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2
APPROVAL PAGE
This thesis has been approved for the award of Ph.D degree for the Department
of English and Literary Studies in the Faculty of Arts, University of Nigeria,
Nsukka
BY
………………………….. Prof. Emeka J Otagburuagu Date
(Supervisor)
…………………………….. Prof. Sam Onuigbo Date
(HOD)
……………………………... Prof. D. U. Opata Date
(Dean, Faculty of Arts)
…………………………... Prof. A.N. Akwanya Date
(Dean, School of Post
Graduate Studies)
………………………..…
3
Prof. C. Emeka Onukaogu Date
(External Examiner)
CERTIFICATION
This is to certify that I am responsible for this research work, that the
original work is mine except as specified in the acknowledgements
and references, and that neither the thesis nor the original work
contained therein has been submitted to this university or any other
institution for the award of any degree.
…………………………
………………………
Udensi, Ukamaka Julie Date
4
DEDICATION
This work is dedicated to Sacred Heart of Jesus, the fountain of
life and the source of wisdom and knowledge.
5
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am indebted to many people. The first to thank and adore is God
Almighty for providing the inspiration and wisdom and for sustaining
me throughout trying periods. To Him be all the glory. I thank in a
special way my supervisor, Prof. Emeka Otagburuagu for his fatherly
and Christian concern and consideration and for his scholarly
contributions, invaluable suggestions, corrections and help. I thank
Prof. Sam Onuigbo for his concern and genuine advice and
directions. I thank all God fearing academics and my friends who
directly or indirectly contributed to the successful completion of this
research work. I am equally indebted to my dear husband, Sir
Udensi, Augustine and my children for their inexhaustible
understanding and tolerance when it appeared I had failed in my duty
as a mother because of this research work.
6
Abstract
Text processing is one of the most important skills that is a prerequisite for both individual and societal progress and development. For this reason, an individual with an inadequate text processing skills will gain nothing in today’s world of knowledge explosion. However, despite the gains of text processing and the high premium that has been placed on it in recent years, it has been observed that many primary school pupils and even those in secondary and tertiary institutions are performing below expectation as far as text processing is concerned. The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which the study sample was able to use their knowledge of two important text factors: syntactic features and cohesive ties in processing texts. Opinions are as diverse as there are individuals and reading specialists on text factors that are responsible for learners’ poor achievement in processing texts. Instead of being tossed about by the wave of some uninvestigated observations and opinions, the researcher decided to single out two important text factors and investigate the extent the study sample could effectively utilize them in processing texts. Since syntax and cohesion are significant factors in text processing, the researcher had to make them the main focus of the investigation. The problem of the study is, therefore, to ascertain the extent primary six pupils can utilize their knowledge of syntactic features and cohesive ties in processing texts. It also seek to ascertain the aspects of syntactic features and cohesive ties they find difficult and how the two factors interact with learner variables like gender, socio-economic status of the readers’ parents and the location of the readers’ school, to determine the extent the primary six pupils can positively or
7
negatively process texts with comprehension. The study is descriptive and aimed at describing empirically the extent to which primary six pupils were able to utilize their knowledge of syntax and cohesion in text processing and comprehension. All the primary six pupils in one hundred and sixty-one public schools in Aguta Education Zone in Anambra State constituted the population. While stratified sampling technique was used to stratify the schools in the three local government areas into semi-urban and rural schools, cluster-sampling technique was used to sample the required number of schools from each stratum. Thereafter, simple random sampling technique was used to split each stratum into two using even and odd numbers in attendance register to constitute group A and group B. On the whole, one thousand pupils from thirty-six randomly selected schools served as the sample of the study. Three categories of instruments were used. Every pupil in the study sample irrespective of their gender, school location and their socio-economic status answered questions on cohesion and questions on either syntax 2A or syntax 2B. After validating the instruments, a pilot study was carried out using primary six pupils who had similar characteristics with the actual subjects of the study. After this, the reliability of the instruments was established using test- retest technique. The following research questions guided the study: (i) To what extent can primary school pupils utilize their knowledge of certain syntactic features and cohesive tie as text factors in text processing and comprehension, using the expected criterion test of fifty percent as the standard? (ii)To what extent can primary school pupils utilize their knowledge of certain syntactic features as text factors in text processing and comprehension? (iii) What aspects of cohesion and syntactic features can they positively or negatively utilize in text processing and comprehension? (iv) To what extent do the mean scores of boys and girls in text processing differ? (v) To what extent do the mean scores of the pupils from semi-urban schools and rural schools in text processing differ? (vi) To what extent do the mean scores of the pupils from the different socio- economic status differ in the three instruments as text factors in text processing and comprehension? Mean, standard deviation, percentage, ANOVA and Bonferroni were used to analyse the data. The findings showed that: with the use of expected criterion test of fifty percent, the respondents’ average score was between 50% and 55% in the three instruments. Comparing their performance in the three instruments, it
8
was discovered that they excelled in cohesion followed by syntax 2B version. The study revealed, in order of difficulty, the aspects of cohesive ties and syntactic features that posed problem to the respondents as: contrastive marker, homophora, coordinator, and place relater; nominalization, concealed idiomatic negative, the use of neither- nor and the use of none. Again, the gender, the school location and the socio-economic status of the parents are important leaner factors in text processing as the study revealed that the girls, the respondents from semi-urban schools and the respondents of educated and business parents did well in the three instruments. The results have a good number of practical implications and one of them is that for the effective learning of second language and even mother tongue, there is an urgent need to bridge the gap between the speech and the graphic representations by starting early to equip the child with those aspects of syntax and cohesion that appear in written language.
9
CONTENTS
Title Page-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----i
Approval Page------------------------------------------------------------------------
------ii
Certification----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------iii
Dedication------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----IV
Acknowledgements------------------------------------------------------------------
------v
Table of Contents--------------------------------------------------------------------
----vi
Abstract---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----vii
CHAPTER ONE----------------------------------------------------------------------
----1
Introduction----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----1
10
Historical and Theoretical Framework---------------------------
--------------------1
The Perceptual Theory of Text Processing and Comprehension--------
--- 10
Cognitive Theory of Text Processing and Comprehension ---------------
---11
Linguistic Theory of Text Processing and Comprehension----------------
---15
Psycholinguistic Theory of Text Processing and Comprehension-------
----18
Schema Theory of Text Processing and Comprehension -----------------
----28
The Goal of Primary Education---------------------------------------------------
----38
Syntax and Cohesion in Primary School Syllabus --------------------------
----41
Research Problems------------------------------------------------------------------
----44
Purpose of the Study----------------------------------------------------------------
----53
11
Significance of the Study-----------------------------------------------------------
----55
Delimitation of the Study------------------------------------------------------------
----58
Research Questions-----------------------------------------------------------------
----58
Hypotheses ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----59
CHAPTER TWO----------------------------------------------------------
----------------61
Literature Review--------------------------------------------------------------------
---61
Taxonomy of Text Processing and Comprehension-------------------------
---62
An Overview of Text Processing and Comprehension----------------------
---76
Empirical Studies under Learner Factors--------------------------------------
---77
12
Self Concept---------------------------------------------------------------------------
---77
Cultural Background-----------------------------------------------------------------
----79
Gender----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----84
Conceptual Issues under Learner Factors-------------------------------------
----88
Prior Knowledge---------------------------------------------------------------------
-----88
Motivation------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----98
Interest----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---103
Summary of Learner Factors------------------------------------------------------
---105
13
Empirical Studies under Text Factors ---------------------------
------------------106
Text Genre-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---107
Syntax and Text Processing-------------------------------------------------------
--108
Conceptual Issues under Text Factors--------------------------
-----------------119
Advance Organizer------------------------------------------------------------------
---119
Cohesion and Text Processing---------------------------------------------------
--123
Vocabulary-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-129
Ambiguity and Vagueness---------------------------------------------------------
--131
Organization --------------------------------------------------------------------------
---137
14
Syntactic Rules-----------------------------------------------------------------------
--138
Questions and Summaries---------------------------------------------------------
--139
Subheadings --------------------------------------------------------------------------
--140
Signaling Devices--------------------------------------------------------------------
--142
Content----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
142
Density----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--143
Text Structure-------------------------------------------------------------------------
---143
Story Schema/Story Grammar----------------------------------------------------
--144
Story Frames--------------------------------------------------------------------------
--148
The Basic Story Frame-------------------------------------------------------------
--148
15
Story Frames with Key Sequence Words--------------------------------------
-149
Story Maps ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-149
Outlining and Networking-----------------------------------------------------------
-152
Recall Method-------------------------------------------------------------------------
--154
Readability-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--154
Summary of the Empirical and Conceptual Text Factors------------------
--156
��������������� ���������������������������������������������������������������������
Semantic Mapping-------------------------------------------------------------------
158
Concept of Definition Instruction-------------------------------------------------
162
Webbing--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
165
16
Teacher Directed Instruction------------------------------------------------------
169
Semantic Features Analysis-------------------------------------------------------
171
Summary of Teacher Style Factors----------------------------------------------
172
General Summary of the Literature Review-----------------------------------
-174
CHAPTER THREE------------------------------------------------------------------
183
Textual Description and Research Methodology-----------------------------
183
Description of the First Instrument-----------------------------------------------
183
The Sampled Instrument 1---------------------------------------------------------
184
17
The Sampled Instrument 2---------------------------------------------------------
--185
Description of the Second Instrument----------------------------------------
186
Presenting the Scenario------------------------------------------------------------
---188
Research Design --------------------------------------------------------------------
---190
The Area of the Study---------------------------------------------------------------
---191
The Population of the Study-------------------------------------------------------
---193
Sample and Sampling Techniques----------------------------------------------
---194
Procedure for Administering the Instrument ----------------------------------
---197
Pilot Study------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--200
Results of the Pilot Study-----------------------------------------------------------
--202
18
Establishment of the Reliability of the Instruments--------------------------
---209
Cohesion Reliability------------------------------------------------------------------
--210
Version A Reliability-----------------------------------------------------------------
--210
Version B Reliability-----------------------------------------------------------------
---210
CHAPTER FOUR-----------------------------------------------------------------------211 The Results of the Data Analysed-----------------------------------------------
---211
Tables of Research Questions----------------------------------------------------
-211
Tables of Hypotheses---------------------------------------------------------------
---221
Summary of the Major Findings--------------------------------------------------
---231
19
CHAPTER FIVE-------------------------------------------------------------------------234 Discussion------------------------------------------------------------------------------
234
Implications of the Study-----------------------------------------------------------
-245
Recommendations-------------------------------------------------------------------
--247
Limitations of the Study-------------------------------------------------------------
--248
Conclusion-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-249
Works Cited----------------------------------------------------------------------------
253
Appendices and List of Tables -------------------------------------------------
---253
20
Appendix1: Reliability Analysis Scale (Alpha) --------------------------------
-268
Appendix 2:Cohesion Instrument-------------------------------------------------
-271
Appendix 3:Version 2B Instrument ----------------------------------------------
-281
Appendix 4:Version 2A Instrument-----------------------------------------------
-276
Table 1:An Analysis of the Story ‘The Strange Story’-----------------------
--147
Table 2:Scenario Table-------------------------------------------------------------
---188
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Table 4: The Mean Scores of the Respondents in the Three
Instruments in the Pilot Study-----------------------------------------------------
-----------------------202
Table 5: ANOVA Test on the Mean Scores of the Respondents in the
Pilot Study -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------203
21
Table 6:The Mean Scores of the Boys and Girls in Instrument 1-
Cohesion in the Pilot Study--------------------------------------------------------
----------------203
Table 7: The Mean Scores of the Boys and Girls in Syntax2B in the
Pilot Study------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------202
Table 8: The Mean Scores of the Boys and Girls in Syntax2A in the
Pilot Study------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------204
Table 9:ANOVA Test on the Mean Scores of Boys and Girls in
Instrument 1-Cohesion in the Pilot Study --------------------------------------
----------------205
Table10: ANOVA Test on the Mean Scores of Boys and Girls in
Instrument------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------206
Table 11: ANOVA Test on the Mean Scores of Boys and Girls in
Instrument Syntax2A Version in the Pilot Study --- -------------------------
-----------------206
Table 12: Descriptive Statistics of the Three Instruments------------------
--211
22
Table 13:Descriptive Statistics of the Mean Scores of the
Respondents in Version 2B and Version 2A Instruments------------------
------------------------212
Table 14: Descriptive Statistics of the Mean Scores of the
Respondents in Different Aspects of Syntactic Features and
Cohesive Ties-----------------214
Table 15: Descriptive Statistics of the Three Instruments by Gender--
---215
Table 16: Descriptive Statistics of the Three Instruments by Location-
-216
Table 17a: Descriptive Statistics of the Respondents in Instrument 1-
Cohesion by Socio-economic Status--------------------------------------------
---217
Table 17b: Descriptive Statistics of the Respondents in Instrument
Syntax 2B Version by Socio-economic Status--------------------------------
-------------218
Table 17c: Descriptive Statistics of the Respondents in Instrument
Syntax 2A Version by Socio-economic Status--------------------------------
-------------219
23
Table 18a:Bonferooni Multiple Comparison Test on Difference of
Mean Scores of the Respondents in the Three Instruments--------------
-----------220
Table 18b: ANOVA Test on the Mean Difference of the Three
Instruments----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------221
Table19a: ANOVA Test on the Effect of Gender in Instrument 1-
Cohesion-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------222
Table19b: ANOVA Test on the Effect of Gender in Instrument 2B
Version----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------223
Table19c: ANOVA Test on the Effect of Gender in Instrument 2B
Version----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------224
Table 20a: ANOVA Test on the Effect of School Location in the
Respondents’ Achievement in Instrument 1-Cohesion---------------------
---225
24
Table20b: ANOVA Test on the Effect of School Location in the
Respondents’ Achievement in Instrument 2B Version----------------------
---226
Table 20c: ANOVA Test on the Effect of School Location in the
Respondents’ Achievement in Instrument 2A Version----------------------
---227
Table 21a: ANOVA Test on the Effect of Socio-economic Status in
the Respondents’ Achievement in Instrument 1-Cohesion----------------
-------228
Table 21b: ANOVA Test on the Effect of Socio-economic Status in the
Respondents’ Achievement in Instrument Syntax 2B Version--------------229
Table 21c: ANOVA Test on the Effect of Socio-economic Status in the
Respondents’ Achievement in Instrument Syntax 2A Version------------
--230
Table 22: Public Primary Schools in Orumba North L. G.
A. ---------------286
Table 23: Public Primary Schools in Orumba South L. G. A. -------------
--289
25
Table 24: Schools in Aguata L. G. A. -------------------------------------------
--291
Table 25: Private Schools in Aguata L. G. A. --------------------------------
-295
Fig. 1:A Partial Semantic Network for Chair-----------------------------------
---94
Fig. 2:A Partial Semantic Network for Buy-------------------------------------
---95
Fig. 3: Anaphora----------------------------------------------------------------------
--125
Fig. 4: Spring with Shades of Meanings----------------------------------------
--132
Fig. 5:Board with shades of Meanings------------------------------------------
--133
Fig.6: Story Structure----------------------------------------------------------------
--150
Fig. 7: Story Structure using Maps----------------------------------------------
---151
26
Fig. 8 Story Structure of Cause –Effect Chain--------------------------------
---153
Fig. 9: Network of Facts about Shark before Instruction-------------------
---153
Fig. 10:Semantic Mapping---------------------------------------------------------
---160
Fig. 11:Semantic Mapping for Animals-----------------------------------------
---162
Fig. 12:Concept of Definition Map------------------------------------------------
-165
Fig. 13:Directed Lesson Using Webbing---------------------------------------
---168
Fig. 14: Web of Word – Association---------------------------------------------
--169
Fig 15:Semantic Features Analysis----------------------------------------------
--172
Fig. 18: Percentage Achievement in Cohesion-------------------------------
--207
Fig.19: Percentage Achievement in Syntax 2B Version--------------------
---207
27
Fig.20: Percentage Achievement in Syntax 2A Version--------------------
--208
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28
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Historical and Theoretical Framework
Text processing is one of the most important skills bestowed on
humanity by civilization for individual and societal progress and
development. Historically, the understanding of the importance of text
processing as a royal road to knowledge and development and the
placement of high premium on the acquisition of its skills first started
in the United States of America. The government was forced to place
high premium on the acquisition of text processing skills when it
discovered that a good number of its youths were underachieving due
to lack of text processing skills. Because of this, the Institute, National
Advisory Child Health and Human Development Council (NACHHD)
was mandated to carry out a research on how to attack the problems
associated with the text processing and the best way to acquire the
desired skills. Eventually, in February 1968, the Growth and
Development Branch of the Institute under the co-chairmanship of
Eleanor J. Gibson and Harry Levin held a research conference on
29
‘Text Processing Process’ where a lot of issues concerning text
processing were discussed.
Since then, the Institute and other agencies worldwide have
continued to search for effective ways to further basic research efforts
in human communicative processes such as reading. Gray as cited in
Strange (67) is of the opinion that interest in text processing has
never been so keen or so worldwide in scope as it is at the present
time. The study of text processing has, therefore, undergone
tremendous development that gave rise to a lot of theories, models
and processes within the century.
Conceptually, text processing is the term that denotes cognitive
activities involved in understanding, retaining and remembering a
text. It is not a unilateral process of recording textual content, but
rather an active constructive activity that is directed by (a) the text
(text directed or ascending processing, (b) the reader’s back ground
knowledge that is stored in schemata (schemata directed or
descending processing, and(c) by the intention and interest of the
reader as well as his/her assumptions about the writer and the
situation (Trauth and Kazzazi 452). Text processing activities are
30
carried out with great ease and in a completely subconscious
manner. The reader’s schema is important as it shows the nature of
ideas he brings to the processing of a text.
Otagburuagu (132-140) sees text processing as a complex language
activity, which involves cognitive operations and psychomotor
activities. It is perceived as a process of one committing oneself to
total thinking or reasoning on the subject or topic that is expressed
and presented before one in the process of written language. It needs
the activation, focusing, maintaining and refining of ideas towards
developing interpretations that are plausible, interconnected and
complete. In the model of Kintsch and Van Dijk as cited in Trauth and
Kazzazi(453), the construction of the text takes place in cyclical
processing of phrases on several levels beginning with the
construction of propositions on the basis of sentences beyond
logically cohesive , coherent sequences of different hierarchical steps
,to semantic macro structure where the text material is on the one
hand reduced and abbreviated on every level ( for example, through
generalization) and on the other hand, expanded by inferences.
Finally, she utilizes the information as it suits her purpose. Perhaps,
31
the utilization of the information is the only way we can infer that
comprehension has taken place
It is not an overstatement then to say that text processing is one of
the most important skills that is a prerequisite for both individual and
societal progress and development. Text processing is a vehicle of
information (TAVI) and a linguistic organization (TALO) Johns and
Davis in Otagburuagu (138). Its proficiency is the royal road to
knowledge; it is essential to success in all academic subjects. In all
nations, awareness has been developed on the importance of
worldwide literacy as a means of promoting individual welfare, social
progress, and international understanding. It is equally important in
personal, social and economic progress of an individual. In modern
life, learning depends largely upon ones ability to interpret the printed
page accurately and fully. Text processing is the key to personal
enjoyment and learning. Keppel (8) notes the value of text processing
more broadly: Every examination of the problems of our schools, of
poverty; every question raised by troubled parents about our schools,
every learning disorder seems to show some association with reading
difficulty. Strange (67) is of the view that text processing is the most
32
important subject to be learnt by a child; a child will learn little else in
today’s world if he does not first learn to read properly. It is good to
describe text processing as the life wire of any nation. It makes
attainment of self-knowledge possible. In recent years, the teaching
of text processing has gained the attention of researchers and
educators for obvious reasons. Every child needs to become fully
competent in text processing in order to succeed in school and to
discharge responsibilities as a citizen of a democratic society. A
citizen who reads has the capacity to actively participate in the
continuity of learning (Okebukola 1).
Text processing is the foundation of much of the enjoyment the
individual gets out of life and is closely related to vocational
efficiency. It is intimately related to the success of the democratic way
of life because citizens need to understand the meaning of
democracy and to keep well informed to act wisely on its behalf. They
need the abilities to detect pernicious propaganda, to weigh the
opinions of others, to talk intelligently and to work effectively with
others. The crucial role of text processing is to educate people, to
shape their thinking about crucial issues and to increase their
awareness. Text processing is a resource. It has value and it lets
33
people do things that they could not do otherwise. Emetaran cited in
(Okebukola 9) is of the view that text processing provides a back up
information, which reduces ignorance, thus empowering and
promoting literacy and communication. It is indispensable and central
to efficient functioning of an individual. A great percentage of
information learners and individuals require is through reading, and
an individual is almost completely handicapped without adequate
attainment level of literacy.
There is a saying that knowledge is power, and this simply means
that knowledge gives people the capacity to do things and to take
advantage of opportunities. One wonders what use the world would
have made of the industrial revolution and the age of the engineers
and scientists if the discoveries of the time died unrecorded with their
inventors. The aim of recording them was for different generations to
read and benefit from them. Various cultures in Nigeria, scientific,
technological discoveries and all government policies are all
documented for future use by generations yet unborn. In fact, to say
that a person who cannot read will learn little in today’s world is not
an overstatement. Text processing among individuals especially
among youths can help to remove all forms of selfishness, egocentric
34
behaviour and stereotyping of other youths. Obanya as cited in
Odumuh has this to say about the importance of text processing:
Text processing is essentially like thinking. Therefore
developing somebody’s reading skills is comparable to
developing that person’s intellectual power. At the level of
the wider society, it is well known that the more evolved
languages are those with standardized orthographies,
those with an abundance of reading materials for school
instruction, general reading and inter and intra
generational transmission of knowledge, information and
culture through documented history and literature.
Therefore every effort made to create an enabling
environment for the development of text processing is
also a contribution to the growth of a society’s civilization
(132).
It is true that many youths have no opportunity to travel or visit
places, but reading provides a good alternative for them to reach
others through sufficient information gathering that are available in
various forms. The use of Information Communication Technology
has made it possible for the modern man to see more information in a
35
day than people a hundred years ago used to see in a whole year.
But the modern man can only gain from the wealth of the written
information if he has the ability and the skills to interpret the available
material in order to get the desired and intended meanings. Text
processing, therefore, helps to reduce the world of one to a global
village, opens ones mind to welcome ideas and go beyond today into
the future. There is a wealth of written material, which enables us to
discover lessons learnt by others, to explore new ideas in order to
further our own professional development. Text processing opens for
us a collection of knowledge and skills, which we can copy, modify or
adopt in order to conquer and shape our environment the way it will
suit us.
Through text processing, young people can find and identify the
dedicated leaders of the past and their vision for Nigeria, and the
ideals that they represent. Such information obtained through text
processing will give way to optimism and motivation to build “a strong,
virile and egalitarian society.” Finally, text processing can sensitize
and enlighten the minds of individuals especially our youths on issues
that affect the society so that they can critically think, rather than
36
daydream, plan actions, rather than remain passive and accept
change rather than ignore change (Odumuh 133).
Having seen that text processing is a sine quanon for an effective and
functional life of an individual in her society, it is pertinent to devote
the remaining part of this chapter to the examination and discussion
of the theoretical framework to the study. In doing this, the study
aligns with Huey as cited in Singer and Ruddel thus:
And so to completely analyze what we do when we read
would almost be the acme of a psychologist’s
achievement, for it would be to describe very many of the
most intricate workings of the human mind, as well as to
unravel the tangled story of the most remarkable specific
performance that civilization has learnt in all its history
(xi).
Using Huey’s excellent view of what text processing entails, the
researcher opts to examine at this point and as part of the theoretical
framework for the study: Text Processing Among Primary Six Pupils
in Anambra State, some theories, models and issues that underline
text processing and comprehension activities. The theories and
models are discussed in this regard.
37
The Perceptual Theory of Text Processing and Comprehension
Perceptual theory of text processing and comprehension is word
centered. The theorists see text processing and comprehension as
the reader’s ability to recognize words and phrases in sequence by
their general shape. They believe in a reader having a wide span of
recognition that makes it possible for him to recognize and take in
several words per fixation. The eye moves in saccadic movement
(Jerk) and about 100 milliseconds are spent at each fixation.
In the field of language study, theories and models of perception
contributed a lot to knowledge about reading, reading speed and
knowledge about how comprehension operates. One good thing
about this theory is that during reading, a good number of words are
picked at a fixation and processed simultaneously. In other words, the
theory encourages high-speed reading. The span becomes wide and
larger with training and practice because the reader learns to take in
process progressively larger elements. With this, it is possible to
perceive a page at a glance (Geyer 53). The theory is relevant to the
38
present study, as the subjects need high speed in processing
whatever material they come in contact with.
However, the theory just like any other theory has its flaws. A reader
wastes a lot of time and energy unnecessarily in trying to process lots
of unrelated words and nonsense trigrams and quingrams Pearson
and Camperell (345-347). It is this singular flaw among others that
made the experts and researchers to come up with the next theory.
Cognitive Theory of Text Processing and Comprehension
The scholars under this school of thought believe that text processing
is an intellectual process akin to thinking. Much speculation has been
done about the concepts and cognitive skills used in this process.
Huey (45) is of the view that reading that is done for the attainment of
the reader’s purposes is an excellent practice in the higher thought
processes. According to him, the feeling for values and the choosing
of the relevant information requires mental discipline.Reading
comprehension requires the reader following actively and
sympathetically the ins and outs of an author’s intentions, her fidelity
to truth, her accuracy and method. Huey believes that such an activity
39
acquaints one with the more effective ways of thinking and develops
them in the reader.
An internal aspect of attention has been identified as being crucial to
text processing and comprehension. Samuel as cited in Kitao (73)
defines three characteristics of internal attention. The first, alertness,
is the reader’s active attempt to access relevant schemata involving
letter-sound relationships, syntactic knowledge and word meanings.
Selectivity, the second, refers to the reader’s ability to attend
selectively to only that information requiring processing. The third
characteristic, limited capacity refers to the fact that our human
brain has a limited amount of cognitive energy available for use in
processing information. In other words, if a reader’s cognitive energy
is focused on decoding and attention cannot be directed at
interpreting, relating and combining the meanings of the words
decoded, then comprehension will suffer. Automatically, information
processing, then, simply means that information is processed with
little attention (Samuel) from the same source.
Comprehension difficulties occur when the reader cannot rapidly and
automatically access the concepts and knowledge stored in the
40
schemata. One other example of a cognitive- based model theory of
comprehension is Rumelhart’s Interactive Model as cited in Kitao
(73). According to this theory, information from several knowledge
sources (Schemata for letter-sound relationships, word meaning,
syntactic relationships, event sequences and so on) is considered
simultaneously. The implication is that when information from one
source, such as word recognition is deficient, the reader will rely on
information from another source, for example, contextual clues or
previous experience.
Stanovich as cited in Dehelin (2006) terms the later kind of
processing interactive-compensatory because the reader (any
reader) compensates for deficiencies in one or more of the
knowledge sources. Those sources that are more concerned with
concepts and semantic relationship are termed higher stimuli;
sources dealing with the print itself, which is phonics, sight words and
other word-attack skills are termed lower level stimuli.
Interactive-compensatory model implies that the reader will rely on
higher-level processes when lower-level processes are inadequate,
and vice versa. Stanovich extensively reviews research
demonstrating such compensation in both good and poor readers.
41
There is need to emphasize that the study of the development of
cognitive processes has revealed a lot about children’s learning in
general and has many implications for their learning of the reading
process and their growth towards real maturity in reading. The study
and the use of the theory played significant role in discouraging the
teaching practices and strategies that produce non-thinking parrots
and word callers. The theory therefore encourages efficient reading
and the use of higher mental processes in the readers. The theory is
very relevant to the present study as the subjects’ ability to access
relevant schemata, their ability to attend selectively to only that
information requiring processing are crucial to text processing.
However, there is dissatisfaction with the cognitive view of reading
instruction. There is a divergence between the product, which is
expected, and the process by which it might be reached. Unrealistic
demand is made from a child. She is expected to apply in reading
cognitive learning, which she has acquired in other situations, without
proper guidance in cognitive functioning as an essential ingredient of
her reading instruction (Kress 14).
Characteristically, according to Kress, the learner has been asked to
master a series of skills and abilities, understanding and attitudes and
42
apply them appropriately in order to deal thoughtfully with printed
material. Such an expectation, according to him, seems unrealistic.
The problem appears to be that the cognitive functioning, which is
necessary for the mastery of the skills and abilities had neither been
taught nor considered. This takes us to the next theory.
Linguistic Theory of Text Processing and Comprehension
According to the linguistic theorists, text processing is a precise
process. It involves exact, detailed, sequential perception and
identification of letters, words, spellings, patterns and large units.
They see reading as the simplest activity, which involves the
decoding of letters and phonemes.
In phonic centered approach to text processing, the preoccupation is
with precise letter identification. In word-centered approach, the focus
is on word identification, known words and sight words, precisely
named in any setting.
Spache (12) as a member of this school of thought presents a word
version of this common sense view: “Thus, in its simplest form,
reading may be considered as a series of word perception”. The
teacher’s manual of the Lippincott Basic Reading as in Goodman
(259) incorporates a letter by letter variant in the justification of its
43
reading approach: “In short, following this program, the child learns
from the beginning to see words exactly as the most skillful readers
see them… as whole images of complete words with all their letters”.
