The Effectiveness of the Numbered Head Together (NHT) Learning Model in the Exposition Text Writing Skills of MA Darul Istiqamah Lappae Kabupaten Sinjai

This study aims to (1) describe the skills of writing expository text by applying the Numbered Head Together (NHT) learning model to the tenth-grade students of MA Darul Istiqamah Lappa'e, Sinjai Regency. (2) prove the effectiveness of the Numbered Head Together (NHT) learning model on learning to write expository texts. This study uses an experimental research design, the type of experiment used is a true experiment. This study uses the form of a written test in learning to write an exposition text. Sampling was carried out using a total sampling technique with a total of 70 students. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics using SPSS version 25. The results of the research data analysis showed that the application of the NHT (Numbered Head Together) learning model was more effective than the conventional learning model in learning to write Indonesian exposition texts. It is evident from the results of t count > t table or 2,369 > 1,995 so it can be concluded that the hypothesis test H1 is accepted and H0 is rejected, namely the NHT model is effectively used in learning to write exposition texts. In addition, it can be proven by the average value of the experimental class is 78.4 while the average value of the control class is 76.0. This shows that the application of the Numbered Head Together (NHT) model is more effective in learning to write Indonesian exposition texts.

Knowledge of Greek and Latin Roots is Related to Reading Comprehension among French-Speaking Sixth Graders

By the end of primary school, students are confronted with expository texts known for their high proportion of domain-specific academic vocabulary words. These words usually comprise Greek or Latin roots in their internal structure. Recent findings showed that knowledge of Greek and Latin roots is related to reading comprehension. However, no study has investigated such a relationship in a francophone context. Therefore, the present study sought to measure Greek and Latin roots’ relation to reading comprehension among French 6th graders. To do so, 40 participants were administrated an experimental task on Greek and Latin roots knowledge and a reading comprehension standardized subset test. Variables related to reading comprehension, such as morphological awareness, vocabulary breadth, word reading fluency, oral comprehension, and working memory were also measured. Results showed that knowledge of Greek and Latin roots significantly predicted variation of reading comprehension. This paper discusses scientific and educational implications of this finding.

The Implementation of CSR on EFL Students’ Reading Class in Different Group Sizes

<p><strong>Abstract:</strong> This study addresses senior high school students’ reading comprehension on expository texts and its relation with the group sizes assigned to the students. It involves 133 eleventh grade students of SMAN Model Terpadu Bojonegoro. Quantive data were analyzed descriptively. The findings show that CSR affect the students’ reading comprehension significantly. Yet, it fails to reveal the effect of group sizes arrangement on the strategies applied towards the students reading comprehension. Consequently, the use of CSR in reading class can not be related to the group sizes assigned to the students. </p><strong>Abstrak:</strong><em> </em>Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengungkap penguasaan pemahaman bacaan siswa SMA dan hubungannya dengan ukuran kelompok yang ditetapkan pada siswa. Penelitian ini melibatkan 133 siswa kelas XI SMAN Model Terpadu Bojonegoro. Data kuantitatif dianalisis secara deskriptif. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa penggunaan CSR memberikan pengaruh yang signifikan pada pemahaman bacaan siswa. Namun, penelitian ini gagal menunjukkan pengaruh ukuran pengaturan kelompok dalam strategi yang diterapkan terhadap pemahaman bacaan siswa. Karena itu, penggunaan CSR dalam pembelajaran membaca tidak bisa dihubungkan dengan ukuran kelompok yang ditugaskan kepada siswa.

Sketch and Speak : An Oral, Written, and Graphic Expository Strategy Intervention for Secondary Students

Purpose This clinical focus article describes an intervention to improve comprehension, retention, and expression of the ideas and language of expository texts. Sketch and Speak intervention links written, graphic, and oral learning strategies through a triadic process of noting an idea simply with written or pictographic notes, then saying it fully, and saying it again. This simple routine engages transformational and retrieval cognitive processes involved in active learning and information retention. We consider the evidence base from the psychological and educational literature and report research evidence with younger students with language-related learning disabilities. We explain how to use Sketch and Speak with students in the secondary grades and suggest how to coach students toward independent, self-regulated use. Conclusions Students in the secondary grades benefit from learning strategies that help them gain control over the ideas and language of informational texts. Sketch and Speak may be a helpful addition to the speech-language pathologist's repertoire for older students with language and learning difficulties.

