was a substantial and significant difference between the marks achieved by students that engaged with support and those that did not. Students who engaged on average showed an 8% increase in their module mark compared with those who did not engage. 

Impact of Whatsapp in improving learning among 9th semester MBBS students

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-30
Author(s):  
Y Satish Reddy ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Control Group ◽  
P Value ◽  
Study Group ◽  
Opinion Poll ◽  
Didactic Teaching ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Group A ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Impact

Background: Interactive Teaching learning can be used in clinical subjects like surgery for better participation of students as one-way didactic lectures do not involve active participation of students. WhatsApp is one of the most famous messaging services which everyone use and it is easy, cheaper, and faster. Objective: the purpose of the study was to study the impact of whatsapp in improving learning in general surgery among 9th semester medical students. Methods: This study was conducted among 9th semester MBBS students in Surgery department. Students were divided into group a (study group) and group b(control group) by a simple random sampling. Gastric cancer was discussed among students of both Groups through didactic teaching. after didactic teaching, only Group A students were exposed to social media type of learning, i.e., using WhatsApp, after the session a multiple-choice questionnaire having 10 MCQs was given to both groups and an additional poll was conducted among the Study-group students to assess their perception towards Whatsapp intervention. the mean score obtained by both the groups were compared with unpaired t test. P-value <0.05 is taken as statistically significant. Results: The mean (SD) score of the Study-group was 8.58(1.18) and the mean (SD) score of the Control-group was 5.41(1.32) and statistically significant difference was found between the two groups scores with a p-value less than 0.05 opinion poll found that the intervention of whatsapp among study group was effective. Conclusion: we observed that the usage of WhatsApp in addition to the didactic teaching was found advantageous and enhanced learning in undergraduate students

Connections between First- and Second-Language Reading

1995 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 565-584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith E. Brisbois
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Second Language Reading ◽  
Reading Scores ◽  
Air Force Academy ◽  
L2 Reading ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
L2 Vocabulary ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
L2 Reading Comprehension

This study builds upon previous research examining the relationship between first-language (L1) reading, second-language (L2) knowledge, and L2 reading. The unique contributions of L1 reading, L2 vocabulary, and L2 grammatical skill to L2 reading scores are investigated along with whether or not the contributions differ by course level. Subjects included 131 students (88 beginners and 43 upper level) enrolled in French at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Data were analyzed using multiple regression. Two programs were run for each subject group because L1 reading was measured using two different tests—recall protocols and the comprehension portion of the Nelson Denny Test. All of the independent variables contributed significantly for beginners, but did so for the upper level subjects only when L1 protocols were used as the reading measure. Typically, L1 reading contributed substantially, particularly for the upper level group, supporting Cummins's (1981) Hypothesis. This study demonstrates the importance of L1 reading and L2 knowledge to L2 reading comprehension.

THE IMPACT OF ANXIETY AND GENDER ON PERCEIVING THE MUELLER-LYER ILLUSION

2005 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khader A. Baroun ◽  
Bader M. Al-Ansari
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Anxiety Scale ◽  
Kuwait University ◽  
Lyer Illusion ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Scale Scores ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

This study aimed at investigating the relationship between anxiety, gender and the Mueller-Lyer illusion perception among a sample of 242 undergraduate students (66 males and 176 females), of Kuwait University, Kuwait, to the Mueller-Lyer and Horizontal-Vertical illusion forms. The subjects were divided into 3 groups (high, middle and low anxiety) in accordance with their anxiety scale scores. Although the overall analysis showed no significant difference between males and females with respect to most variables, a significant difference in anxiety was observed where females scored higher than males. The results also showed that gender had no significant correlation to the Mueller-Lyer perception and Horizontal-Vertical illusion. In addition, no significant difference was found as regards the anxiety and gender relationship to degree of illusion. However, the data did show some significant difference in relationship between anxiety and the perception of illusion, with males exhibiting higher scores for anxiety tending to have higher illusion error scores than males with low anxiety scores. Females with higher anxiety scores also were found to have higher illusion error scores than females with low anxiety scores.

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