Still some members of this school see reading as the study of
grammar. In order words, the grammatical relationship, the correct
form of the words and expressions should be maintained by the
readers. Zintz as cited in Nduka (8) defines reading as a
physiological process, which requires the reader to be able to focus
on a line of print and move along the line. She should be able to
make return sweeps, note likeness and differences. The reader
needs skills in auditory discrimination, verbal expression, syntactic
maturity, eye, head co-ordination and motor skills to execute all the
mechanical skills associated with reading.
In summary, all the different definitions of text processing by linguistic
theorists point at one thing – reading involves precise perception and
identification of all elements. They have all emphasized the process,
which utilizes the perceptual views like size, shape, combination of
letter and sound, relationship of part to a whole, sequence and
ordering.
44
It is not an overstatement to state that the linguistic theorists offered a
lot in the field of reading. For example, they provided a partial list of
other kinds of knowledge used to produce and understand
contextually appropriate utterances. This is given by Lyons (573-584):
1. Knowledge of roles and statues (such as doctor-patient,
teacher student, priest-congregation and so on)
2. Knowledge of spatio-temporal references (such as here,
now, this, good morning)
3. Knowledge of degree of formality (as evident in an
individual’s code repertoire and code-switching).
4. Knowledge of medium appropriate to situations (spoken and
written)
However, the theory is not without flaws. The theorists have
emphasized the importance of understanding sentence and language
to comprehension. But the ability of the reader to understand
individual sentences (possibly in isolation) does not connote
meaningful understanding of the passage. Sentences bear only units
of meanings. These units of meanings have to be organized into
larger units and whole-idea units by the reader if he is to lay some
claims to understanding what the author has said. Likewise,
45
understanding the language is not all that vital to comprehension as
the words of the language may not be a full indicator of the writer’s
exact meaning. Therefore, mere understanding of sentences and
language could represent but a narrow scope of comprehension. This
is because such understanding ignores the part or contribution, which
the reader has to make to arrive at the meaning being expressed by
the author. She is, under such a condition, a passive assimilator of
the ideas of other people - someone incapable of making his own
contribution to the views being expressed. These authors have, in
fact, perceived comprehension from the literal level, which is the
lowest level and could not be said to imply full comprehension. The
search for better way of explaining reading comprehension by
researchers gave rise to the next theory.
Psycholinguistic Theory of Text Processing and Comprehension
Not satisfied with the definition and explanations of text processing
and comprehension so far, the psycholinguists came up with a more
constructive view of reading - one that stresses the reader’s
contribution to the text in arriving at the meaning. For this reason, we
begin to give the psycholinguists view of text processing and
comprehension by quoting Goodman thus:
46
As scientific understanding develops in field of study,
preexisting, naïve, common sense notions must give way.
Such outmoded beliefs clutter the literature dealing with
the process of reading. They interfere with the application
of modern scientific concepts of language and thought to
research in reading. They confuse the attempts at
application of such concepts to solution of problems
involved in the teaching and learning of reading. The
very fact that such naïve beliefs are based on common
sense explains their persistent and recurrent nature. To
the casual and unsophisticated observer they appear to
explain, even predict a set of phenomena in reading. This
paper will deal with one such key misconception and offer
a more viable scientific alternative (259).
Goodman, therefore, strongly refutes the common sense notion by
the linguistic theorists that reading is a precise process that involves
exact, detailed, sequential perception and identification of letters,
words, spellings, patterns and language units. He offers this definition
in place of the above definitions:
47
Text processing is a selective process. It involves partial
use of available minimal language cues selected from
perceptual input on the basis of the reader’s expectation.
As this partial information is processed, tentative
decisions are made to be confirmed, rejected, or confined
as reading process progresses.
Goodman simply means that text processing is a psycholinguistic
game. It involves an interaction between thought and language.
Efficient reading does not result from precise perception and
identification of all elements, but from skill in selecting the fewest,
most productive cues necessary to produce guesses which are right
the first time. The ability to anticipate, that which has not been seen,
of course, is vital in reading, just as the ability to anticipate what has
not yet been heard is vital in listening. The psycholinguists subscribe
to the process theoretical school of thought.
All psycholinguists have common notion or view that texts are
constructed by authors to be comprehended by readers. The
meaning is in the author and the reader. The text has a potential to
evoke meaning but has no meaning in itself; meaning is not a
characteristic of texts. This does not mean the characteristics of the
48
texts are unimportant or that either writer or reader is independent of
them. How the writer constructs the text and how the reader
constructs the meaning will influence comprehension. But meaning
does not pass between the writer and the reader. It is represented by
a writer in a text and constructed from a text by a reader.
Characteristics of the writer, the text and the reader will all influence
the resultant meaning.
The reader has a highly active role. It is the individual’s transactions
between a reader and the text characteristics that result in meaning.
These characteristics include physical characteristics such as
orthography – the alphabetic system, spelling, punctuation, format,
characteristics such as paragraphing, lists, schedules, bibliographies,
macro structures or text grammar such as that found in telephone,
books, recipe books, newspapers and letters, and wording of texts
such as the differences found in narrative and expository text.
Many psycholinguists have one definition or the other in support of
Goodman’s view of text processing. For example, Strang as cited in
Nduka (8) has the view that text processing is more than seeing
words clearly, more than pronouncing printed words correctly, more
than recognizing the meaning of isolated words. Text processing
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requires you to think, feel and imagine. This definition recognizes the
physical and mental activities that go on during the reading process,
but unlike the linguists, it de-emphasizes the physical aspect.
Robinson (65) in the same source is more concerned with the mental
process involved in reading and therefore defined it as a complex
reaction to the printed page involving cerebral processes. De Harren
from the same source still added an aspect that is vital to the
definition of reading. This aspect is the reader’s participation in
arriving at the meaning. He said:
Text processing involved a process of deriving meaning
from symbols …There is no meaning in print itself; printed
symbols merely represent the sounds of language. To
derive meaning from print, a reader must translate the
written symbols into the sound symbols of language and
utilize his or her knowledge of language to reconstruct the
writer’s message.
De Harren has rightly emphasized the importance of language in text
processing. The author and the reader have to share the same
language code if meaningful text processing should take place. But
the language factor should not be over-stressed to the neglect of
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shared experience. Korzybski from the same source had observed
similarly when he submitted:
While reading, a person reconstructs the fact that lies
behind the symbols. The fact implies that symbols reflect
experience, and reading is an active process for
ascertaining the experiences encoded in the print.
Gagne (65) emphasizes text processing as a process that calls into
use all the higher mental processes, which could be developed
through some skills. He notes:
Text processing is not a simple mechanical skill, nor is it a
narrow scholastic tool properly cultivated. It is essentially
a thought - getting process. However, to say that text
processing is a thought-getting process is to give it too
restricted a description. It should be developed as a
complex organization of patterns of higher mental
processes. It can and should embrace all types of
thinking, evaluating, judging, imagining, reasoning and
problem solving.
While the two opinions on what reading implies seem to persist, Unoh
gave some clarification when he said:
51
For the beginner, text processing is concerned for the
most part with learning to recognize the printed symbols
that represent speech, and to respond emotionally or
otherwise to the sound and meaning of words. For the
experienced reader, reading becomes less a problem of
recognizing words and more a matter of reasoning,
involving meaningful interpretation of verbal symbols such
as words, phrases and sentences, and requiring… all
types of thinking, evaluating, judging, imagining, and
problem solving (51).
The above definition makes a distinction between ‘learning to read’
and reading. This, probably, has been the area of difference between
the two views on the definition of reading. A child in the first year of
the primary school is battling with the problem of recognizing the
different letters of the alphabet and attaching sounds to them. He is
not concerned with meaning as there is no meaning in the letter itself.
On the other hand, a reader who has learnt to attach sounds to letters
and meanings to sounds of language should be concerned with
getting full meaning from the language. This is because meanings
are expressed in language, or in symbols representing language.
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Therefore, getting meaning, interpreting meaning and evaluating
meaning require mental processes. Unoh possibly agrees with this
view when he sees reading at college and university level as
essentially a cognitive or learning activity. This activity, he says,
appears to consist of perceiving, processing, interpreting,
comprehending and synthesizing information that is conveyed by
written or printed language
From the various views expressed above, it could be concluded that
reading (as distinct from learning to read) is an active mental process
through which the reader gets into the author’s mind and
comprehends her views – expressed and unexpressed on a subject
which is presented before her in the form of printed language. In
other words, she is involved in both mental and emotional interaction
with the author’s ideas. She processes these ideas in the light of her
total experiences – past and present. To do this, she has to make
some speculations; she has to think over, interpret, judge and
evaluate all that the author has said. This process might be what
Epstein as cited in Unoh (40) has in mind when he refers to reading
as a two-way channel of communication, conversation or even an
argument with the author. In the process of this argument or
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exchange of ideas, the reader comes up with her own ideas, which
might reject, modify, confirm or even extend the author’s views on the
subject. Finally, she utilizes the resulting knowledge to suit her
purpose. This utilization is probably what Goodman (21) had in mind
when he said that though reading and the application of the true
reading are separable, it must always be remembered that reading is
never pursued for its own sake, even in literature.
It is not an overstatement, therefore, to state that psycholinguists
contribute a lot in the field of reading. They made conscious effort to
formulate performance models that aim at stimulating the language
behaviour of language users. It was based on Miller’s suggestion
(169) that Goodman developed the model of psycholinguistic game
called reading English. Below are the steps and the model.
1. The reader scans along a line of print from left to right and
down the page, line by line.
2. He fixes at a point to permit eye focus. Some print will be
central and in focus, some will be peripheral; perhaps his
perceptual field is a flattened circle.
3. He begins the selection process. He picks up graphic cues,
guided by constraints set up through prior choices, his
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language knowledge, his cognitive styles, and strategies he has
learned.
4. He forms a perceptual image using these cues and his
anticipated cues. This image then is partly what he expects to
see.
5. Now he searches his memory for related syntactic, semantic
and phonological cues. This may lead to selection of more
graphic cues and to reforming the perceptual image.
6. At this point, he makes a guess or tentative choice consistent
with graphic cues. Semantic analysis leads to partial decoding
as far as possible. This meaning is stored in short-term
memory as he proceeds.
7. If no guess is possible, he checks the recalled perceptual input
and tries again. If a guess is still not possible, he takes another
look at the text to gather more graphic cues.
8. If he can make a decodable choice, he tests it for semantic and
graphic acceptability in the context developed by prior choices
and decoding.
9. If the tentative choice is not acceptable semantically or
syntactically, then he regresses, scanning from right to left
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along the line and up the page to locate a point of semantic or
syntactic inconsistency. When such a point is found, he starts
over at that point. If no inconsistency can be identified, he
reads on seeking some cue, which will make it possible to
reconcile the anomalous situation.
10. If the choice is acceptable, decoding is extended, meaning is
assimilated with prior knowledge, and prior meaning is
accommodated, if necessary. Expectations are formed about
input and meaning that lies ahead.
Then the cycle continues.
I would argue here that in as much as all the text processing theories
discussed so far in this study still exist and are still used in many
teaching and reading contexts, it is important that researchers,
teachers and authors keep their eye on the reader and her
experiences when designing and implementing instructional
materials. This appeal leads us to the last reading theory.
Schema Theory of Text Processing and Comprehension
Piaget and Ausubel are the fathers of Schema Theory. From time
immemorial, the linguists, the cognitive psychologists and the
psycholinguists have the concept of Schema (plural: schemata) to
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explain the interaction of key factors affecting the reading and
comprehension process. Much of the literature on reading
comprehension is predicted on schema theory. Schema theory uses
a hypothetical abstract metaphor to describe human information
processing. Schemata are the building blocks of cognition. They are
mental representations of objects, ideas, and phenomena –
organizational structures or slot in which the learner stores personal
representations of meaning. These schemata provide the interpretive
framework for assigning meaning to words and ideas. They are
dependent upon the learner’s background experience, the situational
context, and cues provided by the text. Simply put, schema theory
states that all knowledge is organized into units. Within these units of
knowledge or schemata is stored information. A Schema, then, is a
generalized description or a conceptual system for understanding
knowledge – how knowledge is represented and how it is used.
Information that does not fit into these schemata may not be
comprehended correctly. This is the reason why readers have a
difficult time comprehending a text on a subject they are not familiar
with even if the person comprehended the meaning of the individual
words in the passage. If the waiter in a restaurant, for example,
57
asked you if you would prefer to sing, you may have a difficult time
interpreting what he was asking and why, since singing is not
something that patrons in a restaurant normally do. However, if you
had been to the restaurant in the past and knew that opera students
who liked to entertain the spectators frequented it, you would have
incorporated that information into your schema and not be confused
when the waiter asked if you’d prefer to sing.
The learner in schema theory actively builds schema and revises
them in light of new information. Each individual’s schema is unique
and depended on that individual’s experiences and cognitive
processes. Ausubel postulated a hierarchical organization of
knowledge where the learner more or less attached new knowledge
to the existing hierarchy. In this representation, memory is driven by
structure as well as meaning. Knowledge in Schema Theory,
however, is not necessarily stored hierarchically. In fact, it is
meaning-driven and probably represented propositionally, and the
learner actively constructs these networks of prepositions. For
example, when we are asked to recall a story that we were told, we
are able to reconstruct the meaning of the story, but usually not the
exact sentences – or even often the exact order – that we are told.
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We have remembered the story by actively constructing a meaningful
representation of the story in our memory.
Schemata are important not just in interpreting information, but also in
decoding how that information is presented. Schemata can be
reflected in text structures. For example, according to Driscoll (81)
and Halliday and Hassan(97) readers use their schematic
representation of text (narrative, compare/contrast, cause/effect, etc)
to help them interpret the information in the text. Schema reflecting
how information is presented can also be culturally determined.
Kaplan (16-20) stated that the structure of formal argumentative
essays is culturally determined and that therefore second language
writers and readers must be aware not only in having sufficient
command of their second language but also of the textual structures
in their second language.
The way that learners acquire knowledge under schema theory is
quite similar to Piaget’s model of the process of development. In
essence, there are three different reactions that a learner can have to
new information: accretation, tuning and restructuring. In accretation,
learners take the new input and assimilate it into their existing
schema without making any changes to the overall schema. Tuning
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is when learners realize that their existing schema is inadequate for
the new knowledge and modify their existing schema accordingly.
Restructuring is the process of creating a new schema addressing
the inconsistencies between the old schema and the newly acquired
information.
In addition to schema, learners are also thought to have mental
models, which are dynamic models for problem solving based on a
learner’s existing schema and perceptions of task demand and task
performance. What this means according to Driscoll (80) is that
people should bring to tasks imprecise, partial, and idiosyncratic
understandings that evolve with experience.
One major implication of schema theory is the role of prior knowledge
in text processing. For the learners to be able to effectively process
information, their existing schemata related to the new content need
to be activated. Another important implication of schema theory is the
recognition of the role that culture and experience play in creating an
individual’s knowledge. Educators must pay attention to the cultural
references in the material they present to the students and avoid
potential cultural-biases. For example, students who have not grown
up in American culture may be at a disadvantage when asked to read
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and answer questions about George Washington on a standard
assessment test because, unlike American students, they have no
preexisting George Washington schema that they can activate that
will help them process the information they are reading more
effectively.
Schema Theory also has implications for textbook design, and by
extension for the design of other instructional materials. In order to
facilitate student learning, materials should be organized according to
conventional structures that students may already be familiar with. In
addition, designers should employ strategies to facilitate students’
recall of related material such as using analogies to draw connections
between related content.
Current research, such as the study of students’ problem solving in
familiar and unfamiliar context by Price and Driscoll (472) and the
study of the relative effects of familiarity with the topic and use of
maps on students’ recall by Schewartz & Ellosworth (69) suggest that
Schema Theory is a valid metaphor for explaining students’
knowledge structures and ability to recall information. Price and
Driscoll found that at the beginning of their 1997 study, 10.5% of
subjects could solve a particular type of problem (a selection
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problem) in an unfamiliar context. However, 57.3% of those involved
in the study could solve a very similar problem in a familiar context.
The researchers then conducted three different treatments (prior
exposure to the problem in a familiar scenario, repeated opportunities
to solve similar problems in different context, and detailed process-
oriented feedback) designed to help learners construct a function
“problem solving” schema for solving selection problems regardless
of context. The effect of these treatments was not significant, leading
the authors to conclude: “schemata exist and that they powerfully
influence problem solving. However, there is no evidence that our
subjects spontaneously abstracted a useful schema while trying to
solve selection problems nor did the feedback conditions appear to
promote such abstraction (Price and Driscroll 83).
Schwartz et al (68) studied map-passage retention to determine
which theory, dual coding or schema could better account for the
higher level of retention demonstrated by learners who look at a map
prior to listening to a passage. They concluded that the maps helped
learners connect what they already know about an area to what they
need to remember from the passage. However, they also found that
prior knowledge of geography is activated by the geographic
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propositions contained in a passage, with or without a map. Thus
they were able to conclude that the improved recall manifested in
learners using map of familiar geographic area is due primarily to the
effects of schema theory.
From the above small sample of schema theory research, it does
seem that schema is a valid explanation for how learners process
and interpret information. Unlike some other learning theories such
as behaviourism or cognitive dissonance, schema theory does not
seek to explain the acquisition of only certain types of knowledge
such as behaviours or attitudes. Rather, instructional strategies
based on it can be applied to any learning situation. The ability of the
theory to explain how numerous different types of knowledge is
learned and to suggest appropriate instructional strategies regardless
of the type of knowledge also makes Schema Theory an effective
theory for educators and instructional designers.
So far, the work has been able to look at text processing from
different perspectives. Definitions of text processing seem to vary
with many applied linguists that have discussed it. Despite the
widespread divergence in the perception of what text processing truly
is, no one is in doubt that it is the process of decoding information
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from written or printed texts. The plethora of views on the meaning of
text processing has led to the emergence of two theoretical definition
thrusts, which emphasize either the processes involved in text
processing or the product. Those who argue that text processing is a
psycho-linguistic guessing game do so to subscribe to the process
theoretical school. The product school places premium on information
retrieval – the result of the reading activity. The process – product
debate has dominated the literature on text processing since the turn
of this century (Otagburuagu 133). None of these views could be
dismissed as irrelevant. In a general sense, it has to be understood
that they are debating on decoding versus meaning. But it is obvious
that both are necessary for effective comprehension, for according to
Putnam as cited in Nduka (16), decoding without comprehension is
useless; comprehension without decoding is impossible.
In as much as the arguments and views discussed all along would be
taken as well placed, for each has made some meaningful
contributions to the definition of reading comprehension and the
present study, it could be argued that none has brought out all the
complex processes involved in text processing and comprehension.
Be this as it may, the researcher’s view is that too much emphasis
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should not be given to it. What is more important is that efforts should
be made towards improving the teaching and learning of text
processing at various levels of education in Nigeria.
However, it has to be viewed from the point of view of this work that
text processing and comprehension goes beyond the level of mere
extraction of meaning from the printed page. Otagburuaga (132-140)
is of the opinion that text processing is a complex language activity,
which involves cognitive operations and psychomotor activities. It is
perceived as a process of one committing oneself to total thinking or
reasoning on the subject or topic that is expressed and presented
before him in the form of written language. Through the possession
of extensive vocabulary he reads and decodes the symbols using his
knowledge and experience of the workings of the language, which the
symbols represent. As she recalls his prior knowledge and
experiences on the ideas being expressed through the symbols, she
understands, interprets and critically analyses the thoughts of the
author as presented and implied in the printed page, that is, she
mentally sifts the information or message contained, internalizing the
aspects considered useful and rejecting those found to be
incompatible with her own beliefs, aspirations and values on the topic
65
or subject. In the process, she comes up with new ideas and thereby
extends the meanings contained in the message represented by
printed symbols. She does these by predicting the outcomes or
knowing the implications or taking or not taking certain lines of action
contained in the passage. In short, she extends the knowledge
gained to other situations. Finally, she utilizes the information as it
suits her purpose. Perhaps, the utilization is the only way we can
infer that comprehension has taken place.
The Goal of Primary Education
Primary level of education in any country is the most important
stratum of the educational system. The obvious reason is that being
the foundation on which the rest of the structure is built, its
administration should be thorough, well planned and secured. This is
because subsequent administration and acquisition of higher levels of
education would either be coherent, spontaneous or disjointed
depending on the nature and quality of the primary education.
On the global level, Imosemi (13) pointed out that priority has been
made to ensure that the child receives the necessary care and
education required. Since primary education is seen as the cutting
edge and the foundation stone for continued individual learning,
66
growth and development, such homogeneity of purpose ought to be
entrenched from the primary level for it to be effective and far
reaching.
In pursuance of this potential, government has set up mechanism
aimed at the achievement of universal functional literacy. This
explains why the organization and the content of the National English
Studies Curriculum for primary classes (primary 1-6) are arranged
around four basic language skills. The skills, which form the unifying
strands across the entire curriculum, are introduced to pupils early in
order to ensure proficiency in the use of the English language. The
four basic unifying skills are:
Structure
Speaking
Reading
Writing
The skills are arranged under four themes viz:
Theme 1: Listening and speaking
Theme 2: Reading and writing
Theme 3: Grammatical accuracy/structure
Theme 4: Literature.
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In the present study, the researcher is concerned with the second
and the third themes – reading and grammatical structure. The two
themes are inseparable in text processing and comprehension.
Reading as we know is the most important subject to be learned by a
child. A child will learn little else in today’s world if he does not first
learnt to read properly. This explains why the curriculum planners
came up with the present arrangement of the language skills. The
aim is to avoid low literacy achievement. Lag in text processing skills
is exacerbated at the secondary and higher education levels when it
is critical for students to understand and manipulate large volumes of
written text to learn a subject matter. In order to successfully
negotiate textual meaning, the reader must bring at least the following
to the act of text processing: cognitive capabilities, for example,
attention and memory; motivation, for example, purpose, interest and
linguistic knowledge and experiences. The worse thing is that many
educators do not understand these factors sufficiently, especially in
the case of second language readers.
In the present study, the researcher wants to look at or describe the
extent primary school pupils have been able to make use of the two
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text variables – syntactic features and cohesive ties in text
processing. In other words, the study aims at describing and
interpreting facts and events, as they are: the pupils’ ability to
manipulate syntactic features and cohesive ties in text processing
and comprehension. The focus of the study is on text processing and
comprehension. Since syntax and cohesion are significant
components in text processing and at the same time domains of
language that reading researchers are only beginning to investigate,
the researcher makes them the main focus of the present study.
Syntax and Cohesion in Primary School Syllabus
To ensure content validity, the measures of syntactic features and
cohesive ties are chosen based on the scheme of work for primary
school pupils, especially as they concern primary four, five and six
pupils. Thus the following areas of syntactic features are used:
1) Coordination with ‘and’
2) Relative clauses that contain who, which, that etc
3) Adverbial clauses
4) Noun clauses
5) Sentences in the active and passive voices
6) Placement of qualifiers
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7) The use of double negatives
8) The use of idiomatic negatives
9) The use of model auxiliaries
10) The use of nominalization and active verbs
11) The use of neither – nor etc.
For the measures of cohesive ties, the following areas are concerned:
1. The use of coordinators like and, as well as, but etc.
2. The use of anophora, for example, they, them and it.
3. The use of cataphora, for example, his, this, it and it’s.
4. The use of deixis like this, that, those, and these.
5. The use of enumerative like such as, including, consists of etc.
6. The use of expectation deniers like however, but, on the other
hand etc.
7. The use of sequencers like first, second, third, next etc.
8. The use of result injectors like hence, thus, with the result that etc.
9. The use of homophora like the.
10. The use of condition indicators like in this case, in as much as,
provided.
11. The use of causal markers like so, consequently, for this reason.
12. The use of compromisers like very nearly, generally, sort of.
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13. The use of diminishers like slightly, little, very seldom etc.
14. The use of maximisers like greatly, great, completely etc.
15. The use of emphasizers like obviously, clearly, in fact etc.
16. The use of examplifiers like for example, such as, namely etc.
17. The use of illustrative indicators, for example, fig. 2
18. The use of reformators like that is, I mean to say, in other
words.
19. The use of time relaters like then, when , at least etc.
20. The use of place relaters like when, here etc.
21. The use of contrastive markers like however, but, on the
other hand etc.
22. The use of comparatives like also, similarly, like etc.
23. The use of adversative markers like anyway, otherwise else
etc.
24. The use of analogy like likewise, the same as etc.
Both those aspects of syntactic features and cohesive ties are clearly
treated in various topics especially reading passages in the scheme
of work for primary schools. The sentences used under syntax and
cohesion are carefully selected from children’s English grammar
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books, reading books and storybooks. The hypothesis on which the
present study is based is that certain syntactic features and cohesive
ties of the language in reading books and textbooks for children can
make comprehension difficult. Some authors make use of
grammatical and stylistic features which do not occur at all, or occur
relatively rarely in speech and which many children have not learnt to
interpret. This is what informed the researcher to single out these two
variables to see the extent primary six pupils could make use of them
in text processing and comprehension.
Research Problem
It has been established that text processing is a resource that
provides individuals with a window through which to view the entire
world. It is also a fact that an individual with an inadequate text
processing skills will gain nothing in today’s world of knowledge
explosion. It is based on this that The NERDC Guideline on
Curriculum (47) provides certain reading skills that primary school
pupils should acquire in order to meet up with the inevitable
numerous pressing challenges in and outside Nigeria. By implication,
the curriculum planners expect the teachers to teach the pupils those
reading skills that would enable them:
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(A) To understand written instructions that are connected with:
1. Subject textbook, other subjects and examinations
2. Goods in packets, labels, and jars
3. Employment situations (shop, office, the police station etc)
4. Forms (income tax, insurance, application)
5. Health notices and other public exhortations
(B) To understand public information and debate such as
1. Language of newspapers including the abbreviated
language of headlines
2. Public posters
(C) To understand the casual and informal styles of letter writing
and the abbreviated language of telegrams
(D) To understand the formal register of textbook exposition
including the language of science
(E) To understand such discontinuous texts as commentaries
under pictures, labels in a diagram and the abbreviated
language of charts and tables
(F) To understand the narrative and descriptive language of
simplified readers including an elementary awareness of moral
issues in a story
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(G) To understand how to use reference materials including such
devices as table of contents, index, glossary and the
alphabetical entries of dictionaries etc
(H) To approach a written text equipped with the ability to:
1. Read for the plain sense or surface meaning of the text
2. Read for the implied but unstated meaning
3. Understand the relationship of thought between sentences
and the development of an idea in several paragraphs
4. Read for specifically required information
5. Read for the gist of a passage etc.
However, despite the gains of text processing and the premium that
has been placed on it in recent years by different agencies and
reading specialists both in Nigeria and elsewhere in the world to
encourage positive reading culture among Nigerians, the review of
the related literature shows that many primary school bilinguals and
even those in secondary and tertiary institutions are performing below
expectation as far as text processing is concerned. Many of them
complain openly of their inability to read with comprehension all that
is required even after long hours of dogged and painstaking efforts.
Okafor (65) in her study found out that many pupils and students
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avoid comprehension passages in both public and internal
examinations. Otagburuagu (136) reveals that many learners show
resentment to take home reading tasks and assignments that involve
extensive reading. He maintains that while they feel excited to receive
grammar lessons, they are bored with exercises on the reading skill.
Odumah has this to say:
The problems of Nigerian learners in many of the
institutions begin with inadequate reading. Many of them
lack the basic reading skills necessary to satisfy their
intellectual curiosity, to understand current events, to gain
information needed by a good citizen and to satisfy
spiritual and emotional needs (133).
His view is in line with teachers’, lecturers’ parents’ and public
members’ view that many learners who have gone even to higher
institutions are incapable of processing texts with comprehension. It
has been established that there is a lot of dissatisfaction with the
performance of Nigerian pupils and students in literacy (Faloyojo,
Mokoju, Okebukola, Onusha & Olubodum, 18). In 2000, for example,
the SSEC chief examiner on English Language and Literature in
English has this to report:
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There is a healthy balance between knowing the plots,
the characters and interpreting the text. However, most
unfortunately, the performance of the candidates is far
below that of the previous years. This is both in terms of
the knowledge of the text and command of the English
language. The dismal standing of English language is
alarming. It is evident that the candidates did not
understand the text. Hence, they could not respond to
them, mainly, because they lack the medium, English
Language.
In 2002 and 2003, he reported that many candidates in the attempt to
answer comprehension questions copy out chunks from the
passages, in the hope that the correct answer will be found in them.
On literature he reported that many candidates did not read and
understand the prescribed texts. The same old reasons that
accounted for poor performance of candidates in the past still persist
- the poor knowledge of the texts.
The chief examiner’s reports on both the English Language and
Literature in English centers on one thing - students’ inability to
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process and understand the prescribed materials, in this case,
comprehension passages and the textbooks.
Many studies in Nigeria on learners’ reading interests and habit
reveal that many secondary school students and pupils rarely read
any thing outside their course books. Ntseane and Commeyrans in
(Ikonta 105) reported that many students and pupils are reluctant
readers while some avoid reading whenever it possible. Unoh in
Ikonta (104) has repeatedly cautioned on, and highlighted the
prevalence of reluctant reading and learning syndrome and alliteracy
syndrome in Nigeria, a situation where people who can read don’t
love to read while many educated Nigerians do not read for pleasure.
According to him, learners limit their reading and learning to
prescribed texts for specific examinations but hardly indulge in
recreational reading which research has shown to be necessary for
expanding intellectual horizons, sharing experiences, improving
writing performance and developing more nature personalities.