Narrative Elements in Expository Texts

While the use of narrative elements in educational texts seems to be an adequate means to enhance students’ engagement and comprehension, we know little about how and to what extent these elements are used in the present-day educational practice. In this quantitative corpus-based analysis, we chart how and when narrative elements are used in current Dutch educational texts (N=999). While educational texts have traditionally been considered prime exemplars of expository texts, we show that the distinction between the expository and narrative genre is not that strict in the educational domain: prototypical narrative elements – particularized events, experiencing characters, and landscapes of consciousness – occur in 45% of the corpus’ texts. Their distribution varies between school subjects: while specific events, specific people, and their experiences are often at the heart of the to-be-learned information in history texts, narrativity is less present in the educational content of biology and geography texts. Instead publishers employ narrative-like strategies to make these texts more concrete and imaginable, such as the addition of fictitious characters and representative entities.

INVESTIGATING LEXICAL BUNDLES IN THE CORPORA OF ENGLISH AND INDONESIAN RESEARCH ARTICLES WITH THE SKETCH ENGINE

The low publication rate of Indonesian researchers in reputable international journals, particularly in arts and humanities,is caused, among others, by difficulties they faced in producing precise expository texts in English, which are differentfrom texts in Indonesian. The present study examines lexical bundles in the corpora of English and Indonesian researcharticles (RA) on literature and linguistics to describe the similarities and differences of conventionalized phraseology inthe scientific genre of English and Indonesian by using corpus software, namely Sketch Engine. The study focuses onthe frequency, structural and functional characteristics of lexical bundles using a mixed-method research design. TheEnglish corpus comprises 1,351,048 words derived from 124 RA, while the Indonesian corpus consists of 637,910 wordscollected from 124 RA. We found that three-word lexical bundles are more prevalent than four-word lexical bundles inboth corpora. Based on the structural forms, prepositional-based bundles are the most frequent form in English RA, whilenoun-based bundles are the most common form in Indonesian RA. There were no participant-oriented bundles foundin the Indonesian RA corpus in terms of functional classification, whereas the English RA corpus involved more variedfunctional categories of lexical bundles. The findings provide an understanding of phraseological combinations in Englishand Indonesian scientific writing, characterizing disciplinary discourse as well as native and non-native English speakers’rhetorical style, and have pedagogical implications for EAP practitioners.

Confronting Lexical Choice and Error Distribution in Written French: New Insights into the Linguistic Insecurity of Students with Dyslexia

The main goal of this paper is to analyze written texts produced by monolingual French university students, with and without dyslexia. More specifically, we were interested in the linguistic characteristics of the words used during a written production and of the type of word errors. Previous studies showed that students with dyslexia have difficulties in written production, whether in terms of the number of spelling errors, some syntactic aspects, identification of errors, confusion of monosyllabic words, omissions of words in sentences, or utilization of unexpected or inappropriate vocabulary. For this present study, students with dyslexia and control students were asked to produce written and spoken narrative and expository texts. The written texts (N = 86) were collected using Eye and Pen© software with digitizing tablets. Results reveal that students with dyslexia do not censor themselves as regards the choice of words in their written productions. They use the same types of words as the control students. Nevertheless, they make many more errors than the control students on all types of words, regardless of their linguistic characteristics (length, frequency, grammatical classes, etc.). Finally, these quantitative analyses help to target a rather unexpected subset of errors: short words, and in particular determiners and prepositions.

Word processing difficulty and executive control interactively shape comprehension monitoring in a second language: an eye-tracking study

Successful reading comprehension – especially in a second language (L2) – relies on the ability to monitor one’s comprehension, that is, to notice comprehension breaks and make repairs. Comprehension monitoring may be limited given effortful word processing, but may also be supported through active control. The current study addresses to what extent increased word processing difficulty reduces adolescents’ ability to monitor their comprehension when reading in their L2, and whether readers can compensate limitations given sufficient executive control. To this end, we conducted an eye-tracking experiment where 34 adolescent L2 learners read short expository texts that contained two within-subject manipulations. First, comprehension monitoring was tested through textual inconsistencies, such as when the topic changed from speaking Spanish to speaking Russian vis-à-vis consistent controls. Second, word processing difficulty was altered by inserting either shorter and higher-frequency words such as want, or longer and lower-frequency words such as prefer. We additionally measured each participants’ executive control. We found evidence of successful moment-to-moment monitoring in the L2, as visible in adolescents’ increased rereading of inconsistent as opposed to consistent information. We also found that adolescents adapted their monitoring differently to word processing difficulty, depending on their executive control: while adolescents with weaker control abilities reduced their monitoring given higher word processing difficulty, adolescents with stronger control abilities monitored their comprehension more (instead of less) on difficult texts. These findings provide insights into how comprehension monitoring in the L2 arises in the interplay of limitations due to lower-level processing load and compensation thanks to active control.