Reading Comprehension in Expository Texts through Retelling. A Basis for Developing an Intervention E-Book

Jasmin Villanueva

• Herausgeber: GRIN Verlag
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Beschreibung

Research Paper (postgraduate) from the year 2015 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Pedagogy, Literature Studies, Pampanga State Agricultural University (College of Education), course: MAED, language: English, abstract: This descriptive-correlational study aimed to assess the level of reading comprehension in expository text of Grade 6 pupils from selected public school sin Angeles Meta-synthesis was used to integrate the qualitative observations of 3 raters on the retellings of the respondents. The expository text used in this study was entitled Friendship, a suggested reading for intermediate students. The text was 490 words long, with average sentence length of 12,8, had a Flesch Reading Ease value of 77.5, and a computed Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level of 6.1. Most of the pupils attained a rating of developing for the content (40.57%), structure (61.71%), and vocabulary (46.86%) of their retelling. A small percentage of the respondents attained an exceptional rating on content (13.14%), structure (4.57%), and vocabulary (0.57%). Majority of the pupils (47.43%) were classified as approaching proficiency (80-84) in terms of their Grade 6 English subject grade. Only 1.71% of the pupils belonged to the advanced category. The reading comprehension of the pupils in expository texts has a significant relationship with their grades in their English subject. This means that their reading comprehension in expository text influences their performance in their English subject class. Results revealed that pupils had difficulty in comprehending expository texts as revealed by their low rating in the content, structure and vocabulary of their retelling. Further, the academic performance of the pupils in their English subject is affected by their reading comprehension.

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ABSTRACT

 This descriptive-correlational study aimed to assess the level of reading comprehension in expository text of Grade 6 pupils from selected public schools in Angeles Meta-synthesis was used to integrate the qualitative observations of 3 raters on the retellings of the respondents. The expository text used in this study was entitled Friendship, a suggested reading for intermediate students. The text was 490 words long, with average sentence length of 12,8, had a Flesch Reading Ease value of 77.5, and a computed Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level of 6.1.

 Most of the pupils attained a rating of developing for the content (40.57%), structure (61.71%), and vocabulary (46.86%) of their retelling. A small percentage of the respondents attained an exceptional rating on content (13.14%), structure (4.57%), and vocabulary (0.57%). Majority of the pupils (47.43%) were classified as approaching proficiency (80-84) in terms of their Grade 6 English subject grade. Only 1.71% of the pupils belonged to the advanced category. The reading comprehension of the pupils in expository texts has a significant relationship with their grades in their English subject. This means that their reading comprehension in expository text influences their performance in their English subject class.

 Results revealed that pupils had difficulty in comprehending expository texts as revealed by their low rating in the content, structure and vocabulary of their retelling. Further, the academic performance of the pupils in their English subject is affected by their reading comprehension.

Content

ABSTRACT

Introduction

Methodology

Research Instrument

Research Procedure

Statistical Treatment of Data

Results

Discussion

References

Introduction

Reading as a learning activity should promote higher-order thinking skills. For it to become effective, the vocabulary level and length of sentences should be suited for the readers. The logical relationship and smooth flow of ideas allows the reader to form connections among the ideas presented in the text (Limiac, 2002).

Reading comprehension involves the active decoding and translation of written texts into understanding and personal reflection to the reader. It goes beyond mere recognition of printed symbols. Skilled readers are constructive, fluent, and strategic, motivated and are actively engaged in the learning process (Anderson, 2004).

Readers commonly use background knowledge, vocabulary, grammatical knowledge, experience with text and other strategies to help them understand written texts. Skilled readers are known to develop their own strategies to comprehend the message underlying in a material (Chambliss & Calfee, 2008). Tagala (2000) stated that reading readiness is not correlated with age, rather, on the training and environment of the child. This includes the type of school, the educational background of the parents and rearing methods of the parents.

Blacklock and others (2010) point out that children tend to poorly comprehend text because of their inability to construct high-level inferences. Pacione (2000) identified formulation of inferences as a crucial process in the reading comprehension process. Poor reading ability and comprehension is one of the prevailing reasons why pupils fail in school (Torres, 2001).

Expository texts are prevalent in the curriculum as they appear in almost all subject areas. Exposition is the common form of delivery of concepts found in textbooks. Pearson & Duke (2002) assert that expository texts are to be taught in the early grade levels to make the pupils familiar with the structure.

Retelling is a highly potent learning strategy, which has direct and beneficial consequences for children’s processing of subsequent text. Tsou (2008) reported that adults and children trained through retelling method can perform better in terms of story structure and length of story recall. While they may not show significant advantage in sentence difficulty, the storytelling group in the study had better story comprehension.

Difficulty in the comprehension of expository text may have significant impact on the academic achievement of the students. If the students do not comprehend the text structure of the material given to them, it is highly likely that they will not gain mastery and much more, an understanding of the concept (Pearson & Duke, 2002).