Chijioke in the same Ikonta while emphasizing the increasingly
important role of text processing presents the following estimate of
the amount of learning through reading for different educational
levels:
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a) Nursery 20%
b) Primary 50%
c) Secondary 75%
d) University 90%
The data above shows that for even primary pupils to succeed
academically, they have to develop positive attitude towards text
processing.
The incompetence in text processing has implications for other
subjects. For example, if pupils are deficient in reading and
comprehension, they will find it difficult to read and understand their
course of study. Again, education in modern times requires both the
pupils and the students to read a lot of material in their subject areas
as well as for day to-day survival. Insufficient reading brings
frustration to the learners. To cope with academic work in school,
they resort to all sorts of short cuts. One of the factors responsible for
dropout syndrome among students and pupils relate to poor reading
habits. Many learners who cannot cope with their academic work see
reading as a burden. This is because they lack the necessary
foundation. Such learners find satisfaction instead in violating the
country’s law, threatening human security through armed robbery and
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engaging in other unacceptable vices such as cultism, jumping fence
and bullying other youth rather than using their leisure time to explore
the world of books.
The relation of text processing inability to premature school leaving
has been established. Many learners drop out of school because of
text processing inability. In general, text-processing inability severely
restricts individual’s development. Krugman as cited in Strange (69)
is of the view that mental hygiene and text processing underlie all
teaching in schools and have the most pervasive influence on the
student’s success in school and adjustment in living. Inability to
process text has the same profound influence on educational growth
as a severe emotional involvement. Both limit successful functioning,
cause frustration, bring about disturbed relationships, influence
outlook on life, and result in a variety of undesirable behaviuor
manifestations. Repeated academic failures caused by reading
inability can give rise to feeling of inferiority and frustration. Failure in
reading may also cause emotional disturbance. Children who learn to
read early show self-confidence; those who don’t make satisfactory
progress feel anxious and insecure. Reading retardation often
produces a chain of consequences: inability to do the assignments
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and take part in the class discussion leads to feeling of inferiority,
hopelessness or hostility, which in turn bring about truancy,
association with experienced delinquents, and delinquent acts. In
each step of this sequence the child’s image of himself deteriorates.
Therefore, learners who lack text-processing skills are already
academically, socially, economically, and psychologically on the
danger list.
Opinions are as diverse as there are individuals and reading
specialists on textual variables that are responsible for learners’ poor
achievement in text processing. The researcher believes that there is
a problem as far as text processing and comprehension is concerned,
for there can be no smoke without fire. However, instead of being
tossed about by the wave of some uninvestigated observations, the
researcher decides to single out two variables and investigate the
extent the pupils can effectively utilize them in text processing and
comprehension. Since syntax and cohesion are significant factors in
text processing, the researcher has to make them the main focus of
the investigation. The researcher also wants to ascertain the extent
these factors can interact with learner factors like the gender, the
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socio-economic status of the readers’ parents and the location of the
school.
The problem of the study is, therefore, to ascertain the extent primary
six pupils can utilize their knowledge of syntactic features and
cohesive ties in text processing, the aspects of syntactic features and
cohesive ties they find difficult and how the two factors interact with
other variables like gender, the socio-economic status of the readers’
parents and the location of the readers’ school to determine the
extent the pupils can process text with comprehension. It is these
problems and other issues raised in this part of the study that the
researcher is trying to investigate. The outcome of the investigation is
crucial in the present study, as it will make it possible for the
researcher to proffer solutions at the end.
Purpose of the Study
It has been observed that many learners are academically on the
danger list due to their general apathy towards reading, their poor
reading culture and their inability to read with comprehension. The
researcher, therefore, wants to ascertain empirically the primary six
pupils’ text processing ability, the extent they can utilize cohesive ties
and syntactic features as text factors in text processing, the extent
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the two variables interact with other variables like sex, socio-
economic status of the parents and school location to affect pupils’
text processing and comprehension ability. Specifically, the study
aims at:
i. Ascertaining the extent pupils can apply their knowledge of
cohesive ties in text processing and comprehension,
ii. Ascertaining the extent the pupils can apply their knowledge of
syntactic features in text processing and comprehension,
iii. Comparing and ascertaining the degree of difference of the
extent the pupils can apply their knowledge of cohesive ties and
syntactic features in text processing and comprehension,
iv. Ascertaining the aspects of cohesive ties and syntactic features
that affect pupils’ processing and comprehension ability
positively or negatively,
v. Ascertaining the extent the two variables interact with gender to
determine the extent pupils can process text with
comprehension
vi. Ascertaining the extent the two variables interact with location
of the school to determine the extent pupils can process text
with comprehension
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vii. Ascertaining the extent the two variables interact with the socio-
economic status of the readers’ parents to determine the extent
pupils can process text with comprehension
Significance of the Study
Having reviewed the related literature, it was observed that certain
areas are left uncovered. One of such observed areas is that in this
part of the world, primary school level of education has been
neglected in the areas of research. Most researchers tend to use
secondary and higher institution students as their subjects. Again, it
was discovered that cohesion as a significant factor in text processing
among primary school bilinguals has not been carried out in this part
of the world and elsewhere in the world. The literature review also
shows that studies have been carried out on the effect of syntax on
text processing and comprehension, but no study has been carried
out to compare and to describe empirically the extent primary school
pupils can utilize their knowledge of syntactic features and cohesive
ties in text processing and comprehension. It is, therefore, these
missing links (uncovered areas) that the present study sets out to
cover.
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The findings will avail us with reliable data and accurate information
on the extent primary school pupils can utilize the two important text
factors in text processing. The findings will enable the researcher to
be in a better position to proffer suggestions on how to save our
pupils from being swapped in the tide of illiteracy and alliteracy. There
is need to upgrade our knowledge about the pupils’ ability and power
of processing text. It is important to determine empirically what they
are doing now, what they find difficult and why they find such difficult.
It is equally imperative to find out the resources, the techniques and
the methods they are using and the ones they are neglecting. The
researcher will also be in a better position to conclude that pupils’
poor performance in text processing and the strong apathy towards
reading are as a result of either the variables that are associated with
the pupils or the textual variables like syntax and cohesion.
There is, therefore, the need to carry out the research of this type in
order to be in a better position to provide answers to some of the
questions and issues raised in the study. The findings of the study no
doubt will make it possible for both the teachers of reading and
educators to devise suitable comprehension instruments, and better
options and methods of teaching and testing learners at all levels of
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education. Finally, the study will make it possible to answer the
question: To what extent can primary school pupils utilize syntactic
features and cohesive ties as text variables in text processing and
comprehension? Specifically, the study will be of immense benefit to
many people in these ways. The knowledge of different reading and
comprehension theories and models will make it possible for the
teachers to understand the best way and method of teaching reading
to ensure comprehension. The study will also make it possible for
teachers and educators to up grade their knowledge about the pupils’
ability to process texts. The study will make it possible for us to
determine what the pupils are doing now, what they find difficult and
why they find such difficult. Furthermore, the study will provide
information to the teachers, educators and the course designers
about the variables that may help in predicting and assessing pupils’
reading comprehension. The authors, especially children’s authors,
publishers and textbook selectors will also benefit from the study as it
will make it possible for them to guard against textual variables or
features that can impede or facilitate comprehension. Most
importantly, the study will help clear the misconception that reading is
the mere precise process that involves perception and identification
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of letters, words and spellings. The study will equally make it possible
for the teachers to be familiar with the aspect of the language that
should be emphasized for effective teaching of reading and
comprehension skills. In summary, the study will be significant to the
teachers in the ways pointed out above and other ways that are not
raised in this study.
Delimitation of the Study
The scope of the study was limited specifically to written texts and to
two important text factors- syntactic features and cohesive ties and
three learner factors: gender, the socio-economic status of the
readers’ parents and the location of the readers’ schools. However,
other variables that are directly or indirectly involved in text
processing are held constant in the study.
Research questions
Research question 1: To what extent can primary school pupils utilize
their knowledge of cohesive tie as text factors in text processing and
comprehension using the expected criterion test of fifty percent as the
standard?
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Research question 2: To what extent can primary school pupils utilize
their knowledge of certain syntactic features as text factors in text
processing and comprehension?
Research question 3: What aspects of cohesion and syntactic
features can they positively or negatively utilize in text processing and
comprehension?
Research question 4:To what extent do the mean scores of boys and
girls in text processing differ?
Research question 5:To what extent do the mean scores of the pupils
from semi-urban schools and rural schools in text processing differ?
Research question 6: To what extent do the mean scores of the pupils from
the different socio- economic status differ in the three instruments as text
factors in text processing and comprehension?
Hypotheses
HO1: Pupils do not statistically differ significantly in their mean scores
among the three instruments as text factors in text processing
and comprehension
HO2: Gender does not affect pupils’ achievement in the three
instruments as text factors in text processing and
comprehension
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HO3: School location does not significantly affect pupils’ achievement
in the three instruments as text factors in text processing and
comprehension
HO4: Socio-economic status of parents does not significantly affect
pupils’ achievement in the three instruments as text factors in
text processing and comprehension
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CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
The processing and comprehending texts can be broken down into
more specific variables that relate to the learner, text and the teacher,
which will be described in greater detail. For this reason the literature
review is guided by socio-cognitive-based text processing model.
This is exactly what this chapter is set out to do.
The variables to be reviewed in this chapter are broadly categorized
into: conceptual issues and empirical studies. Specifically, the
variables in this chapter are examined under the following headings.
• Taxonomy of Text Processing and Comprehension
• An Overview of Text Processing and Comprehension,
• Conceptual Issues under Learner Factors
• Empirical Studies under Learner Factors
• Conceptual Issues under Text Factors
• Empirical Studies under Text Factors
• Conceptual Issues under Teacher Style Factors
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Taxonomy of Text Processing and Comprehension
An important observation, which has to be made about taxonomy of
reading comprehension, is that it does not take into account the
background, which the reader brings to the comprehension tasks.
Background must in many cases be a deciding factor in the type or
level of comprehension required by the question. The type of
comprehension demanded and the difficulty of the task is a product of
(a) the selection, (b) the questions and (c) the reader’s background.
The taxonomy in its usual application can take only the first two into
account.
There are differences in the number and range of comprehension
levels. This may be as a result of intellectual nature of the process of
comprehension. Thomas and Robinson as cited by Nduka (25) think
of comprehension as an aggregate of many skills. They therefore
recognize the following levels:
1. Grasping directly stated facts or details
2. Understanding main ideas
3. Grasping the sequence of time, place, ideas, events and
steps.
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4. Grasping implied meaning and drawing inferences.
5. Understanding setting and character, that is, emotional
reactions, motives and personal traits.
6. Sensing relationship of strife, place, cause and effect,
events and characters,
7. Anticipating outcomes
8. Recognizing author’s tone, mood and intent
9. Understanding and drawing comparison and contrast
10. Drawing conclusions or making generalizations and
11. Making evaluations.
Barret as cited in Strange (57) sees comprehension as hierarchically
ordered and identifies five categories. They include:
1. Literal comprehension
2. Reorganization
3. Inference
4. Evaluation
5. Appreciation
Literal level of Comprehension
This focuses on ideas and information that are explicitly stated in the
selection. Purposes for reading and teacher’s questions designed to
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elicit responses at this level may range from simple to complex. A
simple task in literal comprehension may be the recognition or recall
of a simple fact or incident. A more complex task might be the
recognition or recall of a series of facts or the sequencing of incidents
in a text processing selection. Purposes and questions at this level
may have the following characteristics:
(1) Recognition, which requires the students to locate or identify ideas
or information explicitly stated in the reading selection itself.
Recognition tasks are:
(a) Recognition of details: The students are required to locate or
identify facts such as the names, characters, the time of the
story, or the place of the story.
(b) Recognition of main ideas: The students are asked to locate or
identify an explicit statement in or from a selection, which is a
main idea of a paragraph.
(c) Recognition of a sequence: The students are required to identify
the order of incidents in the selection.
(d) Recognition of comparison. The students are required to identify
likeness and differences in characters, times and places that are
stated in the selection.
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(e) Recognition of cause and effect relationships. The students are
required to state reasons for certain actions in selection.
(f) Recognition of character traits. The students are required to locate
statements about a character.
(2) Recall
Recall requires the students to produce from memory ideas and
information stated in the selection. Recall tasks are:
(a) Recall of details: The students are required to produce from
memory facts such as the names of characters, the time of the story
and the place of the story.
(b) Recall of main ideas: The students are required to state a
main idea of a paragraph.
(c) Recall of a sequence: The students are required to state the
order of actions in a selection.
(d) Recall of comparison: The students are required to state the
likenesses and differences in characters, times and places that are
mentioned in a selection.
(e) Recall of cause and effect relationships: The students are
required to state reasons for certain actions in a selection.
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(f) Recall of character traits: The students are required to make
statements about characters.
Reorganization level of comprehension
Reorganization requires the students to analyze, synthesize and or
organize ideas stated in the selection. Reorganization tasks are:
(a) Classifying: The students are required to place people, things,
and or events into categories.
(b) Outlining: The students are required to organize the selection
into an outline form.
(c) Summarizing: The students are asked to condense the selection
or paraphrase it.
(d) Synthesizing: The students are requested to consolidate
information from a source.
Inferential level of Comprehension
The students demonstrate inferential comprehension when they are
able to use the ideas or information in a selection, their intuition, and
their personal experience as basis for conjectures and hypotheses.
Inferences drawn by the students may be either convergent or
divergent in nature. In general, then, inferential comprehension is
stimulated by the purposes for reading and teacher’s questions,
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which demand thinking and imagination that go beyond the printed
page. The tasks are:
(a) Inferring supporting details: In this case the students are
asked to conjecture about additional facts the author might
have included in the selection which would have made it more
informative, interesting, or appealing.
(b) Inferring main ideas: The students are required to provide the
main idea, general significance, theme, or moral that is not
explicitly stated in the selection
(c) Inferring sequence: The students may be requested to
conjecture as to what action might have taken place between
two stated actions, or they may be asked to hypothesize about
what would happen next if the selection had not ended the way
it did.
(d) Inferring comparison: The students are required to infer
likenesses and differences in characters, times, or places.
Such inferential comparisons revolve around ideas such as:
‘here and there’, ‘then and now’, ‘he and he’, ‘he and she’, and
‘she and she’.
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(e) Inferring cause and effect relationships: The students are to
hypothesize about the motivations of characters and their
interactions with time and pace. They may also be required to
conjecture as to what caused the author to include certain
ideas, words, characterizations and actions.
(f) Inferring character traits: In this case the students are
required to hypothesize about the nature of characters on the
basis of explicit clues presented in the selection.
(g) Predicting outcomes: The students are required to read an
initial portion of the selections and on the basis of this reading,
they are required to conjecture about the outcome of the
selection.
(h) Interpreting figurative language: The students in this case,
are required to infer literal meanings from the author’s
figurative use of language.
Evaluation
The purposes for reading a teacher’s questions required the students
to respond as an indication to show that they have made an
evaluative judgment by comparing ideas presented in the selection
with external criteria provided by the teacher, other authorities, or
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other written sources, or with internal criteria provided by the reader’s
experience and knowledge of values. In essence, evaluation deals
with judgment and focuses on qualities of accuracy, acceptability,
desirability, worth, or probability of occurrence. Evaluative thinking
may be demonstrated by asking the readers to make the following
judgments:
(a) Judgment of reality and fantasy: Could this really happen?
Such a question calls for a judgment by the reader based on
her experience.
(b) Judgment of fact or opinion: Does the author provide
adequate information or support for his conclusions? Is the
author attempting to sway your thinking? Questions of this type
require the students to analyze and evaluate the writing on the
basis of the knowledge she has on the subject as well as to
analyze and evaluate the intent of the author.
(c) Judgment of adequacy and validity: To what extent does the
information presented here agree with what you have read on
the subject in other sources? Questions ̀of this nature call for
the reader to compare written sources of information, with
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an eye toward agreement and disagreement or completeness
and incompleteness.
(d) Judgment of appropriateness: Explore the part of the story
that best describes the main character. Such a question
requires the reader to make a judgment about the relative
adequacy of different parts of the selection.
(e) Judgment of worth, desirability and acceptability: With
concrete examples, proof the character’s action either right or
wrong. Question of this nature calls for judgment based on the
reader’s moral code or her value system.
Appreciation
Appreciation involves all the previously cited cognitive dimensions of
reading, for it deals with the psychological and aesthetic impact of the
selection on the reader. Appreciation calls for the learners to be
emotionally and aesthetically sensitive to the work and to have a
reaction to the worth of its psychological and artistic elements.
Appreciation includes both the knowledge of and the emotional
response to literary techniques, forms, styles, and structures. The
tasks of the reader are:
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(a) Emotional response to the content: The students are
required to verbalize their feelings about the selection in terms
of interest, excitement boredom, fear, hate, amusement and so
on. It is concerned with the emotional impact of the total work
on the reader.
(b) Identification with characters or incidents: Teachers’
questions of this nature will elicit responses from the reader,
which demonstrate her sensitivity to, sympathy for, and
empathy with characters and happenings portrayed by the
author.
(c) Reactions to the author’s use of language: In this case, the
readers are required to respond to the author’s craftsmanship
in terms of the semantic dimensions of the selection, namely,
connotations and denotations of words.
(d) Imagery: In this case, the reader is required to verbalize his
feelings with regard to the author’s artistic ability to paint words
and pictures, which cause the reader to verbalize, smell, hear,
or feel.
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While these levels and many others represent processes and
reasoning, some of them are so closely related facts or even
subsumed by others that segmentation is rather artificial. It might be
in realization of this that most authors and reading educators seem to
have consensus of opinion on the existence of three levels of
comprehension which calls for the use of different mental processes.
These levels are:
1. Literal or factual level
2. Interpretative or inferential level,
3. Critical or evaluative level
The Literal Comprehension
This means the skill of getting the literal meaning of a word, idea or
sentence in a context. There is no depth in this kind of reading. It is
the lowest rung in the meaning climbing of ladder but probably the
one on which most teachers give the readers or learners practice.
The literal level of comprehension is identified with the following skills:
a) Memorization/Recognition/Recall: Information under this skill is
explicitly stated.
b) Definition: terms in the passage are explained.
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c) Generalization: This involves recognizing a common character
or common characteristics of group of ideas.
d) Identification: This involves identifying qualities expressed in
the passage.
Interpretative Level
Interpretative level of comprehension is concerned with supplying
ideas that are not exactly stated in the text. The reader must think of
the symbols and inferred meanings not directly apparent in the word
symbols themselves. The skills associated with this level are:
a) Comparison and contrast of ideas,
b) Implication, that is, arriving at an idea that depends on evidence
in the reading passage,
c) Inductive thinking – applying a generalization to a group of
observed facts.
d) Quantitative – using a number of facts to reach a conclusion.
e) Cause and effect. This implies recognizing an event leading to
a happening.
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Critical Level
This calls for careful discriminative reading. It requires special
teaching technique. It involves the literal comprehension and
interpretative skills but goes further than any of these in that the
reader evaluates and passes personal judgment on the quality, value,
accuracy and truthfulness of what she has read. The reader has to
ask some questions like: Why has the author said this? Why did he
say that? Is it because he is not well informed? Is the author well
informed, knowledgeable or biased? Has she any other thing to add?
Does he want the reader to get what he has in mind? In the process
of answering these questions, the reader analyses and syntheses the
facts and information contained in the text. By the time she does all
this, she is in a position to make an evaluation of the author. In other
words, the reader arrives at conclusion through integrating the facts
and details of the text with extra textual information. This is
particularly so when there is contradicting information and set up
between part of the text and the reader’s schemata for that text.
Reading at this level implies bringing in the extra-text. It involves
a) An inquiring attitude towards the material and its author.
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b) Sufficient information background to supply standards for
critical evaluation
c) Skill in suspending judgment and the influence of ones
own feelings until the selection is thoroughly understood.
d) Ability to analyse the logic of the material to differentiate
fact from the opinion and detect omissions and distortions
so as to achieve desired effect.
e) The evaluation of the author’s background and intentions,
his beliefs and implications.
Therefore critical reading is that level of comprehension, which
involves logical and value judgment based on the attitudes and
experiences of the reader. It implies that the reader approaches the
material with inquiring and analytical attitude.
Some authors seem to see some differences between creative and
critical reading. Critical reading deals with inquiring mind. The mind
tries to ask questions. Creative reading implies getting to know more
than is stated in the material. The reader tries to extend the frontiers
of knowledge in what is read. It implies or involves the development
of new ideas.
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An Overview of Text Processing and Comprehension
Reading comprehension begins with the author (Adams and Bruce 2-
25). Understanding and comprehending information from text is a
complex process that is influenced by what the reader brings to the
reading event, what the author provides for the learner and what the
teacher and other members of the classroom and community do in
order to help the learner. According to Goodman and Rakestraw
(311-335), this process involves building coherent, representation of
information. The leaner must have the ability to understand the
meaning of individual words and phrases on a local, or word-to-word
and sentence-to-sentence level and on a global level, or constructing
meaning from the text as a whole. This interacts with the prior
knowledge, interest and motivation that the learner brings to the task
of reading. A text is both dynamic and static, depending on the prior
knowledge, skill and purpose the learner brings to the text. A text
meaning is therefore always evolving (Alexander and Jettson 285-
310). It is on this basis that a socio- cognitive-based text-processing
model is used to guide this literature review.
Three assumptions underline this perspective:
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- The reader’s schema is important as it shows the nature of
ideas the she brings to the processing of a text.
- The nature of the text-how considerate the text is.
- The teacher and the socio-cultural context
Empirical Studies under Learner Factors
Learner factors are what the learner brings to the text processing
activity. Such factors are grouped under this subheading because a
lot of empirical studies have been done on them. One of such factors
is self-concept.
Self-Concept
A lot of work has been done on self –concept and reading
achievement. The works of Bricklin (10) and Sopis (64) suggest that
good readers tend to have more positive self-concept than poor
readers. Using a socio-cognitive-based text-processing model they
carried out studies with primary school pupils and discovered that
feelings of adequacy and personal worth, self-confidence and self-
reliance are important factors in the relationship with reading
achievement for all grade levels. A study carried out by Wattenberg
and Clifford (461-467) also shows that unfavourable view of the self
affects reading achievement of children. They were able to show that
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measures of self-concept and ego strength at early stage were more
closely related to poor achievement in reading in the second grade
than was intelligence. They are of the view that sense of personal
worth and competence are important factors in children’s reading
achievement. In the same way the study of Mcmichael (115-124)
shows that there is an association between perceptions of self and
reading achievement.
Conversely the work of Carrillo (12) shows that poor readers show
lack of independence, avoidance of leadership opportunities, and a
poor attitude to responsibility. Underachieving readers are
characterized by immaturity, impulsivity and negative feelings
concerning themselves and their world.
Though children enter school with self-concepts rooted in their
significance within their family group, the knowledge that teachers’
expectations have strong effects on pupils’ performance has led to
the view that the child’s perception of himself becomes increasingly
dependent on teachers’ subtle indication of hope and indifference.
Again, since as Barker-Lunn (25) points out, streaming and teaching
style interact to influence children’s attitudes to themselves and their
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performance, it would seem that children are distressingly at the
mercy of teacher’s significant participation in their daily life.
There are other factors acting upon the child’s self-esteem, which
make him more or less subject to the effects of derogatory or
rewarding remarks from teachers. Coopersmith as cited in Attey (98-
114) has focused attention on the features of their upbringing that
distinguish children of high and low self-esteem.
The present research work has a lot in common with these studies.
For instance, a socio-cognitive based text-processing model that
guided their work also guides the present study. Again, their subjects
were primary school pupils and in the present research work, primary
school pupils constitute the population. Conversely, the present work
is going to include the obvious missing links: comparison of the
effects of syntax and cohesion in text processing and comprehension;
the influence of sex and environment in text processing and
comprehension.
Cultural Background
Schema theory has also helped to explain the effects of socio cultural
variations on reading. Many people carried out research to show the
influence of cultural background on reading achievement. The studies
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on the impart of cultural background as reviewed here are in line with
the present study. All the studies are descriptive survey design
research. They aim at describing facts and events as they are. For
example, a research conducted by Steffenson and Adernson (36)
shows that readers from distinctly different culture give differing
interpretation with reading materials deemed culturally sensitive.
Their research work with secondary school students shows that
individuals who read materials related directly to their culture spend
less time reading and they recall more information. A similar study
supports the idea that when individuals read material with identifiable
cultural content, their comprehension is directly influenced. If there is
a mismatch between the reader’s culture and the cultural content of
the text, the meaning constructed is different. Linguistically and
culturally diverse students may be unfairly evaluated if their teacher
focus only on how well their comprehension matches the text of
which they are required to read (Rupely 63-80). If the materials used
for reading instruction contain content that is culturally loaded,
students may not have the appropriate schemata to construct
meanings that are even approximate the interest of author.
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These claims are also supported by Steffenson’s research findings as
cited by (Rupely 63-80). She compared the comprehension of adult
readers from two different cultural backgrounds, one group from
North America, and another group from India. She looked at the
ability of her subjects to recover meaning from two texts, one
describing a North American wedding, and another describing an
India wedding. Steffernson found that her North American subjects
had higher levels of comprehension on the passage describing the
North American wedding and the Indian subjects did better on the
passage concerning an Indian wedding.
Again, Guyotta as cited in Okafor (53) studied the comprehension of
three different groups on a passage taken from a medical text. One
group consisted of students from a non-medical faculty, another
consisted of students from a pre- medical faculty. In general, Guyotte
found out that content knowledge had significant effect on the ability
of the subjects to identify logical relationships in the passage.
The earliest experimental work on influence of culture was carried out
by Bartlett as cited in Emenyonu (9). Working in England and using a
North American India folk tale, ‘The war of the ghosts’, subjects
(English men) were asked to read and record the story. In some
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cases the recalled period was up to ten years. The recalls, Bartlett
concluded were influenced by their background knowledge, which
provided a framework for understanding the setting, mood, and chain
of events. For example, in the original passage, when one character
died, ‘something black came out of his mouth. Englishmen called it
‘breath’ or ‘foaming of his mouth’ thereby rationalizing where
something in the story did not make sense. Furthermore, the Indian
tale had been selected because many of the incidents described
were not related to each other in an obvious way.
In another study as cited by Emenyonu (23), Black and White
American eight grade students read a passage that dealt with an
instance of ‘sounding’ or playing ‘the dozens’, a form of ritual insult
predominantly found in the Black American community. Blacks
correctly interpreted the passage as being about verbal play, while
Whites interpreted it as being about physical aggression.
Studies so far mentioned focus on the recall of story content using a
folktale presentation. But focusing on the recall of structure, Kintsch
and Green as cited in Emenyonu (11) had American university
students read a Grimm’s fairly tale and an Apache Indian tale. Nearly
twice as many propositions from Grimm’s fairly tale were
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remembered (86% for Grimm versus 43% for the Apache tale).
Regretfully no Apache group could be used as the researchers felt
that most Apache university students would be bi-cultural and would
be familiar with Western story schemata and would thus be
“contaminated’. This is why Steffensen’s studies used a complete
design with both Indian and American subjects and Aboriginal and
American subjects.
Two years later, Mandler, ScrIbner, Cole and Deforest as cited in
Emenyonu(86) hypothesized that certain kinds of organization of
stories (structure or story grammar) are universal and that the cultural
content of a story is less important than its form in determining how
much is remembered. They suggested that Kintsch and Green used a
structure although universal (an episodic form) but one which is
inherently more difficult to remember. Their subjects were Vai-
speaking Liberians, fourth grade and college students in the United
States. Five stories, one Via-folktale and four foreign translated into
Via with changes in terminology for such expressions as ‘dragon’
(which became ‘water people’) and ‘princesses’ (which become
‘chief’s daughters’) were presented to the Vai speaking subjects while
their English equivalents were given to the American groups. Striking
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similarities were found in the patterns of recall of Vai subjects and
fourth grade and college students from the United States. That is,
readers in a non-literate society’s recall of stories were very similar to
readers in a literate industrialized society.
Though the reviewed studies and the present study have certain
things in common, the use of subjects makes them differ. While the
reviewed studies used secondary school students and adults, the
present study makes use of primary school pupils.
Gender
In the discussion of stable reader characteristics, gender and its
influence on reading comprehension has been investigated by many
researchers. Research findings have shown that gender interacts
with the topic of the text to affect reading achievement. For example,
a study carried out by Bugel and Baunk, (15-31) on gender
differences in L2 reading comprehension on a national foreign
language examination revealed that males scored significantly better
on multiple-choice comprehension items for essays about laser
thermometers, volcanoes, cars and football players. Females
achieved significantly higher on the comprehension tests for essays
on text topics such as midwives, a sad story, and a housewife’s
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dilemma. They concluded that the topic of a text is an important
factor in explaining gender-based differences in second language
reading comprehension.
Young and Oxford (43-73) conducted a study with English men and
women to examine comprehension and strategies involved in reading
two Spanish texts and one English text. Topics were economics, the
presence of foreign cultures on leisure and history. No significant
difference in performance by gender in the familiarity ratings with
passage topics or background knowledge of any of the passages was
recorded. With second year university level male and female
students, Chavez (64) tested the bottom-up reading strategies
instruction on the comprehension of two different literary texts. It was
discovered that a higher degree of reading comprehension among
females was reported. More specifically, every female group scored
higher on comprehension than the male groups regardless of
strategic training and comprehension assessment task with only one
exception: males with top-down strategy training did better than
females on multiple choice (but not on recall). Brantmeier( 1-23)
reported significant interactions between reader’s gender and gender-
oriented passage content with comprehension among second
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language university learners of Spanish. The two passages utilized in
the study were authentic narratives about a boxing match and a
frustrated housewife. Self-reported topic familiarity ratings were also
significant by gender and text topic. This study provided evidence that
readers’ gender and passage content interact in ways that affect
second language reading comprehension.
Steiner, Steiner and Newman as cited by Emenyonu (20) viewed the
countries where gender differences have been recorded; it was
discovered that the greater proficiency in reading by girls over boys
has held up in the US, Canada and France. Their study did not record
any difference in reading achievement in Israel and Japan. In Nigeria,
England, India and Germany, Preston, Johnson and Downing as
cited by the same Emenyonu, recorded that boys surpassed girls.
Then Johnson’s study from the same source using four countries –
US, Canada, Britain and Nigeria gives special insight into the
Nigerian case. In Nigeria of the seventies, female education
traditionally lagged behind that of males. Although elsewhere in the
world (North America in particular), reading has been considered
somewhat of a ‘sissy’ activity that has not been true in Nigeria. If
reading were placed on active/passive continuum, it would certainly
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fall on the passive side (Emenyonu 27). Much of the literature on sex-
role stereotyping has classified girls as stereotypically passive while
boys are stereotypically active. But in America, girls because of their
so-called passive nature would be involved with a passive activity like
reading; boys, on the other hand, would not, unless they did not mind
being seen as ‘girlish’. Johnson found that in Britain and Nigeria the
boys scored better than girls on the majority (15 out of 18 for Nigeria)
of the comparisons. Commenting on the “societal-cultural-
educational” factors that contributed to the differences, Johnson
noted a possible “pygmalian” effect (students may achieve to the
level their teachers expect of them) since all of the Nigerian teachers
believed their boys to be better.
Research has also been carried out to determine gender differences
in attitudes about computers (Meyer and Poom 789-807, Mitra and
Hullett 378-391). According to them, females had less positive
attitudes, felt less comfortable, and believed that computer was less
accessible when compared to males. Further, older participants were
less likely to feel comfortable reading from a computer screen (Meyer
and Poon 789-807). Ford and Chen (281-311) discovered that in
hyper text environments, males seemed to enjoy browsing more than
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women, often with no clear plan, searching through the irrelevant to
find something meaningful, while women felt disenchanted and lost in
the internet environment, and tended to more extrinsically motivated
purposes for the Internet, using it for works, not play.
The present study is similar to the reviewed studies as all are
concerned with the influence of gender on reading achievement.
However, it is different from the reviewed studies because it is going
to make use of primary school pupils.
Conceptual Issues under Learner Factors
Learner factors under conceptual issues are the factors that affect
reading comprehension but empirical studies have not been done on
them. They are mainly views and opinions of individuals. They are
presented in this regard:
Prior knowledge
Constructionists view text comprehension as an interactive process
between the text writer and the person using the text. They assume
that meaning does not exist in the text but becomes available to the
reader as a result of his own contribution. Language users employ
text in comprehension as a set of guidelines to the active creation of
meaning. Jonz (30) in his explanation of the advantage(s) of adopting
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a constructionist point of view says that one is able to speculate on
the structure of language knowledge and on the various stages in the
acquisition of such structures as well as their application to the
cognitive tasks involved in comprehension.
From the above statement, it follows that constructionists emphasize
the role of background knowledge in text processing and
comprehension.
Coady as cited by Jonz ( 25-30) presents us with a psycholinguistic
model of reading in which he illustrates the interaction of cognitive
tasks with background knowledge in reading task. Coady defines the
term ‘conceptual ability’ as general intellectual capacities and process
strategies as various subcomponents of reading skills, which also
apply to oral language. Regarding background knowledge, he
believes that it will become an important variable when we notice
students with Western background of some kind learn English faster,
on average, than those without such kind of background. Carrel and
Eisterhold (553-573) consider language background knowledge as an
important factor in comprehending a text. They express this
importance by saying that efficient comprehension requires the ability
to relate textual materials to ones own knowledge. Comprehending
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words, sentences and entire texts involves more than just relying on
ones linguistic knowledge.
Further in their article, Carrel and Eisterhold (43-59) talk of two types
of background knowledge: formal and informal backgrounds. Formal
knowledge refers to the reader’s knowledge of the rhetorical
organizational structures of different types of texts; content
knowledge refers to the content area of a text. They also believe that
reader’s failure to provide the proper formal and particularly content
knowledge (Schema) would result in various degrees of non-
comprehension.
Farhady (43-59), in an attempt to examine the importance of learner
characteristics in relation to learner performance on ESL tests, comes
up with significant differences between his subjects with different
major fields. He also points out that this difference as a variable
should be esteemed in the tests that are designed in such a way as
to refrain from pushing any sort of injustice against learners in a
heterogeneous class.
Discussing the cognitive process involved in reading a text, Carrrel
and Eisterhold (43-59) distinguished two basic modes of information
processes: bottom-up and top-down. They further elaborate on how
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these two modes function in a schema theory model. Schemata
according to them are hierarchically organized, from most general at
the top to most specific at the bottom. As these bottom-level
schemata converge into higher level, more general schemata, these,
too, become activated. Top-down processing on the other hand,
occurs as the system makes general predictions based on higher
level, general schemata and then searches the input for information
to fit into these partially satisfied higher order schemata.
The interactive view of processing a text recognizes the roles of both
the reader and the written text in reading comprehension. It is neither
top-down nor bottom-up. A reader has to compensate for deficiencies
in one or more of the knowledge sources by using information from
remaining knowledge sources (schemata). Those sources that are
more concerned with concepts and semantic relationships are called
higher-level stimuli; sources dealing with the print itself, which is
phonics, sight words and other word-attack skills are called lower-
level stimuli.
A reader’s background knowledge including purposes, beliefs,
values, life experience, culture, vocabulary, story knowledge, wrong
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knowledge or conceptual knowledge has an overriding influence upon
the reader’s development of meaning and reading comprehensions.
The reader makes inferences based on prior knowledge when explicit
information is not provided. Some readers may draw wrong
conclusions or have conflicting interpretations. It then becomes the
person’s ‘best guess’ as to what value to put in the schema slot.
Gernsbacher as cited in Goldman and Rakestraw (311-335)
perceives this as a specific process of the reader laying conceptual
foundations, developing new ideas by mapping new to previous
information, erecting a new structure when incongruity exists.
Adams and Bruce (2-25) suggest that incorrect inferences are made
because of a lack of relevant vocabulary knowledge, but also of the
extensional (overall text meaning at a macro level) and intentional
meanings the reader assigns to an idea within the text. For example,
it is good for birds to eat worms. If the reader has the correct
intentional meanings, comprehension becomes easier. A reader with
inaccurate or atypical definitions may incorrectly infer meaning (Adam
and Bruce 12). It is not enough just to possess accurate prior
knowledge, but the reader must also make reliable inferences when
accessing that knowledge (Norris and Philips 391-412).
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Reading comprehension, therefore, needs the activation, focusing,
maintaining and refining of ideas towards developing interpretations
that are plausible, interconnected and complete. In addition, there is a
sense in which the reader’s comprehension involves two other facets:
the reader knowing (either tacitly or consciously) that his or her
interpretation for a text is plausible, interconnected and completely
make sense and ideally, the reader’s evaluation of the transfer value
of any acquired understanding (Rupley 226). Below are
representations of schemata of semantic networks for chair and buy.
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Fig. 1 Figure: 1 illustrates the semantic features of schemata-a partial
semantic network for chair. It shows how chair is a schema and also
how a member of other classes relate to each other (functional
furniture).
Furniture
Decorative Functional
Chair
Dining room Easy chair
Stool Couch Table
Seat
Back
Legs Office
Executive Secretarial
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Slot for the buyer scenario
Fig.2
Fig.2 illustrates a partial representation of a possible buy schema
(Adapted from: Taylor, B., Hark, S. L. and Pearson, P.D. (13)
Rupley (63-80) is of the view that a schema may be changed,
elaborated on, or discarded as one proceeds through text. The reader
comprehends by using existing knowledge, which can change when
the reader encounters new information. Although changes in
Buyer Seller Object Meduim Place
Stoves, agencies, show rooms, and offices
Card, credit card, draft, loan and check chaft loan banker
Almost anything
Any one with something to sell
Some one with financial resources
Buy
Pleasing tries
Entrance Out come Sales pitch Awareness of buyer need
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schemata happen slowly, they can be considered new learning. New
learning may result from modifying an existing schema or from
creating a new one. An important feature of schema selection is
inference. It plays a major role in filling slots and once a slot is filled,
inference influences the filling of other slots.
Another important issue we need to discuss under background
knowledge is metacognition. In addition to using background
knowledge to construct meaning, readers have to monitor their
comprehension and know whether the process is breaking down.
This monitoring of comprehension is called metacognition.
Good readers are aware of what they can do to construct meaning
and apply corrective strategies when comprehension is not occurring.
Crucial to metacognition are knowing how to achieve the goal that
has not been accomplished and knowing when a goal has been
recorded. Therefore, it is important that readers have purposes that
enable them to monitor their comprehension. This should help them
become aware of what they are doing, and why they are doing it. In
addition, teachers should model how to check, monitor and test
hypothesis. Metacognitive training makes students become aware of
what good readers do when reading for meaning. It enables them to
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employ strategies to monitor their own reading and focus on
comprehension.
Reader’s metacognition in addition to reader’s background
knowledge is an essential element of reading comprehension.
Teaching strategies for constructing meaning from text, monitoring
comprehension and providing opportunities to apply metacognitive
strategies to learning are features of teaching comprehension.
Carrel and Eisterhold (43-59) distinguish three different dimensions of
schemata: linguistic (knowledge of the language), content (knowledge
of the topic), and formal (previous knowledge of the rhetorical
structures of different types of text). He contends that each of these
dimensions plays a role in the interaction among the text and the
reader and that when one or all are missing, reading can be
problematic. In a study that examines text type (stories and essays)
and comprehension, Horiba (223-267) reports that non-native readers
are affected by text type.
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Motivation
Motivation can generally be defined as an individual’s desire for
information/something and enjoyment, which propels the working
system into action, sustains it throughout the duration of task, and
terminates the activity as the initial purpose is fulfilled or modified.
According to Mackey (90), most theories agree that the more and
better the motivation, the better the learning; that an incentive of
reward is to be preferred to one of punishment; that hope of success
is a better motivation than fear of failure.
Guthrie and Wigfield (403-422) define reading motivation as the
interaction of individual’s goals, values and beliefs with the topics,
processes and outcomes of reading. It is a temporary task-specific
source of energy, dependent on individual reading goals. Motivated
readers do so with purpose, a desire for understanding, a sense of
self-efficacy and ownership.
Motivation is an imponderable variable in the acquisition of language-
any language (Baldeh 9). In fact, there have been extravagant claims
that the only thing that matters in language learning (reading
inclusive) is motivation. The crux of the matter is, however, that any
teacher worth his salt will constantly strive to augment the motivation
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of his students/pupils in order to turn out eminently successful
language learners (Baldeh 9).
Children learn language because they need to communicate. Their
oral language is continuously polished and improved to make it more
like the language of their family and subculture because the closer it
comes to the language of those around them, the more effective it is
in meeting their communicative need. A communicative need is the
most important motivation in reading as well as in speech. In our
society, the non-reader is seriously handicapped because there is
limited graphic communication. Streets and buses are labeled, letters
are written, and packages are printed something on. Most children
quickly become aware that all around them is language that can only
be understood by readers. For some children, the need to learn is so
great that they virtually teach themselves.
Children from highly literate homes have the additional stimulation of
large numbers of books of all kinds and the frequent example of
adults and siblings spending time reading. Children who read
frequently become aware of the pleasure and entertainment reading
may provide. A highly motivated child from a literate home may be
able to carry his enthusiasms through an extended learning period
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during which little communication is involved. The material he is
reading may have little or no message or literacy quality, the hours
spent drilling on skill exercise may be unrelated to any
communicative goal the child can discern. But he is sustained
through all this by the knowledge that at the end of the process, he
will be a member of the prestigious society - he will be a reader.
For many children, however, the relationship between reading and
previous language experience may be temporarily or permanently
forgotten unless reading has an early and continuing communicative
function. Internal desires (intrinsic reasons) or external (extrinsic)
forces are factors that motivate readers to read and comprehend text.
Cultural influences around reading, such as home environment,
social atmosphere, and cognitive strategies also play a role in reading
engagement. We now discuss the two types of motivation -
intrinsic/integral motivation and extrinsic/instrumental motivation.
Intrinsic motivation comes from within the reader. Intrinsically
motivated readers have a learning-goal orientation: they read for its
own sake, to satisfy curiosity, or for the challenge or involvement
(Guthrie 432-445, Guthrie and Wigfield 403-422). There is increased
motivation and comprehension when learners read to answer their
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own questions (Alexander and Jettson 285-310). This sense of self -
determination encourages students to engage more deeply, take
risks, create their own learning opportunities, and to keep plugging
along the face of reading challenges.
In instrumental/extrinsic motivation, the reader reads the material or
text for some utilitarian purpose - to do an assignment, to pass
examination or to carry out a compulsory task. Other aims of extrinsic
motivations include: recognition, competition, and work avoidance
(the reader uses strategies to reduce the amount of reading).
Extrinsically motivated readers do so to accomplish a performance
goal rather than a learning goal. The strongest extrinsically motivating
factors are grades, approval, incentives and recognition (Guthrie 432-
445, Guthrie and Wigfield 403-422). Motivations develop and evolve
within individual readers and increase as the reader develops a
sense of agency over his reading and purpose for reading.
‘Motivating from without’ happens with extrinsic factors, or making
something interesting to students. ‘Motivating from within’ is when
students discover the benefits for themselves, have a sense of
agency and efficacy in the task. These readers are more inclined to
be “knowledge seeking” (Alexander and Jettson 298). The teacher is,
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therefore, a key player in promoting either intrinsic or extrinsic factors
that help to engage readers.
Computer-based activities can increase intrinsic motivations by
allowing students to customize their work, and increase the control,
curiosity and challenge of the task. At-risk populations may also
experience an increase in self-motivation and self-interest when using
computer environments that provide graphics, sound and other
special effects, although some of these bells and whistles may be
more extrinsically motivating or even confusing for some learners
(Dehelin 2006). Some computer based educational programmes
have been likened to ‘edutainment’ with their attendant glitzy, fun,
arcade-like atmosphere (Kamil, Intrator, and Klim 771-788) but may
provide additional advantages in promoting reader motivation and
interest. Computer-based environments facilitate learning and
achievement, and also have the potential to impact the emotion and
attitude of the learner. By providing motivation and structural interest,
learning becomes less of a chore, less boring and more fulfilling.
Therefore, computer-based instructional tools have the potential to
provide active engagement of the reader, the ability to find immediate
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definitions for unknown words, and a “motivational bounce” needed to
nudge students in the right direction (Kamil et al 779)
Guthrie and Wigfield (403-422) suggest eight principles that increase
motivations for reading. They include: conceptual themes, real-word
interactions, self-direction, interesting text, social collaboration, self-
expression, cognitive strategy instruction, and curricular coherence.
All of these principles can be provided with both linear and non-linear
texts to promote engagement and motivation in reading.
Interest
Interest is very important in text processing and reading
comprehension (Alexander and Jettson (285-310). Interest has been
defined as an interactive relationship between the reader and the
environment and is comprised of both cognitive and affective
components (Hidi and Harackiewicz 151-179). Writers who have
attempted to define levels of readability have agreed that children can
read a material that is very difficult for them if their interest is intense.
Reading materials must also be conceptually suitable for children. It
is more important that the conceptual difficulty of reading materials be
controlled than that vocabulary is controlled. Words are more easily
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learned than ideas; on the other hand, neither words nor ideas will be
retained if the ideas are not understood.
Interest can be described as situational and individual, or as
emotional and cognitive. Expository text has the ability to arouse
situational and individual (or personal) interest, as well as creating
emotional and cognitive interest. Emotional interest according to
Kintsch as cited in Alexander and Jettson (270) is the affective impact
created by the text, and is a result of how the reader personally
relates to or identifies with the text. It is a gut-level or emotional
response. Cognitive interest refers to the intellectual aspects
captured by the reader’s mind or thoughts.
Situational interest is a more transient or temporary interest
associated with increased arousal or attention (Alexander, Kulikowich
and Schulze 313-337). It is associated with the “tantalizing tidbits”
that authors sometimes use to grasp the reader’s attention or make
the text more interesting, but have little or nothing to do with the
overall main ideas of the text. Individual interest on the other hand
describes the reader’s preference for a specific topic or subject
matter. While situational interest is more permanent, and is highly
associated with the reader’s self-schemata, individual interest can act
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as a catalyst for the reader to pursue more information on a topic
(Alexander and Jettson 290). Most readers enjoy more personally
involving, less technical expository text.
To sum up, material that provide opportunities for children to learn to
read should be selected with the following criteria in mind:
1. They must contain real language as close as possible to the
language the child already knows.
2. They must emphasize the most common patterns and sequences
of oral language. The most expected phenomenon should occur
with the greatest frequency.
3. Undue complexity should be avoided.
4. Ambiguity should be avoided.
5. Vocabulary control can be the sole means of sequencing
materials.
6. Children’s interest must be considered and choice offered to them.
7. Conceptual difficulty should be controlled.
Summary of Learner Factors
This section of the literature review has thus emphasized the
importance of a good match between reader and text, and the
interdependent nature of learner variables like background
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knowledge, motivation, interest, self-concept, reading strategy,
gender and cultural background. Reading comprehension is impacted
by the reader’s inferences of the author’s intended meaning. Intrinsic
motivation is more lasting than extrinsic motivation, and may be
precipitated by situational as well as individual interest of the reader.
A review on the effect of culture on reading comprehension shows
that individuals who read materials related directly to their culture
spend less time reading and they recall more information. On the
influence of gender on reading comprehension, most of the reviewed
materials show that while females performed better on texts that are
female oriented in nature like midwives, sad story and housewife’s
dilemma, males performed better on topics that are masculine
oriented in nature. Based on this, it was concluded that the topic of a
text is an important factor in explaining gender-based differences in
second language reading and comprehension.
Empirical Studies under Text Factors
Textual features provided by the author help the learner to make
connections within the text and influence the way the text is
interpreted. Reading comprehension is facilited if the text is well
organized and the structure is apparent to the reader (Armbruster
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202-217). This is especially important if text is unfamiliar to the
reader. Readers use text structure to find key ideas, but depending
on content schema and text schema of the reader, some structures
are easier to read than others. When text construction facilitates the
reader’s acquisition of information, it is known as ‘considerate’ text
(Ambruster 210). Hence, in this section, the structural features of text
that help to make it more considerate are discussed. They are
presented in this regard.
Text Genre
Text genre is an important factor in text processing and
comprehension. Text genres are expressed in linear and non-linear
forms, and are narrative, expository or a mix of the two. They can
have informative, entertaining and persuasive purposes, depending
on the intent of the author and the goal of the reader (Gordon 116;
Just and Carpenter 400-424). Studies have been conducted to show
the effect of text genre on reading comprehension. For example, the
researches carried out by (Gordon 100; Singer, Harkness & Stewart,
199-228) show that expository texts are less familiar, less predictable
and less ‘considerate’ than narrative texts. However, Zabrucky and
Moore (691-710) believe that reader variables, such as age, interest,
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motivation and culture influence reading comprehension in all genres.
Their research on the comprehension of narrative and expository text
between older (mean age 69) and younger adults (mean age 22.5)
shows that the younger students had better recall for both genres,
especially narrative text. Total reading times for narrative text was
similar between both groups, but longer for expository text in older
adults. It was summarized that expository passages were more
disruptive to older adults reading because they were less likely to use
reading strategies to selectively re-read problematic text.
On the other hand, researchers have found that older readers had
better comprehension of expository texts because they were more
familiar with the genre (Goldman and Rakestraw as cited in Gorden
(115).
Syntax and Text Processing
Syntax has to do with the combination and arrangement of words to
form different sentences, clauses and phrases. Studies have shown
that text disabled children have deficiencies in their application as
well as understanding of syntax. Vogel (25-34) demonstrated that text
processing impaired children had deficits in areas measuring “the
syntax of expressive language” and found a significant correlation
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between productive syntax scores and reading comprehension
scores, while Anderson (60) revealed that poor readers exhibit
syntactic deficiencies in the written language.
Martohardjono ,Othegu, Gabriele, Molone, Pyrzanowski, Troseth,
Silvia, Rivero and Schutzman (23) present two approaches with
respect to impaired readers and the source of their inferior
performance. Researchers, according to them, who associate poor
readers’ difficulties with underlying phonological processing deficits,
support the Processing Deficit Hypothesis (PDH). The PDH states
that unskilled readers do not experience deficits in representing or
processing syntactic information but do experience difficulty in
processing and retaining phonological information in working
memory. This deficiency occurring at the level of working memory
keeps information from being delivered at the necessary pace and
with the required precision for higher level processing. For example,
Shankweiler and Craurn (260-288) propose that difficulty in the
processing of complex syntactic structures should be interpreted as
difficulty at the phonological rather than the syntactic level.
The Structural Deficit Hypothesis (SDH) attributes difficulties in the
acquisition of text processing to syntactic processing deficiencies.
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The SDH claims that an absence of grammatical knowledge or lack of
processing ability interferes with higher level text comprehension.
Under the SDH the acquisition of syntactic structures is staged and
gradual with inherently simpler structures preceding more complex
ones in language development. It is the more complex structures
that beginners and poor readers have more difficulty with. The
criterion for the complexity of syntactic structure is based on the claim
that one form or construction is simpler than other children can
produce and comprehend it first. For example, a sentence consisting
of both a main clause and a subordinate clause such as
“The woman saw a man who ate a sandwich” is
considered more complex than a co-ordinate structure such as
“The woman saw a man and he ate a sandwich”
because the former comes later in acquisition than the later.
Investigation into the relationship between syntactic processing and
syntactic knowledge has also included normal populations classified
into good and poor readers. Bentin, Deutsch and Liberman (147-
179) identified syntactic differences between good and poor readers.
In a three-experiment study they sought to examine the relationship
between reading ability and syntactic awareness in children. Unlike
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the vast majority of previous studies, auditory rather than written
stimuli were used. The result indicates that the difference between
the correct identification of syntactically deviant and syntactically
accurate sentences was smaller in the group of children (with severe
reading disability) than in either good readers or relatively poor
readers. Good, as well as poor readers performed better than the
reading disabled children in the judgment task. According to Bentin
et al, this apparent inferiority of the later group cannot be explained
only by a reduction of the participants’ short-term memory span since
first, very short and simple sentences were used; second, when
tested formally all the children repeated sentences verbatim without
any problem; and third, the nature of the stimuli in question did not
involve the manipulation of subtle syntactic aspects but rather
included straight forward syntactic violations of the subject predicate
relation and word order. They argue that inadequate phonological
processing does not justify and explain all aspects of poor reading
since in their study poor readers were nevertheless good decoders.
The linguistic deficiency in these children is thus ascribed to syntax
rather than phonology.
Let us have a look at the following forms in the following categories.
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Category A
(i) The man came.
(ii) The children promised the lonely woman companionship
(iii) One of the new pupils went into the office of the headmistress
with many interesting books about the animal called tortoise.
(iv) The gardener, with an old hoe in one hand and a large stick in
the other hand, swiftly killed the poor little goat, chewing grasses on
the lawn.
The four sentences in category A even though they vary in length are all good examples of a simple sentence.
Category B
(i) The boy came when I called.
(ii) He asked me to give him the novel, which I bought.
The sentences in category B are good examples of a complex
sentence. A complex sentence is made of one main sentence
and one or more subordinate clauses.
Category C
(i) The boy came in and shut the door behind.
(ii) Man proposes but God disposes.
(iii) He failed ten of his courses so he repeated a semester.
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The three sentences in category C are examples of a compound
sentence.
Category D
1 (a) The girl standing beside the lady had a blue dress.
(b) The girl had a blue dress and she was standing beside the lady.
Though the two sentences are semantically the same, sentence
‘b’ is clearer. Sentence 1 (a) contains a reduce clause
separating the verb ‘had’ from its subject. It may be interpreted
as though the extended version is: “The girl was standing
beside the lady and the lady had a blue dress.”
2 (a) John’s father was anything but pleased.
(b) John’s father was not pleased at all.
3 (a) If only David had known, the dog was quite tame.
(b) The dog was quite tame, but David did not know that.
Both items in version ‘a’ contain what might be termed idiomatic
concealed negatives. Both convey negative meaning without
any formal negative on the surface.
4 (a) Paul saw the boy.
(b) The boy was seen by Paul.
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Though the two sentences are semantically the same, sentence 4 ‘a’
is easier to understand.
5 (a) The children can be stubborn at times.
(b) Children are known to be stubborn at times.
Model auxiliaries such as can, might, could etc cause comprehension
difficulties for some readers. The two sentences - 5a and 5b are
semantically the same but sentence b is easier due to the absence of
modal auxiliary ‘can’.
All the sentences in the different categories are arranged differently
with words to convey meaning. However, some sentences are easier
to comprehend due to the way words are arranged. For this reason,
most people, especially specialists in reading feel intuitively that the
more a passage is in terms of its sentence structure, the harder it will
be to comprehend.
The summary of the five aspects of syntactic complexity is presented
in the table below:
Five types of difficulty related to syntax
Active versus passive verb
Active verbs are easier to read and to recall than passive verbs, and
they are less likely to be misunderstood when a negative statement is
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made. For example: ‘the chairs were taken by the boys’ is harder
than ‘The boys took the chairs.’ Similarly, “The pay-slips were not
printed by the computer is harder than ‘The computer did not print the
pay-slips.’
Nominalization versus active verb
Active verbs are easier to comprehend and to recall than an abstract
noun form from the verb. For example, ‘The reduction in the length of
the string will produce an increase in the speed of the pendulum’ is
harder than: ‘If you reduce the length of the string you will increase
the speed of the pendulum.’
Modal auxiliaries
Generally speaking, modal auxiliaries such as might, could, may,
should, ought, would etc cause comprehension difficulties for poor
readers, and make recall more difficult for fluent readers.
Clauses per sentence
Generally speaking, the more clauses there are in a sentence, the
more difficult it is to understand.
Compression and substitution
Sentence length is not always correlated positively with text difficulty.
Compression reduces sentence length but can make comprehension
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more difficult. For example: ‘The boat I bought was green’ may be
less clear than: ‘The boat which I bought was green’ or again: ‘So
did Nanu’ may actually mean: Nanu too had a problem’
Again, let us consider this sentence from a science worksheet as
cited by Harrison (1980:22).
Repeat, using the same quantities of thiosulphate solution, distilled
water and acid, and the same procedure as above, only first at 30oc,
then at 40oc then, at 50oc, and finally at 60oc.
The one-word main clause, ‘repeat’, precedes five subordinate
clauses of various types, which together are thirty-one words long.
The main clause is in fact highly compressed. It means repeat the
previous experiment, and the instructions for that are eighty words
long. The point here is that the sentence exemplified two types of
difficulty. A passage can be difficult if it is very complex in structure
because it puts too great a load on short-term memory and
information processing capacity. However, it can also be difficult if it
is too compressed and the reader has too few clues to allow her to
reconstruct the intended message quickly and correctly. In the
present case, the child has to cope with both kinds of difficulty,
complex and missing information, and one wonders whether the
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teacher might not have made life easier for his pupils if he had written
the instructions in a style and formant which were near those of a
recipe book than a fifth-year book (Harrison 80). Again, a sentence
may neither be complex nor simple but at the same time difficult to
comprehend because of the way words are arranged. If we use the
sentence: the girl standing beside the lady had a blue dress, as an
example, we will notice that the verb ‘had’ is separated from its
subject. This makes it possible for some readers to understand the
sentence thus:
“The girl was standing beside the lady and the lady had a blue dress.”
Some researchers have provided some research findings that
concern aspects of syntactic complexity that appear to cause
difficulties for readers. For example Coleman (247-250) and Dawkins
(75) have provided convenient summaries of the relevant research.
Harrison is of the view, however, that these five aspects of syntactic
complexity don’t necessarily relate to flaws in the author’s writing
ability. A writer might well need to express a complex thought using a
complex sentence structure; similarly he might need to make frequent
use of model auxiliaries such as might and could. The point here is
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not that it is wrong to use these, but rather that children do tend to
find sentences containing them difficult to understand.
There are occasions when simple prose and fewer modal verbs can
increase comprehension. In a study of oral lecturing by (Rosenshine
69), it was discovered that an excessive proportion of qualifying
words such as rather, few, some and more or less led to poorer
comprehension. Similarly, the use of what were called “probability
words” such as could be, might, usually, possibly and sometimes led
to laziness and vagueness. This in turn led to poorer reading
comprehension. Lecturers who gave similar talks to parallel groups,
but who avoided too many qualifiers and probability words, were
more successful in conveying their ideas to the students.
From what has been said in this subtitle, we can comfortably
conclude that syntax which has to do with the way words are
arranged to form sentences is an important factor that determines the
readability of a text. The present study has a lot in common with the
studies under review. A socio-cognitive-based text-processing model
guides both the reviewed studies and the present study. They make
use of primary school pupils as the subjects. However the reviewed
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studies fail to include other variables like sex, environment and
cohesion in the study.