Garcia (2007) cited the results of the National Diagnostic Test (NDT) in 2002, which revealed that students are experiencing a 2-year lag in their reading skills. Among the difficulties include word recognition, inferring vocabulary words through context clues, diction, and discussing common English expressions. Reading comprehension is further correlated to achievement in Science, Mathematics, Social Studies and Arts. As a result, the teaching of reading to young learners has been intensified by the Department of Education.

Retelling texts helps students progress in both language arts and in English language development while providing a useful assessment tool for the teacher. Hoshino (2007) verified the use of the retelling method in the assessment of reading comprehension. Retelling provides the teacher a venue to clearly identify the gray areas in the reading comprehension ability of the students.

Recognizing the impact of reading comprehension of pupils to their academic performance, this study aimed to determine the reading comprehension of the pupils in expository text. As suggested by cited literature, retelling method was employed to gauge the reading comprehension abilities of the pupils.

Generally, the study aimed to assess the level of reading comprehension in expository text of grade 6 pupils through the retelling method. Specifically, it aimed to answer the following research questions:1 How may the level of reading comprehension of the grade 6 pupils in expository texts be assessed through the use of the retelling method in terms of:1.1 Content;1.2 Structure;1.3 Vocabulary?2. What are the grades of the respondents in their English 6 subject?3. Is there a significant difference between the respondents’ level of reading comprehension of expository texts?4. Is there a significant relationship between the level of the respondents’ reading comprehension in expository text and grades in their English 6 subject?5. How may the reading intervention for the respondents be developed based on their level of reading comprehension in expository texts?

Methodology

The descriptive-correlational method was adapted in this study to assess reading comprehension of the students in expository texts. It involved the descriptive analysis of the level of reading comprehension of the respondents and the difficulty that they have experienced. A correlation of the level of reading comprehension and their grades in their English subject was also identified. A meta-synthesis of the results was used to develop reading interventions for the respondents. Meta-synthesis attempts to integrate results from a number of different but inter-related qualitative results (Walsch & Downe, 2015).

This study was conducted in five selected public schools in the Division of Angeles City.

The respondents of this study were the Grade 6 pupils of the identified schools during the academic year 2014-2015. Random sampling was used to determine the respondents for the study. For each of the Grade 6 section one class in the identified schools, 30% of the population was taken to be part of the respondents.

A non-participant group from Concepcion North Central Elementary School, Division of Tarlac Province, was utilized to validate the research instrument.

The raters were English teachers who are currently handling English 6 subjects in the public schools. They hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education. Two (2) of them have been in the service for 9 years, while the other 3 raters have been teaching for more than 20 years.

Research Instrument

 The reading material used in this study was an expository text entitled Friendship taken from http://www.thewritesource.com/studentmodels/ws2k-friendship.htm (Accessed September 20, 2014). It is a suggested reading material for intermediate students. The material showed a clear genre-oriented structure with its cause and effect text structure pattern as suggested by Moss (1993). The material was characterized through computer assisted text analysis using word counts, average length per sentence, percentage of occurrences of passive sentences, the Flesch Reading Ease and the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Test to assess the readability of the text.

The Flesch Reading Ease is a simple test to assess the grade level of the intended reading material. It is an accurate measure that uses a 100-point scale to determine the readability of a text written in English. Scores between 90.0 and 100.0 are considered easily understandable by an average 5th grader. Scores between 80.0 and 90.0 are generally understandable for 6th graders. Scores between 60.0 and 70.0 are considered easily understood by 7th to 9th graders; while those between 0.0 and 30.0 are considered easily understood by college graduates (Scott, 2012).

The following matrix was used to assess the readability of a text:

The Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Test analyzes the grade level at which the text can be easily understood. It is based on the average sentence length and average number of syllables per word found within the document. The scale reports text as either readable for first to twelfth graders.

The Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Test have been used by Kuo and Chiang (2008) in analyzing the readability of materials used for Chinese 5th Grade English as a Foreign Language (EFL) pupils in Taiwan. The two tests rely on the number of words and syllables present in the text making it an efficient way to measure the readability of the materials in terms of its structure.

It was found out that the expository material for this study is 490 words long; the average length per sentence was 12.8; there were no passive sentences; with the Flesch Reading Ease value 77.5 (a value generally considered standard and easily understood by 6th graders); the computed Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level was 6.1 (the score provides an estimate of the grade level required to understand the text).

The rubric used in the study was a 4-point scale assessing the following areas: content, structure and vocabulary. The students were classified as any of the following based on the rubric: exceptional, proficient, developing or inadequate.

Research Procedure

The researcher prepared and analyzed the materials used for the study to ensure that each text was within the readability level of the participants. The Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Test were used for this purpose. The researcher validated the scoring rubric by trying it out to a non-participant group. The identified non-participant groups for this study were the Grade 6 students of Concepcion North Central Elementary School. The researcher provided each student a copy of the text Friendship. The students were instructed to read the text for 15 minutes. The researcher encouraged the students to underline or highlight lines in the text that they consider important. The students retold the text using their own words. After 15 minutes, the researcher collected the papers. The retelling was evaluated using the scoring rubric by 5 raters. English teachers served as the raters for this study. The reliability of the scoring rubric was computed using the Kendall’s Coefficient of Concordance set at .05 level of significance. Upon establishing the reliability of the scoring rubric, assessment of the reading comprehension of the respondents took place.