Conceptual Issues under Text Factors
Conceptual issues under text factors are variables that are
associated with comprehension, but studies have not been carried
out on them. Such factors are presented in this regard.
Advance Organizer
The term ‘advance organizer’ was coined by Ausubel (267-272) to
describe introductory paragraphs, which are used to help the readers
by summarizing the content and structure of the succeeding sections
of a textbook. Ausubel’s advance organizer served a more specific
function in relation to the conceptual content of his passage, in that
they presented general concepts that were subsequently developed
more fully, or served the function of supplying bridging concepts to
help the reader see how the new learning related to what she already
knew. In some text books especially in American ones, advance
organizers are normally set apart from the rest of the text by being
printed in italics, or by being surrounded by a border. A number of
experimental studies have confirmed the value of advance organizers
in enhancing learning but other researchers have found that in certain
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circumstances organizer material can be more effective when it is
placed after the passage rather than before it. This is in harmony
with the results of the subheading research reported above: if the
organizer material has the effect of pre-empting and narrowing the
subsequent reading of the child, and causes him to focus only on the
material prepared for the organizer, then he may read the whole
passage less thoroughly, and end up with a poor understanding of it
than someone who was simply given the passage and told to read it
carefully for a test.
A similar phenomenon appears to occur in the use of questions
placed before (pre-questions), during (interspersed questions) and
after (post-questions) the passage to which they relate. An
impressively large and often confusing research literature suggests
that on balance it is more effective to have interspersed questions or
post-questions than pre-questions. Again, this seems to be because
pre-questions may have the effect of encouraging readers to
concentrate on certain aspects of the passage – those to which the
questions directly relate – while they pay less attention to other
aspects that may in reality be equally important.
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It is perhaps worth noting that questions themselves differ in the
extent to which they are likely to cause readers to recognize their
understanding of a text in a profitable way. Rothkopt (325-336) used
the term methemagenic to describe activities on the part of the
reader, which give rise to learning. He felt that if a reader was
required to operate on the text in some way, for example by
answering a question, reciting a section aloud, or paraphrasing it,
there was a much greater chance of the material being transferred
from short-term memory into long-term memory. Clearly certain tasks
or questions will cause a deeper level of methemagenic activity, and
consequently better learning. A factual question which can be
answered by simply transforming a sentence from the passage
almost verbatim requires a shallower level of processing than one
which requires a paraphrase in the child’s own words (Harrison 28).
He is of the view that the search for synonyms tends to require a
much deeper level of verbal processing and this in turn tends to
produce better learning. According to him, the idea is not a new one;
it confirms our intuitions. What is important is the potentially striking
difference between a reader’s passive exposure to a text and the
result of methemagenic activities being applied to it. The concept of
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the ‘active interrogation of a text’, which is developed in the Bullock
report as cited by Harrison (42) appears to have strong support from
this area of psychological research.
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Cohesion and Text Processing
An area of linguistic structure of the sentence is cohesion among
sentences. The term ‘cohesion’, therefore, has been defined by
many people in a number of ways. Widdowson as cited in Nodaushan
defines it in terms of the distinction that is made between the
illocutionary act and the proposition. In his view as cited in
Nodaushan (2006), proposition, when linked together form a ‘text’
where illocutionary acts when related to each other, create different
kinds of discourse.
According to Halliday and Hassan (87), cohesion and register enable
us to create a text. Register is concerned with what a text means. It
is defined by Halliday and Hassan as ‘the set of semantic
configuration that is typically associated with a particular class of
context of situation, and defined the substance of the text.’
Cohesion, as contrasted with register is not concerned with what a
text means. Rather, it refers to a set of meaning relations that exist
within the text. These relations are not of the kinds that link the
components of a sentence and they differ from sentential structure.
The discovery of these meaning relations is crucial to its
interpretation. For instance, in the following text:
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Jane bought a new book. She put it in her drawer.
The interpretation of the elements she and it is dependent on the
lexical items Jane and book. So, cohesion is in the semantic relation
that is setup between these elements.
The function of cohesion according to Halliday and Hassan is to
relate one part of a text to another part of the same text.
Consequently, it lends continuity to the text. By providing this kind of
text continuity, cohesion enables the reader or listener to supply all
the components of the picture to its interpretation. They hold that
cohesion in its normal form is the presupposition of something that
has gone before in the discourse, whether in the immediately
preceding sentence or not. Two types of presupposition exist. They
are: anaphoric and cataphoric presuppositions.
The anaphora is a term used in a discourse to make reference to an
already existing entity. It is a subsequent reference to an already
existing entity. It is a signaling mechanism that is always used in
pointing backwards to something already in existence in a text.
� The brothers quarreled over trivial matter long ago. That is
why the two brothers never visit each other’s house.
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� Many married women never improved. They don’t take
advice and so they keep making the same mistake. It is a
terrible shame.
� Uche came here with a message. The message is for you.
Anaphora is endophoric, not exophoric. An exophoric expression
is situational. That is, it is used in pointing to a referent outside a
text. An endophoric expression (which is both the anophora and
cataphora are part of) is a textual reference. Such references are
made to entities within a text, and not outside it.
Fig: 3
Like the anophora, a cataphora is used for referencing. Suffice it to
say that it is also a process of pointing to something in a discourse. It
is used to refer to what is to be said. That is, it points forward.
Presupposition
Exophora Endophora
Anaphora
Cataphora
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� My arguments are as follows: that since Virgin Mary housed
God for nine months in her womb, it is in order to say that she
is sinless.
� It never should have happened. She went out and left the baby
unattended
� This should interest you if you are still interested in drama: the
College Theater Group will act The Parliament of Vultures
tomorrow.
In the sentences above, ‘my arguments’ is a cataphora as it points to
the fact that Mary housed God for nine months in her womb and for
this reason, she is sinless. Again ‘it’ is a cataphora as it is presented
before the actual referent – she went out and the baby was left
unattended. Finally, ‘this’ points to The Parliament of the Vultures
that will be acted tomorrow.
The cataphora indeed drives its interpretation from something that
follows. The cataphora is not frequently used in a discourse, unlike
the anophora that is often used. Words that are used as anophora
can also be used as cataphora depending on how they are used.
� The provost is from Azia. He is a kind man.
� He can be caring, if Peter means to.
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In both sentences he is used to point backward in the first sentence
and in the second sentence, he is used to point forward. He,
therefore, is anophorically and cataphorically used. A distinction
arises (that is, between the anophora and cataphora) if there is an
explicitly presupposing item present, whose referent obviously either
precedes or follows. But if the cohesive agent used is lexical, with the
same lexical item occurring twice over, the second occurrence has to
take its interpretation from the first; the first cannot be said to point
forward to the second.
John leads John to school everyday.
If for example, John follows John as in the above sentence, there will
be no possible distinction between anophora and cataphora. Both
appear elusive to many L2 learners of English.
Halliday and Hasan recognize five types of cohesion devices in
English and in the Lexicogrammatical system of the language. They
are reference, substitution, ellipsis, conjunction and lexical cohesion.
Below are sentences to show different cohesive ties.
Reference: Obi’s uncle is a medical doctor. He is a pediatrician. (|He
refers or points back to Obi’s uncle).
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Substitution: Jane is always studious. She never goes beyond
the third position after each examination. (She replaces the noun,
Jane.)
Lexical: Green plants grow towards the light. This is because plants
need light for energy. (Light is the lexical item that should go with
“plants need.”)
Ellipsis: Children like every other human being should be loved,…
and respected.(‘Cared for’ is to complete the intentionally unfinished
item.) Everything is set. The prayer is about to start …. (A relevant
statement is required also to fill the slot. For example “let everybody
participate fully in the prayer”)
Conjunction connective: The graduate student read too many
articles for her literature review. Consequently, it took much longer
than expected for her to write the paper. (Consequently links two
ideas in the two sentences together.)
At this point, we can comfortably repeat that cohesion is a set of
semantic resources for linking sentences. It is the set of possibilities
that exist in the language for making the text hang together. Other
sample connectives are:
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Homophora (the), deixis (this, these), co-coordinators (and),
enumeratives (for example), sequencers (first), expectation deniers
(however) ,result injectors (hence) , condition indicators ( in this case)
causal markers (for this reason),compromisers(generally),diminishers
(slightly), maximisers (greatly), emphasizers (infact), exemplifiers
(such as), illustrative indicators (for example), reformulators (in other
words) ,time relaters (at last), place relaters (when), contrastive
markers (however), adversative markers (anyway), comparative
(like), analogy (likewise) and others.
These explicit cues help the reader relate one idea to another and
add to textual cohesion. Goldman and Rakestraw (311-335) and
Armbrusher (202 – 217) would refer to these connectives as a form of
local cohesion; a ‘linguistic morta’ used to hold ideas together.
Vocabulary
Ever since the nineteenth century, when the first attempts were made
to describe the comparative difficult levels of books, vocabulary has
been considered to be the most important factor that determines text
difficulty. Surveys of readers’ opinions going back to the 1930s
(Chall) as cited by (Harrison 19) support the view that vocabulary
plays a large part in whether a person finds a book readerable or not.
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According to Harrison, research studies have consistently found
vocabulary to be the surest single predictor of text difficulty. There
are many ways of describing or attempting to measure vocabulary
difficulty but two of the most common ones are word length and word
frequency.
Word length is usually measured in letters per word or syllables per
word, and word frequency by how often the word tends to occur in
ordinary usage. The longer a word is, the more likely it is to be a
comparatively rare one, and vice versa. Thus, when a child
complains that a book has too many long words, he is not simply
expressing frustration at having words with many syllables; he is
rather, making a statement about his lack of familiarity with the words
used; and their meanings. Long words also tend to be abstract in
their meaning, rather concrete.
We have said that the frequency of a word in a text determines how
difficult the meaning of the word is. But it would be naïve to assume
that a sentence such as ‘If he is as I am, I am to be as he’ is suitable
for an infant reading book, simply because it has no word of more
than two letters. In normal writing most of the words that are used
most frequently are ones, which bind other words together – the
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structural elements of a sentence. For example, such words as the,
and, in, a, to, are, and not do not carry meaning in the same way as
do most nouns and adjectives. They function more as operators,
which determine the network of relationships between the words,
which carry more meaning.
What might appear to be a confounding factor in this argument is the
point that many of the most frequent nouns and verbs have a great
many different meanings. For example, Webster’s Revised
Unabridged Dictionary lists twenty-four (24) meanings for ‘top’ and
has 54 for ‘set’, not counting dozens more verb phrases in which it
has further uses. This suggests that a word such as set might
actually be more difficult to construe than a less frequently used word
that at least has an unequivocal meaning.
Ambiguity and vagueness
Ambiguity and vagueness make reading and comprehension difficult.
If we decide to look at ambiguity that is created due to lexical factors,
we consider polysemy and homonymy. They are the greatest source
of ambiguity in understanding the meaning of vocabulary. Polysemy
refers to a word with different shades of meaning. One thing to note
about polysemy is that all the various meanings derive the same
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source etymologically. The word ‘spring’ has different meanings
depending on the context it is used.
Fig: 4
It follows from the above diagram that a simple sentence such as: ‘I
have seen the spring’ is not simple in meaning because we want to
know what you have seen. Have you seen the metal, season,
movement or source of water?
Again, the word ‘board’, for example, may mean a plank, a tablet, a
table, food, people and others.
S3 Source of water (n)
S4 a mechanical device (n)
S2 Leap up (v)
S1 Season (n)
Spring
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Board
Fig: 5
Normally, only one of these will fit into a given context but
occasionally there may be some confusion in the readers’ mind. For
example, the simple sentence ‘Bow to the board’ is ambiguous
because we do not know whether we should bow to the table, the
food on the table, the plank, or the people sitting at the council to
name but these. That was the reason why when Oliver Twist in
Oliver Twist was told to bow to the board and seeing no board but the
table bowed to it.
Homonyms on the other hand are words written in the same way.
|They sound alike but they have different meanings. Good examples
include:
S1 a thin plank (n) S2 a tablet (n)
S3 a table (n) S4 food (n) served at the table
S5 persons (n) sitting at the council table
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Pupil: A young learner in school
Pupil: Circular opening in the centre of the Iris of the eyes.
Break: A pause for rest between activities, i.e. the period of
time when you stop what you are doing in order to rest,
eat, etc. as in ‘I have worked all day without a break’.
Break: to separate into two parts as in ‘The child dropped the
plate and it broke.’
Light: not heavy
Light: the energy from the sun
Other examples are:
Page page vice vice
Pen pen plain plain
Box box dear dear
Bank bank till till
Boil boil faint faint
Ball ball
Both words have the same form but differ semantically. Thus the
simple sentence:
‘I have been to the bank’ is not as simple as it appears. This is
because my listeners may begin to wonder whether I mean I have
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been to the bank where money is kept or whether I mean bank of the
river.
Vagueness is a statement that allows for several interpretations. In
other words, it is an expression with more than two expressions or
with more than two interpretations. Human beings have the problem
of explaining what they mean. The reason is that many terms are
inherently vague and cannot be precisely explained. Consider this
sentence:
‘I need a good woman to marry.’
A lot of meanings can be derived from this sentence. ‘Good woman’
can mean one of the following:
A woman who is morally good,
A woman who is intellectually sound,
A woman who is socially sound,
A woman who is politically sound,
A woman who is psychologically, physically, emotionally or
sexually sound.
Because none of these qualities is specified, we can conclude that
the sentence is vague. In real life, whenever such a sentence is
directed to us, our response will be: ‘Good woman in what aspect’?
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The problem is compounded when we look at other phrases
containing good. For example, “A good child’, describes either a child
who behaves well or a child who works well or even a child who is full
of realistic ambitions.
Again, the possessive construction is a source of vagueness. For
example:
‘Obi’s car’ can be used to describe the car Obi made, the car he
owns, the car he has been driving, the car he was using when he
came back. Obi’s food could mean, the food he cooked, the food he
owns, the food he has been cooking, the food he has been told to
cook or the food he was cooking when something happened. To
avoid this type of vagueness, there is need to establish the
relationship between the possessor and the possessed. For example:
� I like the toy Obi was carrying when he came in.
� The food Obi cooked was delicious.
� The toy Obi made is like mine.
Another aspect of vocabulary that contributes in determining text
difficult is the use of idiomatic expression. An idiom is a fixed group
of words with a special meaning, which is different from the meaning
of the separate words from which it is formed. Thus, the meaning of
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idioms is not obvious through the knowledge of the individual
meanings of the constituent words but through the learning of the
words as a whole. For example, the expression ‘He kicked the
bucket’ means ‘He died’. You cannot understand the meaning of
‘kicked a bucket by structural analysis. You may say that ‘kicked’ =
verb + ed, and ‘bucket’ = noun + singular. These analyses do not in
themselves give this meaning. The individual words give the concept
of someone who stumbled against the bucket. Conversely, the
words cannot undergo any morphological or structural transformation.
For example,
‘The bucket was kicked’.
A reader who is not familiar with any idiomatic expression may have a
problem decoding its meaning in a text.
We can summarize this subtitle by saying that the length of words,
the frequency of words, the words with two or more lexical meanings
and idiomatic expressions are important factors that determine text
difficulty as far as vocabulary is concerned.
Organization
The degree of organization within a text can affect the difficulty level.
More recently, a number of researchers have turned their attention to
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the internal structure of stories. Kintsch and his associates (196-214)
have considered the comprehension and recall of text as a function of
such variables as the number of concepts in a passage and the
number of underlying basic propositions that the text contains. Under
this subtitle, many aspects of organization will be treated. They
include:
(1) Rhetorical Relationship
Rhetorical relationships play an important role in content
structure, help readers make associations within the text at a
global level (Mayer 789-807 and Goldman and Rakestraw 31-
35). They interrelate sentences, and give the text its structure.
They help guide the reader’s processing of the text. Rhetorical
devices that help authors construct a more coherent text
include organization or structural cues, linguistic cues, and
signaling devices. Comprehension is enhanced with the
repeated and consistent processing of these devices.
(2) Syntactic rules
Understanding basic organizational and syntactic rules in
expository text makes it possible for the reader to find the
location of main ideas within the text on both a local and global
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level. For example, the reader must understand how to
generalize global concepts into a simple proposition, and to
draw conclusions or make inferences about these propositions.
Placement of main ideas within the text and the paragraph
affects reading comprehension depending upon where the
author puts them. Readers tend to look for important
information at the beginning and end of a passage. I believe
this may be a primary or latency effect, since information tends
to be remembered better at the beginning or end of a
paragraph but it may also be a way for the author to ‘set the
stage’ for the main idea, and summarize the conclusion of a
paragraph.
(3) Questions and Summaries.
Questions and summaries provided by the authors can
increase reading comprehension (Just and Carpenter 400-424).
Summaries can be placed at the conclusion of main ideas
within the text or at the end of the text. Readers who read
summaries performed better on test of retention than those who
did not read summaries (Just and Carpenter 405).
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Questions can also be placed at the beginning or end of the
text or can be interspersed throughout the text to enhance
comprehension. There is a relationship between location of
questions in the text and the amount of information learned by
the reader. When questions are at the end of the text, the
reader tends to remember required information as well as non-
required information. When questions are located at the
beginning, readers tend to simply remember the information
related to specific questions. Interspersed questions help the
reader adopt a monitoring and organizational strategy, and help
motivate reader to retain the information (Just and Carpenter
400). There should be a balance between main idea questions
and questions about facts and details, otherwise, the questions
may encourage readers to attend to local details at the expense
of global or main ideas (Goldman and Rakestraw 311-335).
(4) Subheadings
The judicious use of subheadings makes it possible for the
reader to pinpoint information. An experiment on the use of
relevant subject headings within the passage to help the reader
organize the information for himself did not produce higher
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scores (Harrison 126). It is interesting to speculate why this
was so. One possibility according to Harrison is that by using
headings, the author demand less critical thinking from the
readers who then read less closely than they did under the
other two conductions.
Other studies have shown that the use of typographical effects
such as bold type, underlining or italicizing can be effective in
improving comprehension. Harrison is of the view that this
should not be overused. For example, he is of the opinion that
the use of capitals, underling and coloured inks all at once, or
for different purposes on the same page would certainly distract
the reader. Another point to bear in mind is the level of the
reader’s sophistication. In some cases it would be worth telling
potential readers that they should take account of these
variations in a particular way. Perhaps readers might be told to
read aloud the main points italicized in sections, or they may be
told to use section headings as headings in their own note-
making. It would be wrong to assume that without such
guidance all the children would make the best use of the extra
information.
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(5) Signaling Devices
Signaling devices emphasize content or structure, and help the
reader attend to important content. Examples include the use
of titles, preview or repetition of content. Signaled information
is processed longer and recalled better by making the reader
more aware of important points at a global level. Major
concepts and important key ideas can be highlighted by using:
♣ Paragraph indentation
♣ Numbered list
♣ Underlining
♣ Changing the font, colour or size, bolding or italicizing,
bullets, arrows or tables.
♣ Illustration
(6) Content
The purposes of expository texts are to persuade, inform or
explain procedure. (Alexander and Jettson 285-310; Beck,
Mckeown, Sinatra, and Loxteman 251-276; Bovair and Kieras
206-226). The content of the expository text is an important
variable in reading comprehension, but the most important
aspect is that the text be a good match with the reader’s prior
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knowledge, skills, interest, learning goals, and culture
(Alexander 313-337 and Meyer 789-807). Unfortunately, many
expository texts make incorrect assumption about the reader’s
adequate additional information or explicit link to help the
reader out of the text (Beck, I.L, McKeown, M.G; Hamilton, R.L.
and Kucah, L. 66-71)
(7) Density
The best learning environment, whether linear or non-linear is
to challenge learners to confront their misunderstanding, build
on interest and preference, and stimulate thinking (Alexander et
al 250). The reader’s prior knowledge and the author’s attempt
to provide explicit information and cues may help the reader
comprehend more difficult text. Expository text is known for
presenting condensed ideas and concepts in a way that may be
difficult to comprehend (Gordon 92). This takes us to the text
structure.
(8) Text Structure
Text structure has to do with the overall structure of narrative
and expository texts. The structure of expository and narrative
texts is an important variable in reading comprehension. Many
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techniques are used in structuring text for easy comprehension
by the reader. The most important ones are treated below.
(a) Story Schema/Story Grammar
Story schema is an important technique in reading
comprehension. It is a set of explanations about how stories
are usually organized. An internal organization of story
knowledge enables readers to process print by retaining story
information in memory until it makes sense by adding more
information as the reading progresses. A reader’s story
schema also is important in recalling what is read. Many
reading researchers have investigated story schema, and they
have proposed several descriptions as below:
Area of needed reading instruction ability to understand story parts
Intended learning outcome: students will be able to match sentences from a selected passage to the appropriate story parts
Past learning:
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♣ Students have an existing sight vocabulary and words
identification skills for reading a simple story.
♣ Students understand story analysis and its importance in
getting meaning from print.
♣ Students understand that story analysis is related to reading
comprehension.
Review students’ past experiences with the major categories of story
analysis by providing a simple story on the chalkboard, listing each
sentence next to its appropriate category, and guiding students
through directed discussion of each category. Explain that the major
categories of analyzing a story are setting, initiating event, internal
response, attempt sequence and reaction.
An analysis of the story “The Strange Tracts” by Rupley and Blair
(166-168) might look like this:
Reading Background
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Setting Introduces characters
and provides
background
information
Once there was a man who lived
on a mountain
Initiating event Begins the episode One afternoon while climbing the
mountain he saw some huge
strangely shaped tracts in the
snow.
Internal
response
Decision The man was curious and
wanted to learn more about the
tracts.
Attempt A try at reaching a
goal
He followed the tracts for two
days. On the third day, a heavy
snow storm covered the tracts
and made it impossible for him
to search further.
Consequence Outcome The man discontinued his
search and returned to his cabin
on the mountain
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Table1: An Analysis of the Story ‘The Strange Story’
The example above is how to teach a story schema. Let us also study
guide lines for teaching story schema by Gordon and Braun (116-
121)
1. Use well-formed stories to introduce both the structure and the
terminology of story grammar. Walk the students through this
initial story and several others by relating the information to
their experiential and conceptual backgrounds.
2. Set and illustrate reading purposes. It is important to activate
the students’ background knowledge in relation to the story
content and concept and to guide the students’ thinking by
referring to familiar examples.
3. Identify the story structure before identifying the content.
Initially, discuss the structural features to enable the students to
see the permanence of the structure.
4. Once students can associate story structure with specific story
content, ask story specific questions. Phrase the questions so
that they match the features of the story structure being
addressed. Focus on internal comprehension of the story.
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After the students have identified story structure with the
teacher’s direction, ask inferential questions.
5. Begin to introduce less well-organized stories to ensure that the
students realized that not all stories follow the ideal story
structure.
(b) Story Frames
Story frames focus on the structure rather than the specific
content of stories. They help direct students’ attention to how
the content fits the structure. Cudd and Robert (75-79) found
that their use of story frames was successful for teaching
reading comprehension to first graders. Below are good
examples of the story frames.
The Basic Story Frame
Title: The Best Birthday. In the story the problem starts
When: Maria gets sick and she cannot have a birthday party.
After that: Her friends want to make her feel better.
Next: They go and get a clown and ask him to help.
Then: The clown goes to Maria’s house. The problem is finally
resolved
When: The clown makes Maria laugh. The story ends.
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When: Maria says: This is the best birthday ever.
Story Frames with Key Sequence Words
Title: Mike’s house. A little boy made a playhouse out of a
box.
First: He made windows on the sides.
Next: He made a door on the front.
Then: He put a rug on the floor.
Finally,: He put a sign on the door.
The sign said: Mike’s House.
(c) Story Maps
Story maps usually display story information and help students
to represent and integrate the events and concepts found in the
stories. Such maps can represent main ideas, events,
character companions and cause-effect relationships. To assist
students in understanding story structure, separate maps are
developed for the important elements and then integrated.
Good examples of story maps are presented below.
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Rose garden Adams
James Manson
Few appearances
Wilson presidency
Similarities
White House
Wife of president
Hanks’ locked doors
John Adams
Often seen Taft
presidency
Differences
Fig: 6- story structure (Adapted from Reutzel, 401-403)
A compare-contrast map
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Fig: 7 Story structure-using maps. (Adapted from Reutzel, 401-403)
Story Map of Cause Effect Chain
Main idea – sequential detail
White House
Most Famous Mrs
Rosevei
Queen Wihelmi
Abe Lincoi
Mrs Coolidge
Employees
Ghosts
Main ideas
Abigail Adam
President Wife
Busy Ghost
W.H. Taft
Door
White House
Halls
Strange Noises
NamelessGhost
Loud Laughter
Cold Winds Past
employe
White House
Dolley appearanc
Roses remain
White house
President’s wife
Mrs Wilson Gardene
rs
Leaving roses
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E C E/C C/E Fig: 8-story structure: Adapted from Reutzel (401-403)
Outlining and Networking
Outlining and networking enable the writer to present his story in a
skeletal form. Outlining represents the main points of the material in a
hierarchical format with each detail organized under a higher-level
Remains in the same spot
Mrs Wilson ordered move
Dolly Madison Garden
Dolly Ghost appeared and ordered move to stop
Gardeners started to move
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category. In networking, the main ideas are identified and then
connections between them are diagrammed. A network that presents
factual materials about shark in figure 11 is a good example.
Fig: 9 A network of facts about shark before instruction
Near Florida beaches Warm water
Large
More than 6ft.
Size Habita
t
Deep Water
Characteristics
Structures
Gill slits
Dorsal fin
Sharp jaws
Kinds Species
Movies
Hammer head
Great white shark
Jaws
Shark
Great white
Man eater
Attracted by the smell of blood
No bones cartilage
Fast swimmer
SHARK
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(e) Recall Method
This has to do with the reader’s ability to recall what he has read.
This is made possible by the way the writer structures or organizes
his ideas. In these ways, it will be easy for the reader to process the
text and recall the ideas later in his story. The author can structure
his story by repeated and consistent use of structural cues, linguistic
cues and signaling device. He can also use topic sentences to
summarize the main ideas and thereafter place them at the beginning
of the paragraphs. In these ways, it will be easy for the reader to
process the text and recall the ideas later.
f) Readability
It is generally accepted that text comprehension does not depend
only on the text itself, but also on who is reading it. Readability is an
attribute of texts; comprehension is an attribute of readers. If
someone defines a text as readable, he may be referring to the
comprehensibility of the text, the ease in which it is read, its interest
to the reader, or the ease in which it is understood (Klare 681-743).
Dale as cited in Chall (74) defined readability as: the sum total
(including interactions) of all those elements within a given piece of
printed material that affects the success of a group of readers in
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reading comprehension. The success is the extent to which they
understand it, and find it interesting.
Since the early 20th century, researchers have tried to understand
what makes a text easy or hard to read in order to create a good
match between the reader and the text (Chall 70 ; Klare 634). There
has been strong debate in the field of education that rating textbooks
according to readability estimates kept school children from reading
‘more mature texts’ from the same (Chall ; Klare ).
Readability formulae are predicative devices that offer estimates of
reading difficulty. Some of them are: SMOG, Flesh-Kincaid,
Gunning’s Fog Index, Dale Chall, Fry readability formula, The Lorge
and Close Procedure. Apart from close procedure, these methods
estimate the reading difficulty of materials by using a combination of
formulae that use the length of words and sentence length, and/or the
predictability of words compared to standard list.
Making text easier to read has been shown to produce significant
increase in reading comprehension, learning and retention; however,
the reader plays the greatest role in text comprehension. Factors
such as reader competence, motivation, interest, culture, context, and
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prior knowledge all have an impact on comprehension of text (Klare
632).
The predictive power of readability formulae with complex content
and sentences can be a problem. Klare stated that syllable counts in
readability formulae produce low readability scores (more difficult to
read) when special technical words are repeated. He advises that
such words can be dropped from the syllable counts with the intent of
concentrating on the rest of the text. This presents an interesting
research idea that could be extended to the writers of children’s
books and texts. The point that is brought home here is that both
context and content density are important factors to consider when
writing prose for students.
Summary of Empirical and Conceptual Text Factors
The review of textual variables has covered important text variables
like syntax, cohesion, organization, vocabulary, text structure like
story schema/story grammar, story frames, story maps, outlining and
networking, recall method and readability. These are the ways the
authors can construct a more considerate text.
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Teacher Style Factors
We have seen that vocabulary from time immemorial has been
considered to be the most important factor that determines text
difficulty. It also plays a vital role in determining whether a text is
readable or not. In spite of its significant role in text processing, many
second language learners shy away from it. This is so because of the
way many second language teachers teach reading. Associating
experiences and concepts with words contributes significantly to
reading comprehension.
Effective vocabulary instruction helps students relate new words to
their background knowledge. Providing various opportunities to
encounter and practice new words is a key factor in promoting
vocabulary growth and reading comprehension. Engaging students in
active discussion of new words is critical in promoting vocabulary
development. Research has shown that teachers who employ some
of the new approaches in teaching reading have succeeded in
helping the students to develop interest in reading comprehension
and at the same time perform better.
The new approach to teaching reading advocated that vocabulary
emphasis should include direct instruction and appropriate practice in
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specific skills along with the opportunity for wide reading and other
language activities. Vocabulary instruction is most effective when it
relates new words or derivations of words to existing vocabulary and
background knowledge. For example, a student who thinks that all
animals are pets would have a difficult time with such concepts as
farm animals and zoo animals. Sending this student to a dictionary or
listing words on the chalkboard would not be effective for teaching the
vocabulary or words associated with milk cows, farm life or zoo
animals. Such teaching styles that affect text processing and
comprehension are discussed here in this regard:
1. Semantic Mapping
Semantic mapping according to Heilman, Blair , Rupley and Williams
( 78) makes it possible for students to expand their vocabulary,
understand relationship between existing and new concepts,
understand multiple meanings of words and learn actively. Semantic
mapping structures information categorically so that students can
more readily see relationships of new words and concepts to their
existing background knowledge.
Frederickson (1975) as quoted in Izuagba (10) described semantic
mapping as graphic arrangements consisting of semantic “tokens” or
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“concepts” connected by related links. Exploring the use of semantic
mapping in the teaching of reading, Braden (1983) as quoted in the
same source above indicates that its effectiveness lies in the way it
holistically conceptualizes the content of the text, as the relationship
between parts to the whole and whole to the part are clearly
illustrated through the overall configuration and connective links.
Research findings have shown the superiority of semantic mapping
as a teaching method over traditional method of teaching vocabulary.
The finding showed that a significant difference existed between the
experimental and control groups. This is because in semantic
mapping, data are organized into logical semantic categories.
For instance, in using semantic mapping to teach a word like board’, a
network of related words are called up indicating either synonymous or
antonymous relationships as in the example below.
Board
A table (n)
A thin Plank (n)
Food served at the table (n)
A tablet (n)
Persons sitting at the council table (n)
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Fig: 10 Semantic mapping (self developed)
From the example above, one can confidently say that semantic
mapping is a key word that commands an army of others. With
semantic mapping the teaching of words in isolation is de-
emphasized. This new direction in language teaching and learning is
based on the strong relationship between reading and vocabulary
learning. Davis (1968) as cited by Izuagba (11) confirmed this when
he said that the factor that correlated highly with comprehension is
knowledge of word meaning and this is why the ability to comprehend
a text hinges on the reader’s ability to decipher the meaning of
individual words that make up the discourse. As meaning does not
reside in the text but is derived from the construction the reader
makes based on her prior knowledge, semantic mapping becomes an
effective method as it helps to activate the learner’s prior knowledge
by helping her to analyze and integrate what has been read thereby
enabling her have a holistic view of the text.
There are well-defined procedures in the use of semantic mapping in
the teaching of vocabulary for effective reading comprehension.
Heilman et al (90) identified five steps and they include:
• Selecting a word that is central to a topic or story,
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• Writing the central word on the chalkboard or a chart,
• Brainstorming words related to the central theme or topic and
writing these words,
• Grouping the words into categories and labeling these
categories,
• Noting additional words essential to the topic and placing these
additional words in the appropriate categories.
Upon completion of a semantic map, the teacher discusses with the
students how the new vocabulary words relate to words that they
already know. Thus, students have a better understanding of the
content of the topic they will cover or the story they will read.
Essentially, semantic mapping activates existing background
knowledge and relates it to new vocabulary and concepts.
Mammal
Animals
Amphibians
Reptiles
Egg
Lizard Snake Chameleon
Breast
Man Goat Sheep Cat Cow
Mammals
Fly Fowl Turkey Pigeon Kite
Wild
animals
Water Frog Toad Snake
Bush Lion Elephant Tiger Zebra Monkey Leopard Antelope
Birds
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Fig 11: Semantic map for Animal (self developed)
Words in boxes are taught directly. Bold-faced words are given to
students. Students contribute light faced words during discussion in
full map treatment. The blank box is for students to fill in a new
category during reading.
2. Concept of Definition Instruction
A variation of semantic mapping is a procedure developed by
Schwartz and Raphael (201) to help students develop a concept of
definition. They recommend direct instruction. To help students
develop a concept of definition, three questions about a concept to be
studied should be considered and they include: (1) what is it? (2)
What is it like? (3) What are some examples? Four defined
procedures in the use of concept of definition are identified.
• Introducing the strategy
Introduce students to the idea that they can develop a strategy
to aid them in the reading process. Focus on what is to be
learned, why it is important, and what they will be doing.
Following the general introduction, introduce the word map and
organize complete independent activities, mapping given words
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and a word of their choice. After mapping, have the students
use the information to verbalize a definition with the class.
• Refining the Strategy
Following the introduction, the teacher gives the students
sentences that provide at least one (what is it?), three
properties (what is it like?), and three examples. Discuss the
sentences with the students and mark (check, circle, or
underline) the type of information necessary to map the
information. Following this mapping, have the students provide
oral or written definitions for the given concepts. Help them
realize that they do not have to always identify three properties
or three examples; they may use fewer or more in
understanding the word.
• Further refining the concept
Use a context that is less complete than that used in number 2.
Encourage the students to use sources of word meanings (such
as dictionaries, textbooks) to complete their word maps.
Encourage them to use their background knowledge and the
other sources of information.
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• Writing a definition
All the mapping components are used without using a map.
This is internalization. Ask the students to evaluate given
definitions as to whether or not they are complete. If definitions
are complete, have them write whatever additional information
is needed.
Schwartz and Raphael (201) indicate that the students in their
study could write more elaborate definitions than students who
did not receive the concept of definition instruction.
Furthermore, the students had greater understanding of how to
figure out the meaning of new words.
The procedure helps teachers provide students with opportunities to
discuss new concepts, and discussion appears to be a key in
promoting active thinking about words.
Beagle Collie Puppy
Pet
What is it like? Big/Small What is it?
Animal
What are some examples?
Hairy
Dog
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Fig.12: Map showing concept of definition instruction, adapted
from Schwartz and Raphael (201)
3. Webbing
Webbing is similar to semantic mapping and word mapping. It
graphically illustrates how to associate words in a meaningful fashion.
Words or concepts selected for use in webbing can come from
materials students have read or can be new. In this strategy just like
in others, Rupley and Blair (166-168) identified eight steps and they
include:
• Area of needed reading instruction ability to develop and
understand meaningful vocabulary
• Intended learning outcome-students will construct a web of
meaningful word associations from a word source selected by
the classroom teacher.
• Past Learning: Students understand that words can be
associated with a group of related words to construct a web of
meaningful information. Students can draw inferences and
meanings from words and word associations.
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• Building Background: Demonstrate word association by writing
a familiar phrase on the chalkboard and asking students to help
you construct a web of word association.
• Teacher Directed Instruction –Provide students with a second
web of word associations dealing with a familiar theme. In this
instance, do not write the theme in the center of the word
association web. Have the students use the word association
listed in the web to infer the theme of the web. Stress that those
words in a web of word association must relate to the word
phrase in the center of the web if the web is to make sense.
Remind them that in the webs drawn on the chalkboard in the
lesson, all the words can be directly associated with the center.
• Independent Student Practice
Allow students to construct their own webs of word
associations. Prepare a handout showing a word that you
select at the center of the web, put one or two written examples
on the web to make sure that all the students understand the
activity.
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• Ongoing Diagnosis
The teacher evaluates students’ individual word association
webs. He interviews students about why they include certain
words and why their choices were associated with the other
words in the web. (Such information will provide insight into
how students use their experiential backgrounds and reasoning
strategies in identifying words.)
• Modifying Instruction
The activity can be used as an independent instructional activity
for groups of students who have difficulty constructing webs.
For example, the teacher can hand out a web that has several
of circles already filled in and has a few blank circles for
students to complete. This procedure maximizes students’
chances of success. Webbing words and word phrases can be
used in content area reading and as well can encompass
historical events, science terminology and activities, social
studies concepts etc. Web can also be given to students before
they read to give them an overview of important text elements
and essential relationships found in their reading materials.
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An additional variation of this activity is to provide students with
webs and to direct them to write short stories that expand on
the relationships illustrated by the webs.
Fig. 13: Directed lesson using webbing (self- developed)
Animals Wild animals
Lion
Elephant
Zebra
Reptiles Snake
Lizard
Chameleon
Birds
Turkey Pigeon
Fowl
Domestic animals
Cow Sheep
Goat
Mammals Goat
Sheep Man
Cat Amphibians
Snake
Toad
Frog
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4.Teacher-Directed Instruction
It provides students with a second web of word associations dealing
with a familiar theme. In this instance, do not write them in the center
of the word association web. The students can use the word
association listed in the web to infer the theme of the web. For
example, the teacher can construct the following word association
web and allow students to infer the theme-colour. She can stress that
words in a web of word association must relate to the word phrase in
the center of the web if the web is to make sense. She can remind
them that in the webs drawn on the chalkboard in this lesson, all the
words can be directly associated with the center-word.
Fig.14: Web of word-Association (self developed)
Blue
Yellow
Red Green Orange
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Independent Student Practice
The teacher can allow the students to construct their own webs of
word association by asking them to prepare a handout showing a
word that she selects at the centre of the web. She can put one or
two written examples on the web to make sure that all the students
understand the activity.
Ongoing Diagnosis
Teacher’s evaluation of students’ individual word association webs:
Here the teacher can interview the students about why they include
certain words and why their choices are associated with the other
words in the web. (Such information will provide insight into how
students use their experiential backgrounds and reasoning strategies
in identifying words).
Modifying Instruction
The activity can be used as an independent instructional activity for
group of students who have difficulty constructing webs. For example,
the teacher can hand out a web that has several of the circles already
filled in and has a few blank circles for students to complete. This
procedure maximizes students’ chances of success. Webbing words
and word phrases used in content area reading can as well
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encompass historical events, science terminology and activities,
social studies concepts and so on. Webs can also be given to
students before they read to give them an overview of important text
elements and essential relationships found in their reading materials.
An additional variation of this activity is to provide students with webs
and to direct them to write short stories that expand on the
relationships illustrated by the webs (Heilman, Blair, and William 90).
5.Semantic Features Analysis
This can help students to understand relationships among words and
to relate their background knowledge to the new words. Semantic
features analysis is most appropriate for words related by class or a
common feature.
To analyze, list several familiar words that are related (like books,
newspapers, magazines, catalogues, brochure) on the chalkboard or
a chart. Direct the students to discuss features associated with the
words listed. As the students suggest features, write them across the
top of the board or chart, creating a matrix that the students can
complete in terms of present (+), or absent (-) and sometimes (0). As
the students broaden and define their concepts, they add words and
features to the list and analyze them.
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Semantic features analysis can be used with narrative reading
material to analyze characters, settings, plots and so on. It is also
effective in the content areas when introducing new topics, reviewing
topics and integrating topic across different content areas. The
materials can be refined and added to as students’ experiential and
conceptual backgrounds grow.
Fig. 15: Table showing Semantic features analysis
Summary of Teacher Style Factors
Reading is one of the most important skills that is bestowed on
mankind by civilization. This is because ones perception and
expression of the reality around one depend on ones knowledge of
Enjoyment Information Buying Current events Sports Books + + 0 - 0 Newspapers + + + + + Magazines + + 0 + 0 Catalogs + + + - 0 Brochures + + 0 + 0 Key: Present(+),absent(-),sometimes(0)
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words to express them. The key to ones thought and ideas is the
number of words to ones disposal.
Students on the other hand need increased vocabulary and ability to
process text with comprehension in order to succeed academically.
They have more time to engage in private reading and studying than
in attending lectures. It then means that they have to be properly
equipped with the necessary reading skills. This section therefore
focused on those strategies that emphasise direct instruction and
appropriate practice in specific skills along with the opportunity for
vocabulary acquisition, wide reading and other language activities.
The strategies treated in this section include:
- Semantic mapping which incorporates many of the principles
for vocabulary teaching and structures information so that the
students can see relationships of new words and concepts to
their existing background knowledge,
- Concept of definition instruction which makes it possible for the
teachers to provide students with opportunities to discuss new
concepts thereby making discussion appear to be a key in
promoting active thinking about words.
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- Webbing which gives the students the opportunity to increase
their power of inference.
- Teacher directed instruction
- Semantic Features Analysis
There are other useful strategies that could not be treated in this
section due to lack of space. It is the sincere hope of the writer that if
teachers of reading should apply the ones treated here judiciously,
our students may complain less about their inability to read with
comprehension. They will develop reading friendly attitude.
General Summary of the Literature Review
Reading comprehension is an interactive process that involves the
reader, the text and the teacher. A good match is needed between
the reader and the assumptions that the author has made of the
reader’s prior knowledge and goals for reading. The literature has
shown that both the reader and the text possess specific attributes
that can either impede or assist reading comprehension. These
attributes interact with the teacher’s style to determine the outcome of
text processing and comprehension.
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Learner factors are grouped into empirical studies and conceptual
issues. Research works on empirical studies include: self-concept,
gender and culture, conceptual issues include prior knowledge,
motivation and interest. They are summarized in this regard:
Self -concept
Many researchers reveal that self-concept is positively related to text
processing achievement (Bricklin 10; Sopis 64; Wattenberg & Clifford
461-467;Mcmichal 115-124). The works of others reveal that self –
concept is positively related to independence, acceptance of
leadership (Carrillo 12). Added to these, some others found that
positive self –concept depends on teachers’ attitude towards their
pupils (Barker – Lunn 25; Coopersmith as cited in Attey 98 –114).
Cultural Background
Many researchers reveal that cultural background is an important
factor in processing and understanding of story content texts. (
Stenffenson & Aderna 36; Rupely ,1990 ;Steffenson as cited in
Rupely 63-80 ;Bartlett as cited in Emenyonu 9). But focusing on the
recall of structure, many researchers reveal that cultural background
is positively related to text processing achievement (Kintsen & Green
as cited in Emenyonu 11)
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However the works of some researchers show that cultural content of
a story is less important than its form in determining how much is
remembered.
Gender
Many researchers have shown that gender interacts with the topic of
the text to affect reading achievement ( Bugel & Baunk 15; Chavez
64; Brantmeier 1 –23 , Preston , Johnson, & Downing, as cited in
Emenyonu 20). But the work of Young & Oxford (43 –73) reveals
that there was no significance difference in the reading achievement
of male and female.
On the issue of computer, studies of Meyer & Poom 789 –807; Mitra
& Hllett 378 –391; Ford & Chen 281 -311 reveal that females had
less positive attitudes towards computer.
The summary of review of learner factors under conceptual issues is
presented in this regard:
Prior Knowledge
Many researchers believe that prior knowledge is positively related to
text processing and comprehension (Coady as cited in Jonz 25 –30;
Carrel & Eisterhold 553 –573 ; Farhaday 44 –59 ;Gernsbacher as
cited in Goldman & Rakestraw 311 –335 ; Adams & Bruce 2 –25).
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Added to these, some scholars are of the view that a reader in
addition to possessing accurate prior knowledge should be able to
make reliable inferences when accessing that knowledge (Norris &
Philips 391 –412; Rupely 226)
Motivation
Motivation has been generally defined as an individual’s desire for
information/ something which propels the working system into action
sustain it throughout the duration of task, and terminates the activity
as the initial purpose is fulfilled or modified. Many scholars are of the
view that both instrumental and integral motivations are positively
related to language acquisition (reading inclusive) (Mackey 90;
Guthrie & Wigfield, 403 –422; Baldeh 9; Guthrie 432 –445; Alexander
& Jettson 285 -310). On motivation and computer, some scholars
believe that computer- based activities can increase motivation (
Dehelin, 2000 ; Kamil ,Intrator & Kirn 771 –788).
Interest
Interest has been defined as an interactive relationship between the
reader and the environment and is comprised of both cognitive and
affective components (Hidi & Harackiewicz 151 –179). Many writers
are of the view that interest of any type is positively related to reading
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and reading achievement ( Alexandder & Jettson 285-310 ; Kintsch
as cited in Alexander & Jettson 285-310).
Empirical Studies under Text Factors
Textual features are those things the author incorporates when
writing in order to make the text considerate. Such text features are
summarized in this regard:
Text Genre
Many researchers have revealed that text Genre is positively related
to text processing and comprehension (Gordon 92; Singer, Harkness
and Stewart 199-228). Studies reveal that expository texts are less
familiar less predictable and less considerate than narrative texts. But
Zabrucky and Moore’s study (691 –710) reveals that age, interest,
motivation and culture influence reading comprehension in all genres.
Goldman and Rakestraw’s study as cited in Gorden (92) reveals that
older readers had better comprehension of expository genres.
Syntax
Evidences abound that syntax, which has to do with the way words
are arranged to form sentences of all types is an important factor that
determines the readability of a text (Vogel 25 –34; Anderson (60).
Some researchers like Coleman (247 – 250) and Dawkins (75) have
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provided convenient summaries of the relevant research. Items under
conceptual issues are summarized below.
Advance Organizer
Advance organizer was coined by Ausubel (267 – 272 ) to describe
introductory paragraphs which are used to help the readers by
summarizing the content and structure of the succeeding sections of
a textbook. There is a controversy on the placement of advance
organizer. While some scholars believe that it should be placed
before a passage, others support the view that it should be placed
after it.
Rothkopt (325 –336) used a different term methemagenic to
describe activities on the part of the reader, which give rise to
learning.
Cohesion
We have seen that cohesion is a set of semantic resources for linking
sentences. It is the set of possibilities that exit in the language for
making the text hang together. For example, Jane bought a new
book. She put it in her bag. ‘She’ and ‘it’ are dependent on the lexical
items Jane and book. Two types of presupposition: anaphora and
cataphora exist( Haliday & Hassan 96). While anaphora is used to
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make reference to an already existing entity, cataphora is used to
make reference to what is yet to be said.
Vocabulary
It has generally accepted that vocabulary is the surest single
predictor of text difficulty (Harrison 19). The most common ways of
measuring vocabulary difficulty are word length and word frequency.
Other aspects of vocabulary that determine the readability of a text
include: ambiguity and vagueness and the use of idiomatic
expressions.
Organisation
The degree of organization can affect the difficulty level of a text and
because of this a number of researchers have turned their attention
to the internal structure of stories( Kintsch & his associates 196 –
214). Aspects of organization that are treated here include: rhetorical
relationship like structural cues, linguistic cues and signaling devices;
syntactic rules that have to do with the placement of the main ideas in
a text; questions and summaries that are placed either after the
conclusion of main ideas or at the end of the text increase reading
comprehension (Just & Carpenter 400-424); subheadings; signaling
device like paragraph indentation, numbered list underlining,
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illustration changing the font etc; content; density and text structure
that include: story frame, story maps, outlining and networking, recall
method and readability.
Teacher Style Factors
This has to do with the various techniques the teacher uses in making
his teaching of reading effective and interesting. They include:
semantic mapping, concept of definition instruction, webbing, teacher
directed instruction and semantic features analysis.
There are missing links in the synopsis as the related literature
reviewed shows that in this part of the world, the primary school level
of education has been neglected in the areas of research. Most
researchers tend to use secondary and higher institution students as
their subjects. Again, it was discovered that the influence of cohesion
as a significant factor in text processing among primary school
bilinguals has not been carried out in this part of the world and
elsewhere in the world. Literature review also shows that studies
have been carried out on the effect of syntax on text processing and
comprehension, but no study has been carried out to compare the
effects of syntax and cohesion on pupils’ text processing and
comprehension. It is, therefore, these missing links (uncovered areas)
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that the present study sets out to cover. Hence the choice of the
present study: Text Processing among the Primary Six Bilinguals in
Anambra State.
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CHAPTER THREE
TEXTUAL DESCRIPTION AND RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The following subheadings are discussed in this chapter:
ϖ The Textual Description of the Instrument
ϖ The Design of the Study
ϖ The Area of the Study
ϖ The Population of the Study
ϖ The Sample and Sampling Techniques
ϖ The Instrument for the Data Analysis
ϖ The statistical tools
ϖ Validation of the Instruments
ϖ Pilot Study
ϖ Establishing the Reliability of the Instruments
ϖ Procedure for Administering the Instrument.
Description of the First Instrument
Three categories of instruments were used for the study. One
instrument was used to test the effect of cohesion on pupils’ text
processing and comprehension ability. This was based on a selection
of a suitable passage from children’s storybook – Takataka’s Father.
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The pupils’ knowledge of the use of cohesive ties was tested. The
following cohesive ties were presented: anophora, homophora,
cataphora, deixis, co-ordinators, enumeratives, sequencers,
expectation deniers, result injectors, condition indicators, causal
markers, compromisers, diminishers, maximisers, emphasizers
,examplifiers, illustrative indicators, reformulators, time relaters, place
relaters, contrastive markers, adversative marker, comparative
analogy and others.
Some of these cohesive ties will be fully presented in the passage, as
they will appear in the questions.
The Sampled Instrument 1:
“Wait a minute. Wait a minute,” said her husband. He had already
opened the boot of the car, lifted one heavy case out of the boot and
put it on the ground, and now he was lifting another one. “ First things
first. Alade and I want the tool kit. Where is the tool kit?” “I don’t
know, dear. You put the things into the boot not me,” said Mrs. Bako.
“I can’t even see it.”
Questions:
1. Write out the other words that the pronoun “I” refers to in the
text
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2. Write out the words that the phrase ‘her husband’ refers to in
the text.
3. Write out the words that the pronoun ‘it’ refers to in the text.
4. What does the word ‘dear’ refer to?
5. Whom does the word ‘he’ refers to?
The Sampled Instrument 2
James glared at his brother, took the money from the box and
threw it angrily into the fire, where it cracked swiftly into flame.
This appeared to amuse him, for he burst out laughing and
walked toward the door, which did not improve matters. Mary
marveled that he could be so nonchalant. Surely its loss could
not leave him unmoved.
Questions
What does the pronoun it in sentence 1 refer to?
Who was amused according to the text?
The pupils would be required to answer the questions after reading
the passage that would be given them. The instrument would be
administered to every pupil in the sample irrespective of sex and
school location.
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Description of the Second Instrument
The second instrument was based on syntactic structure. A search
was made in some primary school books- grammar books, readers
and story books and sentences were chosen which appeared to
exhibit certain syntactic features judged to be deviant from the speech
forms heard by most bilingual pupils and to be potentially ambiguous
in certain respects. The instrument tested the extent the pupils can
utilize their knowledge of syntactic features in text processing and
comprehension. Jessie (383) in his study reveals that children who
learn to read try to make use of their implicit knowledge of grammar.
The construction of the second instrument is, therefore, based on the
belief that certain syntactic features of the language in children’s
storybooks and textbooks make comprehension difficult. Pairs of
fifteen experimental sentences are constructed giving us version ‘A’
and version ‘B’ groups. For each pair of sentences, a question with
two options as answers is asked. The subjects were expected to
choose the right option. For example, the sentence:
The children were met by the enemy when they went
home without their mother.
is followed by the question and answer options as:
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Who did the enemy meet?
a) The children’s mother
b) The children
The two option answers are assigned to the fifteen item questions. As
a control measure, half of the sampled subjects were given the
reverse sentences. Hence, the fifteen sentences with their
accompanying questions and answer options constitute version 2A of
the instrument.
Sentences in version 2B are constructed by rewriting each sentence
so as to replace the syntactic features considered to be confusing.
For example, the sentence above is rewritten for clarity by using
active construction rather than passive construction.
The children went home without their mother and they met the
enemy in the house.
Each rewritten version is then followed by the same question and
answer options as in version 2A. The rewritten fifteen sentence items
with their answer options constitute version 2B. Version 2B served as
a controlled group.
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Presenting the Scenario
The list of cohesive ties and what the pupils are expected to do with
regards to the story is presented in the table below in this regard:
Sentence The cohesive tie
Type of cohesion Pupils’ activity
Sentence 2 She
Anaphora. It points backward to something already in existence.
To write other words the pronoun ‘she’ refers to
Sentence 2 But Contrastive marker To name one contrastive marker from the passage
Sentence 3 Their Anophora - Sentence 3 The Homophora To identify two
sentences that contain the definite article ‘the’ (homophora) .
Sentence 4 They Anophora To write out other names the pronoun ‘they’ refers to
Sentence 4 And Co-ordinator To identify two coordinators
Sentence 5 That Anophora To write other words that the pronoun ‘that’ points to
Sentence 6 They Anophora To write out the names the pronoun ‘they’ refers to
Sentence 7 This Anophora To write out the sentence ‘this’ refers to
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Sentence 8 Them Anophora To name the words the pronoun ‘them’ refers to
Sentence 10
She Anophora To write out the word the pronoun ‘she’ refers to
Sentence 10
Just then Time relater -
Sentence 11
Her Anophora – refers to Rukutu
-
Sentence 12
It Anophora To name the word the pronoun ‘it’ refers to
Sentence 13
He Cataphora- points forward to Mr Dogu
To write out the word the pronoun refers to
Sentence 14
My dear Anophora To identify the person the phrase ‘my dear’ refers to
Sentence 15a
Really Emphasizer -
Sentence 15b
I Anophora To identify the word the pronoun ‘I’ refers to
Sentence 15c
There Place relater To name one place relater (adverb) from the passage
Sentence 16a
His Anophora -
Sentence 16b
In fact Emphasizer -
Sentence 16c
For example
Examplifier To name one use of exemplifier from the passage
Sentence 17
This Anophora – refers to the 16th sentence
To identify the sentence/phrase the word ‘this’ refers to.
Sentence Her son Anaphora – refers to To identify the word
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18 Rakutu the phrase ‘her son’ refers to
Sentence 19
He, it Anaphora- refer to Takataka, and laughter respectively
To identify the words he and it refer to respectively.
Sentence 20
It Cataphora, points to the 22nd sentence
To identify the sentence it refers to
Sentence 21
It Cataphora, points to 22nd sentence
To identify the sentence it points to
Sentence 22
His father Anophora To identify the word or phrase the phrase refers to.
Sentence 23
This Cataphora, points to the last part of the last sentence
To identify the sentence/the part of the sentence ‘this’ refers to
Table: 2 Scenario Table
Research design
The design of the study is a descriptive research design. A
descriptive research design is concerned with the collection of dada
for the purpose of describing and interpreting the data. A descriptive
research design is not the collection of data per se, but the discovery
of meaning in the data collected so that facts and events can be
better understood, interpreted and explained.
As far as the present study is concerned, a descriptive design is
preferred to other research designs because the study does not seek
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to explain relationships, to explain cause, or to make predictions or to
test hypothesis about the cause of pupils’ poor performance in text
processing. Based on this, a descriptive research design was used to
describe the extent the primary school pupils are able to use the two
text variables – cohesion and syntax in processing and
comprehending texts.
The Area of the Study
The area of the study is Anambra State of Nigeria. It is a state in the
South East. The state was created in August 1991. It is one of the
most densely populated states in Nigeria. It derives its name from the
Placid Omambra River, easily called Anambra River, which is a
tributary of the River Niger. The people of Anambra are widely known
to be very resourceful and hardworking. Skilled manpower resources
are therefore readily available in almost every field: business,
profession, management, commerce, and industry. A great deal of
importance is attached to education. By the 1991 national population
census, the state has a population of 2796475 and density of 633
persons per square km. By the 2006 population census, it has a
population of males of 2174641 and females of 2007391 and total
4182032 with a land area of 4416sq km with an average density of
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947 persons per sq km. The state is therefore one of the most
densely populated areas in Nigeria. It has six education zones. They
are: Aguata Education Zone, Awka Education Zone, Nnewi Education
Zone, Ogidi Education Zone, Onitsha Education Zone and Otuocha
Education Zone (Library of Congress, July, 2008).
Aguata Education Zone is the area of the study. The zone is made up
of three local government areas: Aguata Local Government Area,
Orumba North Local Government Area, and Orumba South Local
Government Area. The zone has two federal government institutions:
Federal College of Education (Technical), Umunze and Federal
Polytechnic, Oko. There are one hundred and sixty –one government
owned primary schools in this zone.
Many reasons informed the researcher to use the zone. One, for the
study to be authentic, the researcher has to use the area she is
familiar with. Two, there is need to use the said education zone for
easy access to both semi-rural and rural schools. Three, the choice of
the zone makes it possible for the researcher to interact with the
teachers and the pupils and monitor them during the field work
proper.
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The Population of the Study
The population of the study was all the primary six pupils in all the
primary schools in Aguata Education Zone of Anambra State. The
review of the related literature has shown that in this part of the world,
primary school level of education is neglected in the areas of
research. Most researchers tend to use secondary and higher
institution students as their subjects. They forget that being the
foundation on which the rest of he structure is built, its administration
should be well planned and secured. There is provision in National
Policy on Education that primary six pupils have to move to the next
stage, which is Junior Secondary School. Before such movement,
there is need to determine their challenges in the area of reading in
order to proffer solutions. This is the first thing that informed the
researcher to select the primary school level of education. The
second factor is based on the fact that primary education is the
concrete foundation and floor upon which sound progressive
educational development in terms of acquisition, analysis, synthesis,
and application of knowledge is based. Therefore a deficiency or lack
of primary education in reading predisposes the child to the problem
of adjusting to secondary and even tertiary education, which should
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normally continue where primary education ends. Thus, a child
without sound knowledge of text processing skills may lack smooth
transition to secondary school. Third, the acquisition of solid
permanent literacy at this level especially primary six is very
important as functional literacy at higher levels of education would
either be coherent, sound or disjointed depending on the children’s
nature and acquisition of the language skills.
This is the reason why the researcher subjected the pupils to
cohesion and syntactic features as text factors in order to describe
the extent they were able to use them in text processing and
comprehension. By this the researcher was optimistic that the
findings of the present study would serve as an eye opener to
individual teachers, educators, government and indeed the general
public to either help the pupils at the formation stage tackle their
reading problems or improve on their reading skills.