The researcher gathered and oriented the respondents with the activity. A copy of the text entitled Friendship was given again to each of the respondents. The respondents were instructed to do a 15-minute intensive reading of the text and 15-minute retelling. The researcher reminded the participants that retelling is not a mere recalling of the text. The 5 raters evaluated the retellings using the scoring rubric. The results of the assessment were considered in developing a remedial reading program for the participants.

Results

The reading comprehension of the participants was gauged using the 4-point rubric devised and validated through reliability testing. The rubric assessed the ability of the students to infer, identify main ideas, understand text organization and use vocabulary words from the given expository texts.

The content refers to the ability of the pupils to identify and incorporate in their retelling the main and supporting details of the expository text that they read. Most of the pupils were classified as proficient (34.29%) and developing (40.57%) in terms of their ability to include in their retelling the essential points discussed in the expository text given to them. Twelve percent of the pupils were classified as inadequate, while only 13.14% were rated exceptional.

Results revealed that in terms of structure, most of the pupils (61.71%) were classified as developing in terms of their ability to organize their thoughts in their retelling. Only 4.57% were rated exceptional. Eighteen percent were classified as proficient and 15.43% were considered inadequate in this particular skill.

The vocabulary of the retelling was gauged based on how words from the expository texts were used by the pupils. In this skill, only one of the pupils (0.57%) achieved a rating of exceptional. Bulk of the pupils was classified as developing (46.86%) and inadequate (38.29%). This reflects the difficulty that pupils are facing in understanding vocabulary words appearing on the text. It must be noted that the expository text used in this study has been tested and evaluated to be within the expected level of a grade 6 pupil.

In terms of grades of the respondents in their English 6 Subject, 47.43% were classified as approaching proficiency, while 28.57% were developing. Fourteen percent were classified as proficient, while only 1.71% was considered as advanced. Fourteen students (8%) were considered beginning in terms of their mastery of the competencies.

The computed t-value of 214.15 was beyond the t-critical value of 1.960 and 2.576 at 0.05 and 0.01 level of significance, respectively which made the null hypothesis that there is no significant difference between reading comprehension of the expository text and their grades in English 6 disconfirmed.

The positive relationship of reading comprehension to the academic achievement of students has been confirmed by several studies. Berkeley and others (2011) reported an increase in the mastery of students after they have implemented programs that aim to strengthen the reading comprehension of middle school students. Dymock (2005) also noticed that students who have been trained to comprehend expository texts through structure analysis have higher academic achievement in social studies and science.

The data reveal that the respondents’ have average grades ranging from 76.74 to 81.60. The relatively low grades of the respondents confirm the positive relationship between reading comprehension and their academic achievement.

The computed r-value of 0.80 which was lesser than the set alpha level of 0.01 shows that. the level of reading comprehension in expository texts of the respondents and their grades in English 6 Subject. were highly positively correlated to each other. By positive correlation, it means that as the value of one increases, the value of the other valuable also increases.

This is coherent with the study conducted by Frias (2012) which pointed out that the reading ability of pupils can affect their academic performance. Further, there is also an established correlation between the low level of academic performance of the pupils and the level of frustration that they experience when they engage in reading.

Discussion

Grade 6 pupils have low level of reading comprehension in expository texts as regards content, structure and vocabulary. Pupils have average grades in English 6 subject. The academic performance of the pupils in their English 6 subject is affected by their reading comprehension.

As the level of the reading comprehension in expository texts of the respondent’s increases, their grades also increase. The same goes when the respondents have a difficulty comprehending texts, they will likewise have lower academic achievement.

It is apparent from the results that pupils have difficulty with the measured skills. To enhance these skills, the teachers of the respondents suggested the following in developing an intervention for the pupils.

Content

Students should be able to compose a substantial content of the text when they retell. They can use interpretations of their own experiences or related text to enhance their knowledge and skills. With this, they will have the ability to retrieve or recall the information. In addition, the teacher should provide guide questions or let them arrange the events in the texts. These will guide them to construct the content of what they have read.

Structure

A good structure depends on how the student uses his skills in grammar such as writing correct sentences, thus, the teacher should provide training designs or patterns for them to follow.

Vocabulary

References

I. Books

McMillan, D. (2007). Assessing student outcomes. Virginia: ASCD.

II. Journals

Anderson, R.C. (2004). A schematic-theoretical view of the basic processes in reading comprehension. 225-229.

Berkeley, S., et al. (2011). Improving student comprehension of social studies text: A self-questioning strategy for inclusive middle school classes. Remedial and Special Education: 32, 2. 105-113.

Blacklock, B., et al. (2010). Teaching expository text structure awareness. The Reading Teacher: 59, 2. 177-181.

Brummitt-Yale, J. (2012). What is reading comprehension. K12 Reader.

Chambliss, D. & Calfee, L. (2008). Wholistic assessment of proficient record language readers. The Journal of Educational Research: 28, 4. 216-220.