Sample and Sampling Techniques
A stratified sampling technique was used to stratify the schools into
semi urban and rural schools as indicated in the table below:
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Aguata Local G.
A.
Orumba South
L.G.A.
Orumba North
L.G.A.
Semi
Urban
Schools
Rural
Schools
Semi
Urban
Schools
Rural
Schools
Semi
Urban
Schools
Rural
Schools
2 67 2 38 2 49
2 13 2 8 2 9 36
Table: 3 The number of schools in Aguata Education Zones
After stratifying the schools into different strata, simple random
sampling technique was used to sample the schools from each
stratum. All the schools in the heart of the town of each of these local
government headquarters and the schools in the towns where there
are higher institutions were classified as being in semi urban areas
while other schools outside these areas were classified as being in
rural areas. With the use of cluster sampling technique, the schools
were sampled as follows:
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Two semi- urban schools from Aguata Local Government Area, two
semi -urban schools from Orumba South, two semi-urban schools
from Orumba North.
What this means is that all the semi-urban schools from the three
local government areas were used giving a total of six semi-urban
schools. Again, cluster-sampling technique was used to sample 20%
of schools from each stratum of each rural school as follows:
Thirteen rural schools from Aguata
Eight rural schools from Orumba South
Nine rural schools from Orumba North
A stratified sampling technique was used again to break each
sampled school into two strata – boys and girls. Each stratum was
split into two by using a simple random sampling technique using
even and odd numbers in the attendance register to constitute Group
A and Group B.
Specifically, the use of slips of paper was used to select the schools.
The names of the schools were written in different papers. The slips
were folded and put in a container. After thorough reshuffling, the
researcher, not looking into the container, dipped her hand and
picked one slip. She unfolded the slip, recorded the name of the
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school, folded it again and put it back into the container. The process
was repeated until she drew the required number of schools from
rural schools. The total number of schools for the study was 36
schools – 6 semi-urban schools and 30 rural schools.
Procedure for Administering the Instrument
The researcher had a briefing session with the class teachers who
administered the test. The teachers were properly informed of what
were expected of them. The pupils were made to understand the
seriousness of the test. The instrument on cohesion was
administered to every sampled pupil. As the pupils settled to write the
test, version 2A test scripts were given to them alternately, that is, the
teacher gave the first pupil and jumped the second, the third and
jumped the fourth down the line. After that, version 2B test scripts
were given to the rest of the pupils in the class. This meant that
each pupil was expected to write two tests – test on cohesion and test
on either version 2A or version 2B on syntax. The time allowance was
generous since it was important to give every child a chance to try
both tests. Practice items were given before the test proper.
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Statistical Tools
The data were analysed using mean, standard deviation, ANOVA and
Bonferroni.
Validation of the Instruments
Face and content validation were established for the instruments. To
ensure content validity the sentences that contained measures of
syntactic features were chosen from primary school grammar books,
readers other story books and external examination questions. This is
to say that every thing was based on the scheme of work for primary
school pupils, especially as it concerned primary four, five and six. In
addition to this, face and content validity were established for the
instruments. Experts in the English Language in the college and three
primary school teachers validated the instruments. Only questions
rated fit by 9/12 of the validators were used. The following questions
served as guide to the validators:
1) Having gone through the research questions, hypotheses, and the
purpose of the study, which of the items can actually elicit the
information they are intended to elicit?
2) Which of the items lack clarity?
3) Is the language and expression appropriate to the respondents?
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4) What have you to say with regards to the overall adequacy of the
instruments?
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PILOT STUDY Having validated the three instruments, a pilot study was carried out
using primary six pupils from a near by state who had similar
characteristics with the actual subjects of the study. The essence of
this was to see how they would react to the questions/items: whether
the questions were clear enough and easily understood, whether
there was need to include or remove certain items or whether there
were some items the majority of the pupils avoided
Based on the class teachers’ observations and comments and the
pupils’ positive and negative reactions to some of the questions, the
three instruments were modified in the following ways:
It was discovered during the pilot study that certain important
instructions like indicating the sex of the pupils and the names of their
schools were omitted. The time it took the weakest ones to finish the
tests was calculated and based on this, the time for each instrument
was increased from twenty minutes per instrument to thirty minutes.
Because of the number of the pupils involved and the number of the
scripts to mark, the questions were changed from theory to objective
questions with two options as answers. The questions /items the
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majority of the pupils avoided were either removed or restructured.
Again, the items that lacked clarity were also restructured.
After the amendments that made the language and the expression of
the items/questions appropriate to the respondents, the reliability of
the instruments were established using test-retest reliability
technique.
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THE RESULTS OF THE PILOT STUDY
Research question 1: To what extent can primary school pupils
utilize their knowledge of certain syntactic features and cohesive ties
as text factors in text processing and comprehension?
Table: 4The Mean Scores of the Respondents in the Three
Instruments
Report
PERCENTAGE ACHIEVEMENT
24.9697 33 14.5956
79.4444 18 20.5890
63.6875 16 13.8165
48.8507 67 29.1487
INSTRUMENTSINSTRUMENT 1COHESIONVERSION 2BINSTRMNT SYNTAXVERSION 2AINSTRMNT SYNTAXTotal
Mean N Std. Deviation
The respondents performed poorly in syntax 2Bversion and syntax
2A version instruments with mean scores of 79.4444 and 63.6875
respectively.
The test of hypothesis one: Pupils do not statistically differ
significantly in their mean scores among the three instruments as text
factors in text processing and comprehension.
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Table 5: ANOVA Test on the Mean Scores of the
Respondents on the Three Instruments
ANOVA Table
39189.656 2 19594.828 74.263 .00016886.852 64 263.85756076.507 66
(Combined)Between GroupsWithin GroupsTotal
PERCENTAGEACHIEVEMENT *INSTRUMENTS
Sum ofSquares df Mean Square F Sig.
The above hypothesis is rejected, as there is significant difference in
the performance of pupils in the three instruments
Research question 2: To what extent do the mean scores of boys
and girls in text processing differ in the three instruments?
Table 6: The Mean Scores of Boys and Girls in Instrument One-
Cohesion
Reporta
PERCENTAGE ACHIEVEMENT
28.3000 10 15.944723.5217 23 14.093424.9697 33 14.5956
GENDER OF PUPILSMALEFEMALETotal
Mean N Std. Deviation
INSTRUMENTS = INSTRUMENT 1 COHESIONa.
Girls performed better than boys in cohesion with a mean score of
23.5217 and the boys with a mean score of 28.3000
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Table 7: The Mean Scores of Boys and Girls in Syntax 2B
Version
Reporta
PERCENTAGE ACHIEVEMENT
87.5714 7 12.286374.2727 11 23.546179.4444 18 20.5890
GENDER OF PUPILSMALEFEMALETotal
Mean N Std. Deviation
INSTRUMENTS = VERSION 2B INSTRMNT SYNTAXa.
Girls, again, performed better than boys in syntax 2B version
instrument with a mean score of 74.2727and the boys with a mean
score of 87.5714
Table 8: The Mean Scores of Boys and Girls in Syntax 2A
Version
Reporta
PERCENTAGE ACHIEVEMENT
55.3333 3 4.041565.6154 13 14.643263.6875 16 13.8165
GENDER OF PUPILSMALEFEMALETotal
Mean N Std. Deviation
INSTRUMENTS = VERSION 2A INSTRMNT SYNTAXa.
The boys performed better in syntax 2A version with a mean score of
55.3333and girls with a mean score of 65.6154
232
The test of hypothesis two: There is no significant difference in the
mean scores of boys and girls in instrument one -cohesion
Table 9: ANOVA Test on the Mean Scores of Boys and Girls in
Instrument One -Cohesion
ANOVA Tablea
159.131 1 159.131 .741 .3966657.839 31 214.7696816.970 32
(Combined)Between GroupsWithin GroupsTotal
PERCENTAGEACHIEVEMENT *GENDER OF PUPILS
Sum ofSquares df Mean Square F Sig.
INSTRUMENTS = INSTRUMENT 1 COHESIONa.
The above hypothesis is accepted, as the difference in performance
of both boys and girls in cohesion is insignificant.
The test of hypothesis three: There is no significant difference in the
performance of boys and girls in syntax 2B version.
233
Table10: ANOVA Test on the Mean Scores of Boys and Girls in
Instrument Syntax 2B Version.
ANOVA Tablea
756.548 1 756.548 1.877 .1906449.896 16 403.1197206.444 17
(Combined)Between GroupsWithin GroupsTotal
PERCENTAGEACHIEVEMENT *GENDER OF PUPILS
Sum ofSquares df Mean Square F Sig.
INSTRUMENTS = VERSION 2B INSTRMNT SYNTAXa.
The above hypothesis is accepted, as the difference in performance
of both boys and girls in syntax 2B version is insignificant
The test of hypothesis four: There is no significant difference in the
performance of boys and girls in syntax 2A version
Table 11: ANOVA Test on the Mean Scores of Boys and Girls in
Instrument Syntax 2A Version.
ANOVA Tablea
257.694 1 257.694 1.385 .2592605.744 14 186.1252863.437 15
(Combined)Between GroupsWithin GroupsTotal
PERCENTAGEACHIEVEMENT *GENDER OF PUPILS
Sum ofSquares df Mean Square F Sig.
INSTRUMENTS = VERSION 2A INSTRMNT SYNTAXa.
The above hypothesis is accepted, as the difference in performance of both boys and girls in syntax 2A version is insignificant
234
PERCENTAGE ACHIEVEMENT
60.050.040.030.020.010.00.0
INSTRMT: 3.00 INSTRUMENT 1 COHESION12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Std. Dev = 14.60
Mean = 25.0
N = 33.00
Fig 18: Histogram with normal curve distribution in cohesion Figure 18 above shows that the distribution of achievement scores in instrument 1-cohesion is close to normal
distribution. The instrument was within the level of the pupils with few pupils scoring very high and very low
scores, and a preponderant falling within average.
PERCENTAGE ACHIEVEMENT
100.080.060.040.020.0
INSTRMT: 4.00 VERSION 2B INSTRMNT SYNTAX10
8
6
4
2
0
Std. Dev = 20.59
Mean = 79.4
N = 18.00
Fig 19:Histogram with negative skewed distribution in syntax 2B
235
Figure 19 above shows that the pupils’ achievement in this
instrument is negatively skewed. This shows that majority of the
pupils got marks well above the average.
PERCENTAGE ACHIEVEMENT
90.080.070.060.050.040.0
INSTRMT: 5.00 VERSION 2A INSTRMNT SYNTAX6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Std. Dev = 13.82
Mean = 63.7
N = 16.00
Fig.20:Histogram with uniform distribution of marks in syntax
2A
Figure 20 above shows that the pupils are almost uniformly
distributed over the range of marks. This means that the distribution
differs from normality even though there is uniform distribution.
236
PERCENTAGE ACHIEVEMENT
100.090.0
80.070.0
60.050.0
40.030.0
20.010.0
0.0
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Std. Dev = 29.15
Mean = 48.9
N = 67.00
Fig 21:Histogram with almost normal distribution
The figure above is almost normally distributed showing that a great
number of the respondents got marks that fall within the average
score.
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE RELIABILITY OF THE INSTRUMENTS
After the pilot study certain items in the three instruments were
emendated. After amendment that made the language and the
expression of the items/questions appropriate to the respondents, the
reliability of the instruments were established using test-retest
reliability technique. The different scores of the pupils at the first test
and the second test were correlated. The time between the first and
the second test was one month. Below are the results for the three
instruments:
237
Cohesion Reliability
Reliability coefficient=2items
Alpha=. 9082 Standardized item alpha=. 9144
The reliability level of instrument 1-cohesion is very high showing the
alpha level of .9144. The instrument is trustworthy for assessing
cohesion among primary school pupils.
Version 2A Reliability
Reliability coefficient =2 items
Alpha = .8608 Standardized item alpha =. 8673
The reliability level of instrument syntax 2A is very high showing the
alpha level of .8673. The instrument is trustworthy for assessing
syntax among primary school pupils.
Version 2B Reliability
Reliability coefficient =2 items
Alpha =. 9672 Standardized item alpha =. 9686
The reliability level of instrument syntax 2B is very high showing the
alpha level of .9686. The instrument is trustworthy for assessing
syntax among primary school pupils.
238
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION OF THE RESULTS
In this chapter, the data are analyzed and the results are presented in
the tables below.
Research question 1: To what extent can primary school pupils
utilize their knowledge of certain syntactic features and cohesive ties
as text factors in text processing and comprehension using the
expected criterion test of fifty percent?
Table 12: Descriptive Statistics of the Three Instruments
Different versions of
instruments
Mean N Standard
Deviation
Instrument 1 – Cohesion: 1.3168 990 .11820
Version 2B Instrument-syntax 1.2892 501 .19313
Version 2A Instrument-syntax 1.3551 487 .18442
Total 1.3192 .15916
The respondents performed better in syntax 2B version instrument with a
mean score of 1.2892 followed by instrument 1-cohesion with a mean score
of 1.3168 and lastly syntax 2A version instrument with a mean score of
1.3551.
239
Research question 2: To what extent can primary school pupils
utilize certain syntactic features as text factors in text processing and
comprehension?
Table 13: Descriptive Statistics of the Mean Scores of the
Respondents in Instruments 2B Version and 2A Version
Version 2B Instrument
Version 2A Instrument
Questions 1-15 Mean
(X)
N Questions 1-
15
Mean
(X)
N
Q 1 1.2415 501 Q 1 1.2404 487
Q 2 1.4710 501 Q 2 1.4704 487
Q 3 1.1876 501 Q 3 1.3101 487
Q 4 1.1078 501 Q 4 1.1643 487
Q 5 1.2156 501 Q 5 1.6530 487
Q 6 1.2754 501 Q6 1.3183 487
Q 7 1.3493 501 Q 7 1.3581 487
Q 8 1.1497 501 Q 8 1.1971 487
Q 9 1.1457 501 Q 9 1.3060 487
Q 10 1.4132 501 Q 10 1.4236 487
240
Q 11 1.4830 501 Q 11 1.4987 487
Q 12 1.3253 501 Q 12 1.3491 487
Q 13 1.2675 501 Q 13 1.3368 487
Q 14 1.3333 501 Q 14 1.3593 487
Q 15 1.3313 501 Q 15 1.3457 487
Overall 1.2892 Overall 1.3551
The respondents’ mean scores in each item in syntax 2B version instrument
and syntax 2A version instrument respectively are presented in the above
table.
Research question 3: What aspects of cohesion and syntactic
features can they positively or negatively utilize in text processing and
comprehension?
241
Table 14: Descriptive Statistics of the Mean Scores of the
Respondents in Different Aspects of Syntactic Features and
Cohesive Ties
Instrument 1: Cohesion Instrument 2A: Syntax Type of cohesive ties
Mean X
N
Type of syntactic features
Mean X
N
Cataphora 1.2800 501 Passive voice 1.3183 487 Anaphora 1.2848 501 Placement of
qualifier 1.2372 487
Homophora 1.4606 501 Concealed Idiomatic negative
1.4856 487
Coordinator 1.3929 501 Model auxiliary 1.4076 487 Examplifier 1.0172 501 Clauses 1.3060 487 Contrastive marker
1.7232 501 Double negatives 1.2936 487
Place relater 1.3131 501 Nominalization 1.4887 487 Neither … Nor 1.3491 487 Compound,
complex sentence 1.3368 487
The use of ‘none’ 1.3593 487 The use of ‘or’ 1.2957 487
The aspects of the syntactic features and cohesive ties, which the
primary six pupils can positively and negatively utilize in processing
texts, are presented in the above table.
Research question 4: To what extent do the mean scores of boys
and girls in text processing differ in the three instruments?
242
Table 15: Descriptive Statistics of the Three Instruments by
Gender
Gender of the
Subjects
Mean (X) N Standard Deviation
Boys 1.3284 1046 .16426
Girls 1.3089 932 .15267
Total 1.3192 1978 15916
The figures in the above table show that girls performed better than boys in
the three instruments with the mean scores of 1.3089 and 1.3284
respectively.
Research question 5: To what extent do the mean scores of the
respondents from semi-urban schools and rural schools in text
processing and comprehension differ?
243
Table 16: Descriptive Statistics of the Three Instruments by
Location
Location of schools Mean (X) N Standard Deviation
Rural schools 1.3216 1497 .17868 Semi-Urban schools
1.3185 481 .15242
Total 1978 15916
The figures in the above table show that the respondents from semi-
urban schools performed better than the respondents from rural
schools in the three instruments with the mean scores of 1.3185 and
1.3216 respectively.
Research question 6: To what extent do the mean scores of the
respondents from different socio-economic status differ in text
processing and comprehension?
244
Table 17a: Descriptive Statistics of the Respondents on
Instrument 1-Cohesion by Socio-economic Status
Socio-economic status of parents Mean N Std. Deviation
Educated & workers 1.3323 337 .12466 Educated business parents 1.2978 396 .10883 Uneducated business parents 1.3214 106 .11883 Uneducated farmers 1.3285 151 .12076 Total 1.3168 990 .11820
The figures in the above table show that children of educated
business parents performed better in instrument 1-cohesion with a
mean score of 1.2978 followed by children of uneducated business
parents with a mean score of 1.3214 and then children of uneducated
farmers with a mean score of 1.3285 and lastly children of educated
working class parents with a mean score of 1.3323.
245
Table 17b: Descriptive Statistics of the Respondents on Syntax
2B Version Instrument by Socio-economic Status
Socio-economic status of parents Mean N
Std. Deviation
Educated & workers
1.3010 169 .19136
Educated business parents 1.2755 197 .19252 Uneducated business parents 1.2644 58 .22268 Uneducated farmers 1.3169 77 .17207 Total 1.2892 501 .19313
The figures in the above table show that children of uneducated
business parents performed better in instrument 2B version with a
mean score of 1.2644 followed by children of educated business
parents with a mean score of 1.2755 and then children of educated
working class parents with a mean score of 1.3010 and lastly children
of uneducated farmers with a mean score of 1.3169.
246
Table 17c: Descriptive Statistics of the Respondents on Syntax
2A Version Instrument by Socio-economic Status
Socio-economic status of parents Mean N
Std. Deviation
Educated & workers 1.3681 167 .15861 Educated business parents 1.3307 205 .20301
Uneducated business parents 1.3636 44 .17400
Uneducated farmers 1.3897 71 .18539
Total 1.3551 487 .18442
The figures in the above table show that children of educated
business parents performed better in instrument 2A version with a
mean score of 1.3307 followed by children of uneducated business
parents with a mean score of 1.3636 and then children of educated
working class parents with a mean score of 1.3681 and lastly children
of uneducated farmers with a mean score of 1.3897.
Table 18a: Bonferooni Multiple Comparison Test on Difference of the Mean Scores of the Respondents in the Three Instruments
247
95%
Confidence Interval
(I) Different versions of instruments
(J) Different versions of instruments
Mean Difference (I-J)
Std. Error Sig.
Lower Bound
Upper Bound
Syntax-version 2B
.02761* .00864 .004 .0069 .0483 Cohesion-Appendix1 Syntax-
version 2A
-.03833* .00872 .000 -.0592 -.0174
Cohesion-Appendix1
-.02761* .00864 .004 -.0483 -.0069 Syntax-version 2B
Syntax-version2A
-.06594* .01002 .000 -.0900 -.0419
Cohesion-Appendix1
.03833* .00872 .000 .0174 .0592
Bonferroni
Syntax-version 2A
Syntax-version 2B
.06594* .01002 .000 .0419 .0900
*. The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level.
The table above shows a Bonferroni post hoc test indicating that the
three instruments with the means as presented therein differ
significantly from each other with significant levels less than 0.05
level of significance for each pair. The mean achievement of pupils is
248
highest in version 2A instrument –syntax followed by instrument 1-
cohesion and then version 2B instrument-syntax.
HO1: Pupils do not statistically differ significantly in their mean scores
among the three instruments as text factors in text processing and
comprehension
Table 18b: ANOVA Test on the Mean Difference of the Three Instruments
Sum of
Squares Df Mean Square F Sig.
Between Groups 1.086 2 .543 21.883 .000 Within Groups 48.995 1975 .025 Total 50.081 1977 Signific
ant
The analysis of variance test of the three instruments shows a F-ratio
of 21.883 and a significance level of .000 indicating that the three
instruments differ significantly among themselves. It also shows that
the variation within the groups is less by far than variation between
the groups.
HO2: Gender does not affect pupils’ achievement in the three
instruments as a text factor in text processing and comprehension
249
Table 19a: ANOVA Test on the Effect of Gender in Instrument 1-
Cohesion
Sum of
Squares Df Mean Square F Sig.
Between Groups
.000 1 .000 .015 .902
Within Groups
13.817 988 .014
Total 13.817 989 NS
The information in table 19a above shows that there is no significant
difference in the mean scores of boys and girls in instrument 1-
cohesion. The hypothesis that gender does not affect pupils’
achievement in cohesion is accepted.
Table 19b: ANOVA Test on the Effect of Gender in Instrument
2B Version
Sum of
Squares Df Mean Square F Sig.
250
Between Groups
.260 1 .260 7.066 .008
Within Groups
18.388 499 .037
Total 18.649 500 Significant
The hypothesis that gender does not affect pupils’ achievement in
instrument 2B version is rejected as the information in the above
table shows that there is a significant difference in the mean scores of
boys and girls in instrument 2A version.
Table 19c: ANOVA Test on the Effect of Gender in Instrument 2A
Version
Sum of
Squares Df Mean Square F Sig.
Between Groups
.085 1 .085 2.504 .114
251
Within Groups
16.444 485 .034
Total 16.529 486
Not significant
The hypothesis that gender does not affect pupils’ achievement in
instrument 2B version is accepted as the information in the above
table shows that there is no significant difference in the mean scores
of boys and girls in instrument 2B version. This is indicated in a F-
ratio of 2.504 and a significance level of .114.
HO3: School location does not significantly affect pupils’ achievement
in the three instruments as text factors in text processing and
comprehension.
Table 20a:ANOVA Test on the Effect of School Location on the
Respondents’ Achievement in Instrument 1-Cohesion
Sum of
Squares Df Mean Square F Sig.
Between Groups .073 1 .073 1.962 .162 Within Groups 18.576 499 .037 Total 18.649 500 NS
252
The above hypothesis that school location does not affect pupils’
achievement in instrument 1-cohesion is accepted as the information
in the above table shows that there is no significant difference in the
mean scores of respondents from semi-urban areas and respondents
from rural areas. This is indicated in a F-ratio of 1.962 and a
significance level of .162.
Table 20b: ANOVA Test on the Effect of School Location on the
Respondents’ Achievement in Syntax 2B Version Instrument
Sum of
Squares Df Mean Square F Sig.
Between Groups .086 1 .086 2.537 .112 Within Groups 16.443 485 .034 Total 16.529 486 NS
253
The above hypothesis that school location does not affect pupils’
achievement in instrument 2Bversion is accepted as the information
in the table above shows that there is no significant difference in the
mean scores of respondents from semi-urban areas and respondents
from rural areas. This is indicated in a F-ratio of 2.537 and a
significance level of .112.
Table 20c: ANOVA Test on the Effect of School Location on the Respondents’ Achievement in Syntax 2A Version Instrument
Sum of
Squares Df Mean Square F Sig.
Between Groups .086 1 .086 2.537
.112
Within Groups 16.443 485 .034 Total 16.529 486 NS
254
Sum of
Squares Df Mean Square F Sig.
Between Groups .086 1 .086 2.537
.112
Within Groups 16.443 485 .034 Total 16.529 486 NS Again the hypothesis that school location does not affect pupils’
achievement in syntax 2Bversion instrument is accepted as the
information in the table shows that there is no significant difference in
the mean scores of respondents from semi-urban areas and
respondents from rural areas. This is indicated in a F-ratio of 2.537
and a significance level of .112.
HO4: Socio-economic status of parents does not significantly affect
the respondents’ achievement in the three instruments as text factors
in text processing and comprehension
255
Table 21a: ANOVA Test on the Effect of Socio-economic Status
of Parents on the Respondents’ Achievement in Instrument 1-
Cohesion
Sum of
Squares Df Mean Square F Sig.
Between Groups .247 3 .082 5.983 .000 Within Groups 13.570 986 .014 Total 13.817 989 Signifi
cant
The hypothesis that Socio-economic status of parents does not
significantly affect the respondents’ achievement in instrument 1-
cohesin as a text factor in text processing and comprehension is
rejected as the information in the above table shows that there is a
significant difference in the mean scores of the respondents from
different socio-economic status. This is indicated in a F- ratio of 5.983
and a significance level of .000. In other words, socio-economic
status of parents affects pupils’ achievement in cohesion as a text
factor in text processing and comprehension.
256
Table 21b: ANOVA Test on the Effect of Socio-economic Status
of Parents on the Respondents’ Achievement in Syntax 2B
Version Instrument
Sum of
Squares Df Mean Square F Sig.
Between Groups .155 3 .052 1.392 .244 Within Groups 18.493 497 .037 Total 18.649 500 NS The hypothesis that Socio-economic status of parents does not affect
the respondents’ achievement in syntax 2B version instrument as a
text factor in text processing and comprehension is accepted as the
information in the above table shows that there is no significant
difference in the mean scores of the respondents from different socio-
economic status. This is indicated in a F- ratio of 1.392 and a
significance level of .244. In other words, socio-economic status of
parents does not affect pupils’ achievement in syntax as a text factor
in text processing and comprehension.
Table 21c: ANOVA Test on the Effect of Socio-economic Status
of Parents on the Respondents’ Achievement in Syntax 2A
Version Instrument
257
Sum of
Squares Df Mean Square F Sig.
Between Groups .238 3 .079 2.351 .072 Within Groups 16.291 483 .034 Total 16.529 486 NS
The hypothesis that Socio-economic status of parents does not affect
the respondents’ achievement in syntax 2A version instrument as a
text factor in text processing and comprehension is accepted as the
information in the above table shows that there is no significant
difference in the mean scores of the respondents from different socio-
economic status. This is indicated in a F- ratio of 1.351 and a
significance level of .072. In other words, socio-economic status of
parents does not affect the pupils’ achievement in syntax as a text
factor in text processing and comprehension.
The Summary of the Major Findings
The major findings of the research work include:
258
1. That using the expected criterion test of fifty percent as a
standard, the respondents’ performance in the three
instruments respectively is between 50% and above and that
they performed better in instrument 2B version with a mean
score of 1.2892 followed by instrument 1-coshesion with a
mean score of 1.3168 and lastly instrument 2A version with a
mean score of 1.3551.
2. That comparing instrument 2B version that served as a control
group and instrument 2A version that served as an
experimental group, the respondents performed better in
instrument 2B version – syntax with a score of 1.2892 and that
the difference in performance was statistically significant.
3. That in order of difficulty, contrastive marker with a mean score
of 1.7232, homophora with a mean score of 1.4606, coordinator
with a mean score of 1.3929 and place relater with a mean
score of 1.3131 are the aspects of cohesion that posed problem
to the respondents, and that in the reverse order, exemplifier
with a mean score of 1.0172, and cataphora with a mean score
of 1.2800 are the aspects of cohesion that did not pose problem
to the respondents.
259
4. That in order of difficulty, nominalization with a mean score of
1.4887, concealed idiomatic negative with a mean score of
1.4076, “neither … nor” with a mean score of 1.3491, “none”
with a mean score of 1.3592 etc are the aspects of syntax that
posed a problem to the respondents.
5. That the girls performed better than the boys in the three
instruments with a mean score of 1.3089 and boys, with a
mean score of 1.3284.
6. That the location of the school affects achievement in text
processing with the respondents from semi-urban areas
performing better with a mean score of 1.3185.
7. And finally, that the socio-economic status of the parents affect
achievement in text processing with the respondents of the
educated, and probably wealthy business parents performing
better with a mean score of 1.3013 followed by the subjects of
uneducated business parents with a mean score of 1.3160 and
then, respondents from educated and working class parents
with a mean score of 1.3338 and lastly, the subjects of
uneducated farming class parents with a mean score of 1.3450.
260
CHAPTER FIVE
DISCUSSION
261
In this chapter, the findings of the study, together with the implication,
the recommendation, and the summary of the study are discussed in
detail. The study, specifically, attempted to investigate and to
describe empirically the extent to which primary six pupils in Anambra
State could utilize their knowledge of certain syntactic features and
cohesive ties in text processing and comprehension. The study
equally attempted to describe how the two text factors interacted with
learner factors: gender, environment and socio-economic status of
the parents to influence the subjects’ achievement in text processing
and comprehension.
The findings of the study show that using the expected criterion test
of fifty percent as a standard, the respondents’ performance in the
three instruments: cohesion and syntax 2B version and syntax 2A
version respectively is between fifty percent and above and that they
performed better in instrument 2B version. The scores of the brighter
ones helped to raise the scores of the weaker ones and this made it
possible for the subjects to have an average fifty percent and above
in the three instruments. Comparing their performance in
instrument1-cohesion and syntax 2A version instrument, it was
discovered that they performed better in cohesion. Their good
262
performance in cohesion could be attributed to the fact that the
sentences under syntax, 2A version contain certain features that give
room to misinterpretation. Since no study has been carried out to
compare the effect of syntax and cohesion as text factors on
children’s text processing and comprehension, the researcher stands
on the findings of the present study to say that cohesion, as a text
factor, positively affects children’s performance in text processing and
comprehension more than syntax for the reason stated above. The
result of hypothesis one ( ) revealed that the difference in
achievement in the three instruments was significant.
Again, comparing instrument 2B version that served as a control
group with instrument 2A version that served as an experimental
group, the respondents performed better in instrument 2B version
with a mean score of 1.2892 and 1.3551 respectively. The difference
in performance in the two instruments can be attributed to the fact
that version 2A instrument contains stylistic features which occur
rarely in speech environment of the children especially the second
language environment. It is believed that the children have not learnt
how to interpret them. The finding was in line with Jessie’s research
finding.
263
Still in support of this, the result of hypothesis one ( ) showed that
there was not only a significant difference in the performance of the
respondents in the two instruments but that the difference was very
significant. The lexical items that bring about the overall difference in
performance in the two instruments are discussed in detail below:
Items 1 and 2 are in the passive voice. 24% and 48% respectively of
the respondents misinterpreted the two sentences as “the enemy
meeting the children’s mother” and “the woman following the
children.”
Items 3 and 4 with the qualifiers “with an old hoe and a large stick”
and “a long dangerous stick” respectively are separated from the
noun phrases, “the angry and poor old gardener” and “the madman”.
For this reason, 31% and 16% of the respondents interpreted the
sentences as “the boy holding a hoe and a stick” and “the children
holding a long dangerous stick” respectively.
Items 5 and 6 are concealed idioms and for this reason about 65%
and 31% the respondents respectively misinterpreted them as “my
father being pleased” and as “the speaker knowing that the boy was
quite innocent”
264
Items 7 and 8 contain modal verbs and for this reason, 34% and 18%
respectively of the respondents misinterpreted them as “children are
not always stubborn” and “the person is not hungry.”
Item 9 is a complex sentence and for this reason, 31% of the
respondents misinterpreted it as “the twin baby boy always taking the
best place in the palour.”
Item 10 contains double negatives and for this reason, 41% of the
respondents interpreted it as “a snake not giving birth to something
long.”
In item 11, the verb is nominalized and so, 19% of the respondents
misinterpreted the sentence as “many children going to school.”
Item 12 uses neither…. nor, and 35% of the respondents
misinterpreted boy’s shirt as being new and old.
Item 13 is a compound complex sentence, and 34% of the
respondents misinterpreted the sentence as “the parts of goods being
caused.”
Items 14 and 15 make use of none and or respectively and so, 36%
and 33% respectively of the respondents misinterpreted the
sentences as “some places offering comfort” and “cygnets” as being
different from the little swans.
265
The study revealed that the respondents performed better in syntax
version 2B because the sentences were restructured by removing the
features that caused the confusion in instrument version 2A. This is in
line with Jessie’s (382) research finding that certain syntactic features
that are seldom used in the speech environment of children make text
processing and comprehension difficult. Harrison (24) is of the view
that these features that appear in syntax are not flaws on the part of
any writer. A writer might decide to use them to present his ideas.
Since the features are not flaws, the second language learners
should be helped early in life by enriching their speech
environment/situation with these features that occur in written
language.
Furthermore, the study revealed, in order of difficulty the contrastive
marker with the highest mean score of 1.7232, followed by
homophora with a mean score of 1.4606, coordinator with a mean
score of 1.3929 and place relater with a mean score of 1.3131 etc as
aspects of cohesion that posed problem to the respondents. The
study revealed, in reverse order, the following as aspects of cohesion
that did not pose problem to the respondents: exemplifier with a
266
mean score of 1.0172, cataphora with a mean score of 1.2800, and
anophora with a mean score of 1.2848.
In the same way, the study revealed in order of difficulty, the aspects
of syntax that posed problem to the respondents beginning with
nominalization with the highest mean score of 1.4887, concealed
idiomatic negative with a mean score of 1.4856, modal verb with a
mean score of 1.4076, the use of none with a mean score of 1.3491,
compound-complex sentences with a mean score of 1.3368. In a
reverse order, too, the following did not pose any problem to the
respondents: placement of the qualifier with a mean score of 1.2372,
double negative with a mean score of 1.2936, the use of “or” with a
mean score of 1.2957, complex sentence with a mean score of
1.3060 and the use of passive voice with a mean score of 1.3183. No
study has been carried out to show the order of syntactic features
and cohesive ties that pose problem to the primary school pupils. For
this reason, the researcher stands on the findings of the present
study to say that what are presented above are the order and aspects
of syntax and cohesion that pose problem to the primary school
pupils.
267
Again, the study revealed that gender is a relevant factor in text
processing achievement. This, according to research findings, is due
to the fact that males and females differ in a number of sensory and
perceptual capacities. The results of the study showed that the girls
performed better than the boys because of the nature of the texts.
This is in line with Bugel and Baunk’s (15-31) research findings that
while girls perform better in the topics that have to do with midwives,
sad stories and house dilemma, boys perform better on topics that
have to do with cars, football, mathematical and spatial abilities. The
findings are also in line with Jackline’s as cited in Morgan at al(1979)
and Brantmeier’s(1-23) research findings. Dehelin’s(2006) work not
only revealed that girls performed better than boys but that they also
were more likely to persist reading than were boys.
The girls performing better than the boys in the present study could
be attributed to the fact that the topics have nothing to do with sports,
cars, and so on. However, the result of the hypothesis two ( )
revealed that the difference in performance in the three instruments
was only significant in syntax version 2A instrument. The difference in
the performance was not significant in instrument 1- cohesion and
syntax version 2B instrument. This is consistent with the findings from
268
research works, which had shown contradictory evidence in
academic achievement of students due to sex. For example, Dramole
(83) and Orji (108) found that there was no statistical significant
difference in the performance of girls and boys in reading
achievement.
The study again revealed that the respondents from semi-urban
areas performed better than the respondents from rural areas with a
mean score of 1.3185 and 1.3216 respectively. This could be
attributed to the fact that the children from semi-urban areas had
access to both human and material resources. The findings of the
study are consistent with Lloyd’s (http//www) research findings, which
showed that it is not necessarily where children live later in life that
matter for understanding literacy in early adolescent, but where they
lived years earlier. The result is also in line with the statement that
children’s reading comprehension may be set on a negative course
early in life if children and their families are living in resource deprived
places.
The researcher’s personal experience or discovery during the
fieldwork was that most of the schools in the rural areas lack teachers
and only God knows how competent and devoted the ones they have
269
are. In some schools you see a teacher handling primary four and
five pupils or two and three together. Still in some others, you see a
teacher moving from one classroom to the other in the name of
keeping the children busy. The researcher also personally observed
that many of the children leave the school compound to play either
street football or other rough games. Many of the schools visited
could not boast of sufficient teaching aids. Dilapidated structures,
rough floors and dirt remain the typical features of most of the rural
schools. In line with the researcher’s personal observation and the
findings of the present study, Onoko(9) has this to say: “It is criminal
for pupils to learn under bad condition[sic]. It is also a waste of
resources and time for any school to function below minimum
standard [sic]. Children should be given the right orientation to
encourage learning.” And the researcher adds that it is an abuse of
children to learn under such condition. It is, therefore, in order to
agree with Lloyd’s research findings that resource-deprived places
negatively affect achievement in text processing and comprehension.
However, the result of hypothesis two (Ho2) revealed that the
difference in performance of the respondents in the three instruments
was not statistically significant. The hypothesis that location does not
270
significantly affect reading achievement in the three instruments is
accepted. The difference in performance not being significant could
be attributed to the fact that both semi-urban and rural schools have
almost the same features and they all are government public schools.
Finally, the overall mean scores of the respondents in the three
instruments revealed that while the respondents of the educated and
business parents with a mean score of 1.3013 took the first position
followed by the children of the uneducated and business parents with
a mean score of 1.3160 and children of the educated and working
class parents with a mean score of 1.3338, the children of the
uneducated and farmers appeared last with a mean score of 1.3450.
The results showed really that the socio-economic status of the
parents affect children’s achievement in text processing and
comprehension. Two powerful factors that affect performance in this
study are education and the wealth of parents. For children to
perform positively, their parents must, in addition to be educated,
have money as the study revealed. The findings are in line with many
research findings. For example, Lloyd’s research work (http//www)
revealed the same thing, which the present study revealed that
children from higher economic status perform better than children
271
who come from poor and uneducated parents. This is also in line with
many research findings that parents’ educational and economic
status exert a strong effect on children’s text processing ability. This
is because acquiring text-processing skills involves the collective
efforts of parents, educators, family friends and community as well as
access to good schools, libraries, after-school programmes and other
educative resources. The results are equally consistent with Jessie’s
and other research findings that children from literate and wealthy
homes learn to read because they need to communicate. Again,
children from high socio-economic and educated parents tend to
excel in text processing activities because they have the additional
stimulation of a large number of books of all kinds and the frequent
examples of adults and siblings spending time in reading. The result
of the hypothesis four (H04) revealed that except in instrument one
which is on cohesion where the difference in performance among
children from different socio-economic status is significant, the
difference in performance in instrument 2B version and 2A version is
not significant.
272
Implications of the Study
The results of the study have obvious implications for the learning of
the second language, as there is an urgent need to bridge the gap
between speech and its graphic representation. The gap can be
bridged by starting early to equip the child through enriching her
speech environment/situation with those aspects of syntactic
complexity and cohesive ties that appear in written language.
Harrison is of the opinion that using them in writing is not in any way
related to flaws in writing. For this reason, depriving a child the
opportunity of hearing and listening to these features will constitute
serious barrier in her bid to learn not only the second language but
also his mother tongue (Jessie 383).
Again, the study revealed that environment is an important learner
factor in text processing. The x-ray of the state of primary schools,
especially the ones in the rural areas by Ayu (7), has shown that they
function very much below minimum standards. The rural schools are
characterized by the lack of both human and material resources.
Since the majority of the pupils are rural dwellers, there is need to
provide public libraries and other educational facilities at strategic
places in every town. This is to guard against Lloyd’s statement that
273
children’s reading comprehension may be set on a negative course
early in life if children and their families live in resource deprived
places.
Since the findings of the present study revealed that socio-economic
status of parents exert a strong effect on children’s text processing
achievement, there is an urgent need to help the poor and the rural
dwellers by making education free for all and by providing rich
libraries, after- school programmes and other facilities both in the
schools and in the towns. This is a challenge to individuals, churches,
organizations, town unions, age grades, business people, and men
and women of good will.
Finally, since the present and previous studies have revealed that
gender is a powerful factor in text processing achievement due to the
fact that males and females differ in a number of sensory capacities,
and that males excel in spatial and mathematical abilities, topics that
have to do with cars, football etc and females excel in topics that
have to do with midwives, sad stories and house dilemma, there is,
therefore, the need to guard against this by adopting reading
materials that favour the boys and the ones that favour the girls. In
co-classes, different reading materials or mixed reading materials
274
should be adopted so that both will benefit. The study, therefore,
encourages the importance of putting into consideration the nature of
boys and girls while choosing the reading topics.
Recommendations
Based on the findings of this work, the following recommendations
are made:
1. Parents, family friends and well-wishers should help to
supplement the efforts of the schools by enriching the speech
environment of the children from 6 years and above with
aspects of syntactic features and cohesive ties that appear in
written language.
2. The government, individuals, churches, communities, and
organizations should help the rural dwellers/pupils by providing
resource-enriched environments through libraries, educational
centers and other educational facilities.
3. There should be free and qualitative education for all in order to
accommodate children from poor socio-economic status.
4. Reading should be seen and handled as a separate course at
all levels of education.
275
5. Authors, curriculum planners, teachers and, indeed, parents
should always put into consideration the reading topics that
favour the boys and the ones that favour the girls and, of
course, the ones that favour both, hence, the importance of
gender and individual differences in language learning.
6. Parents, as a matter of priority should discourage their children
from engaging themselves so much in operating home videos
as the findings of the present study have equally shown that
they find it difficult to read textbooks whenever they mean to
watch or operate the videos
Limitations of the Study
The study has the limitations of the respondents’ absence from the
school after the sampling exercise. The exercise was carried out
twice in each thirty-six sampled schools. The problem encountered
therefore was that some pupils who did the first test on cohesion
were not present on the second day for the tests on instrument 2B
version and 2A version. This problem also led to the problem of
unequal boys and girls and unequal number of respondents in
different groups.
276
Another problem encountered was the insincerity on the part of some
teachers and the headmasters/mistresses. They saw the exercise as
government activity that would attract tangible national award to the
winners. This nearly pushed them into aiding their pupils. To get a
desired result/feedback, the researcher had to be physically present
on the days the tests were administered.
Conclusion
This research work focused on text processing among primary school
pupils in Anambra State. Conceptually, text processing is the term
that denotes cognitive activities involved in understanding, retaining
and remembering text. It is a process of one committing oneself to
the total thinking or reasoning on the topic that is expressed and
presented before one. Text processing is one of the most important
skills bestowed on humanity by civilization for individual and societal
progress and development. The importance of this gift of civilization
was first discovered and cherished in the United States of America in
the early 1960s. Since then, the focus of reading specialists and,
indeed, different agencies worldwide has been essentially on the
search for the effective ways of teaching text processing and
particularly on the effectiveness and hence the appropriateness of
277
alternative methods of instruction in arresting the learners’ problem of
learning meaningfully.
The focus of this work is therefore in line with the noble objective,
especially as the work explored different reading theories, models
and issues that underline text processing and comprehension
activities. The theories include: perceptual, cognitive, linguistic,
psycholinguistic and schema theories of text processing and
comprehension. The advantages and disadvantages of each have
been highlighted in this work.
Despite the widespread divergence in the perception of what text
processing truly is, no one is in doubt that it is the process of
decoding information from written or printed texts. It is based on this
that two theoretical definitive thrusts that emphasize either the
processes involved or the products emerged. Those who argue that
text processing is a psycholinguistic guessing game do so to
subscribe to the process theoretical school. The product school
places premium on information retrieval, the result of the text
processing activity. None of these views could be dismissed as
irrelevant since they are debating on decoding versus meaning. Be
278
this as it may, the researcher’s view is that too much emphasis
should not be given to the concept of text processing.
Like any other profession, teachers are held accountable for the ways
in which they carry out their professional tasks. For this reason, they
should bear in mind or buy the views of the two schools of thought
and at the same time make efforts or device other strategies towards
improving the teaching of text processing at various levels of
education in Nigeria. They should also make conscious effort to
bridge the gap between the children’s speech environment and the
written language. They should do this by introducing early those
syntactic features and cohesive ties that are used in written language
in the children’s speech environment. They should also bear in mind
that gender, environment and socio-economic status of parents are
important learner factors in text processing achievement.
If professional teachers in general and language teachers in
particular, should put into consideration the above facts and go ahead
to put them into practice, it is the sincere belief of the researcher that
teaching of text processing would no longer be seen as a ‘do’ or ‘die’
affair by the learners but rather will produce individuals with an all
279
round education who will not only be useful to themselves but also to
their society.
280
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Appendices
Appendix 1: Reliability Analysis – Scale (Alpha)
(1) Cohesion Analysis
Correlation Matrix
Test 1 Test 2
Test 1 1.0000
Test 2 .8422 1.0000
N of cases =23.0
Inter –item
Correlations Mean Minimum Maximum Range Max/Min
Variance .9422 .8422 .8422 .0000 1.0000
.0000
Item –total Statistics
Scale scale Correlated
Mean Variance Item-Squared
If item if item Total Multiple
Alpha
If item
Deleted Deleted Correlation Correlation
Deleted
296
Test 1 35.0000 445.4545 .8422 .7093
Test 2 45.0000 325.0000 .8422 .7093
Reliability Coefficients 2 items
Alpha =. 9082 Standardized item alpha =. 9144
(2) Syntax2A Version Reliability Analysis
Correlation Matrix
Test 1 Test 2
Test 1 1.0000
Test 2 .7657 1.0000
N of cases = 16.0
Inter –item
Correlations Mean Minimum Maximum Range Max/Min
Variance .7657 .7657 .7657 .0000 1.0000
.0000
Reliability Coefficient 2 items
Alpha =. 8608 Standardized item alpha =. 8673
297
(3) Syntax 2B Version Reliability Analysis
Correlation Matrix
Test 1 Test 2
Test 1 1.0000
Test 2 .9391 1.0000
N of cases =18.0
Inter –item
Correlations Mean Minimum Maximum Range Max/Min
Variance .9391 .9391 .9391 .0000 1.0000
.0000
Reliability Coefficient 2 items
Alpha =. 9672 Standardized item alpha =. 9686
298
Appendix 2: Reliability Test on Instrument 1-Cohesion
Please read carefully the passage below and answer the questions
that follow it. Before reading the passage, write and tick as
appropriate the following:
Name of my school:
……………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………
Gender: Boy Girl
Socio-economic status of my parents: My parents are: educated and
workers educated but business people
uneducated and business people
uneducated and farmers
Instrument 1
Rakutu was a morning star and queen mother. 1 She was beautiful,
but suffering had drastically reduced her to nothing. 2
One day, as the sun set, Takataka and his mother, Rakutu were
sitting outside their hut. 3 They were really confused and helpless. 4
That is the reason why they could not continue with the work they
were doing. 5 They could not provide solution to the problem before
them. 6 This compounded their problem. 7
299
People from the homes nearby ran out to watch them. 8 Rakutu
disappeared into the hut immediately. 9 Just then, she reappeared in
the doorway. 10 She had on her lovely colourful necklace. 11
Takataka had not seen it on her a moment ago. 12
“Good! Takataka, he is home!” she said, with a voice full of laughter.
13 “My dear, he is really home”, she continued. 14 I really thought
as much.15a There he is.” 15b
Mr. Doga had been away from his family for a very long time. 16a In
fact, he was away for long .16b For example, he was away for more
than five years.16c This contributed to their suffering. 17 Her son
wished that would stay in her voice forever. 18 He wondered if it
would. 19
It should not have happened. 20 But it happened. 21 His father soon
went off to drink beer, leaving them sad and disturbed again. 22
This should sound as a note of warning: Fathers, as heads of their
families should strive to take care of the members of their families.
23
300
Answer the following questions by ticking the right answer
options
Questions
1. Write the cohesive tie the words Rakutu, morning star and
queen mother refer to in this context.
(a) She
(b) He
2. Select another word the phrase ‘his father’ refers to in this
context.
(a) My Doga, Takataka’s mother, Rakutu’s brother
(b) Mr. Doga, Takataka’s father, Rakutu’a husband
3. What other phrase does the noun Takataka point to in this
context?
(a) My dear
(b) Takataka’s father
4.Write another word that the pronoun ‘1’ in sentence 15a refers to
in this context.
(a) Rakutu
(b) Takataka
301
5.Write the words that point to the pronoun ‘they’ in sentences 4
and 6 in this context.
(a) Rakutu and Doga
(b) Takataka and Rakutu
6.What sentence in this context does the word ‘this’ in sentence 17
point at?
(a) Sentence 16b
(b) Sentence 16b
7.What sentence in this context does the word ‘this’ in sentence 7
point at?
(a) Sentence 6
(b) Sentence 8
6. Write the word the pronoun ‘he’ in sentence 19 refers to.
(a) Takakata
(b) Doga
7. What problem in this context does ‘it’ in sentences 20 and 21
point to?
(a) His father went to drink leaving them sad and disturbed.
(b) His father died and left them helpless.
8. What sentence/phrase does ‘this’ in sentence 17 point to?
302
(a) Sentence 19
(b) Sentence 16
9. Identify sentences that contain definite article (homophora).
(a) Sentences 3, 8, 9,10
(b) Sentences 3 and 2
12. Identify two coordinators from the passage.
(a) The & and
(b) And & but
3. Identify the sentence that contains exemplifier from the
passage.
(a) Sentence 16a
(b) Sentence 16b
4. Name one contrastive marker from the passage.
(a) But
(b) Really
5. Name one place relater (adverb of place) from the passage.
(a) This
(b) There
303
Appendix 3: Reliability Test on Instrument 2A Version
Please read carefully each sentence below and answer the question
that follows by circling the correct option.
Before reading the sentences, write and tick as appropriate the
following:
Name of my school
……………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………
Gender: Boy Girl
Socio-economic status of my parents: My parents are: educated and
workers educated but business people uneducated
and business people uneducated and farmers
1. The children went back home without their mother and they met
the enemy in the house.
Question: Who did the enemy meat?
a) The children’s mother
b) The children
2. The children followed the woman.
Question: Who went first?
a) The children
304
b) The woman
Good Placement of Qualifiers
3. The angry and poor old gardener with an old hoe and a long
stick swiftly killed the poor little boy playing on the lawn.
Question: According to the sentence:
a) The gardener was holding a hoe and a stick
b) The boy was holding a hoe and stick.
4. The madman held a long dangerous stick and was standing
near the children.
Question: Who held a long dangerous stick?
a) The madman
b) The children
Plain Idiomatic Negative
5. My father was not pleased at all.
Question: The sentence means that:
a) My father was pleased
b) My father was not pleased
6. The boy was quite innocent, but I did not know that.
Question: This means that:
a) The speaker did not know the boy was quite innocent.
305
b) The speaker knew the boy was quite innocent
The Use of Verbs
7. Children are known to be stubborn.
Question: This means that:
a) children are not always stubborn
b) children are naturally stubborn.
Two Sentences Joined together by the Coordinating
Conjunctions
8. He is hungry, for he has not eaten since morning.
Question: The sentence means that:
a) The person is not hungry
b) The person has not eaten any food.
9. The twin baby girl always took the best place in the parlour, so
the twin baby boy did not like her.
Question: Who always took the best place in the parlour?
a) The twin baby girl
b) The twin baby boy
The Use of Single Negative
10. Our people say that a snake does not fail to give birth to
something long.
306
Question: This means that:
a) A snake gives birth to something long
b) A snake does not give birth to something long.
The Use of Active Verb
11. If the price of the school fees is reduced, many children will go to
school.
Question: This means that:
a) Many children don’t go to school.
b) Many children go to school.
Other Plain Sentences
12.The boy’s shirt was not new and it was not old.
Question: According to the sentence
a) The boy’s shirt was new and old.
b) The boy’s shirt was not new and old.
13. A merchant caused all his goods to be conveyed on camels.
Question: Which of the statements is true of the sentence?
a) Part of the goods was caused.
b) All the goods were caused.
14. I want you to understand that no place is a bed of roses
307
Question: Which of the statements is true?
a) No place offers comfort
b) Only one place offers comfort.
15. Cygnets are little swans, and they can swim very well.
Question: Which of the statements is true?
a) Cygnets are also called little swans
b) Cygnets are different from little swans.
308
Appendix 4: Reliability Test on Instrument 2B Version
Please read carefully each sentence below and answer the question
that follows by circling the correct option.
Before reading the sentences, write and tick as appropriate the
following:
Name of my school: ……………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………
Gender: Boy Girl
Socio-economic status of my parents: My parents are: educated and
workers educated but business people uneducated
and business people uneducated and farmers
1. The children were met by the enemy when they went home without
their mother.
Question: Who did the enemy meat?
a) The children’s mother
b) The children
2.The woman was followed by the children.
309
Question: Who went first?
a) The children.
b) The woman
The wrong placement of the qualifiers
3. The angry and poor old gardener swiftly killed the poor boy with an
old hoe and a long stick playing on the lawn.
Question: According to the sentence.
a) The gardener was holding a hoe and a stick
b) The boy was holding a hoe and stick.
4.The madman standing near the child held a long dangerous stick.
Question: Who held a long dangerous stick?
a) The madman
b) The children
Concealed Idiomatic Negative
5. My father was anything but pleased.
Question: The sentence means that:
a) My father was pleased.
b) My father was not pleased.
6. If only I had known the boy was quite innocent.
Question: This means that:
310
a) The speaker did not know the boy was quite innocent.
b) The speaker knew the boy was quite innocent.
The Use of Modal Auxiliaries
7.Children can be stubborn at times.
Question: This means that:
a) Children are not always stubborn
b) Children are naturally stubborn.
Two simple sentence joined together by the co-coordinating
conjunction
8. He must be hungry, for he has not eaten since morning.
Question: The sentence means that:
a) The person is not hungry.
b) The person has not eaten any food.
The Use of Clauses
9.The twin baby boy did not like the twin baby girl, who always took
the best place in the parlour.
Question: Who always took the best place in the parlour?
a) The twin baby girl
b) The twin baby boy
The Use of Double Negatives
311
10. Do our people not say that a snake does not fail to give birth to
something long?
Question: This means that:
a) A snake gives birth to something long.
b) A snake does not give birth to something long.
Nominalization
11. The reduction in the price of the school fees will make many
children go to school.
Question: This means that:
a) Many children don’t go to school.
b) Many children go to school.
The Use of Neither Nor, None, Or and Other Sentences
12.The boy’s shirt was neither new nor old.
Question: According to the sentence;
a) The boy’s shirt was new and old.
b) The boy’s shirt was not new and old.
13. A merchant who had much property to sell caused all his goods to
be conveyed on camels as there was no railway in that country.
Question: Which of the statements is true of the sentence?
a) Part of the goods was caused.
312
b) All the goods were caused
14. I want you to understand that none of the places is a bed of
roses.
Question: Which of the statements is true?
a) No place offers comfort.
b) Only one place offers comfort.
15. The little swans or cygnets can swim very well.
Question: Which of the statements is true?
a) Cygnets are also called little swans.
b) Cygnets are different from little swans.
313
Table 22: Public Primary Schools in Orumba North L. G. A.
S/N Name of Schools No of Pupils 1 National School, Ajalli 32 2 Central school, Amaetiti 36 3 Community School, Awa 10 4 Primary School ,Awa 25 5 Primary School ,Awa 22 6 Amugu School ,Awgbu 11 7 Central School, Awgbu 35 8 Community School ,Awgbu 31 9 Osikwunato Primary School, Awgbu 26 10 Okpokoro Primary School, Awgbu 7 11 Primary School, Awgbu 25 12 Union School, Awgbu 53 13 Community School, Mbato 14 14 Central School Ifite – Nanka 48 15 Community School Agbiligba, Nanka 18 16 Community School Amako, Nanka 20 17 Isigwunwagu Community School,Nnaka 25 18 Okpolonabia Community School, Nanka 23 19 Primary School Agbiligba, Nanka 55 20 Primary School Enugu, Nanka 35
314
S/N Name of Schools No of Pupils 21 Primary School Nkwoagu ,Nanka 40 22 Central School, Ndikelionwu 26 23 Community School, Ndikelionwu 17 24 Primary Schoo,l Ndikelionwu 5 25 Town School ,Ndikelionwu 3 26 Community School, Ndiokpalaeze 15 27 Central School ,Ndiokpalaeze 6 28 Central School, Ndiowu 62 29 Eastern Primary School, Ndiowu 29 30 Central School Ozzu, Ndiukwuenu 11 31 Community School Mamu ,Ndiukwuenu 16 32 Community School Mkpogho/Ubani,
Ndiukwuenu 5
33 Central School, Oko 21 34 College Primary School, Oko 37 35 Ezene School ,Oko 19 36 Okoko Primary School, Oko 56 37 Okwute Primary School, Oko 30 38 Primary School, Oko 38
39 Central School, Okpeze 12
40 Community school ,Omogho 18
41 Community School, Ufuma 7
42 Community School Ikenagu, Ufuma 10
43 Community School Umueji ,Ufuma 21
44 Community School Umuogem, Ufuma 22
315
S/N Name of Schools No of Pupils 45 Community School Umuonyiuka, Ufuma 8 46 Community School Umuonuiba, Ufuma 24 47 Primary School, Ufuma 27 48 Primary School Enugwuabo, Ufuma 35 49 Primary School Umuaguosibe, Ufuma 22 50 Primary School Umuonyiuka ,Ufuma 17 51 Primary School, Amaokpala 19 52 Migrant School, Ndiokolo
Total 1257
316
Table 23: Public Primary Schools in Orumba South L.G.A.
S/N Name of Schools No of Pupils 1 Central School ,Agbudu 11 2 Comm. School ,Akpu 24 3 Primary School, Akpu 28 4 Comm. School ,Enugu-Umuonyia 16 5 Central School, Eziagu 33 6 Central School ,Ezira 7 7 Comm. School ,Ezira 20 8 Primary School, Ezira 39 9 Comm. School, Ihite 30
10 Primary School, Ihite 17 11 Central School, Isulo 21 12 Primary School ,Isulo 9 13 Central School ,Nawfija 34 14 Comm. School ,Nawfija 41 15 Comm. School , Umuchukwu (Nkerehi) 19 16 Central School ,Ogboji 38 17 Primary School, Ogboji 17 18 Comm. School, Ogbunka 26 19 Ikpeabu Central School, Ogbunka 36 20 Primary School Umunobe ,Ogbunka 26 21 Primary School, Onneh 14
317
S/N Name of Schools No of Pupils
22 Egbeagu Primary School ,Owerri-Ezukala 34 23 Ihie Primary School ,Owerri-Ezukala 12 24 Okegbe Primary School, Owerri-Ezukala 19 25 Aladinma Primary School, Umunze 24 26 Central School, Umunze 42 27 Community School, Umunze 37 28 Igwebuike Central School, Umunze 31 29 Ishingwu Central School, Umunze 30 30 Nsogwu School, Umunze 27 31 Nwikpa E/S/,Umunze 36 32 Oganiru Primary School, Umunze 25 33 Ozara Primary School, Umunze 30 34 Primary School, Umunze 55 35 Ugwunano Primary School, Umunze 33 36 Uragu Primary School, Umunze 11 37 Central School ,Umuomaku 16 38 Community School ,Umuomaku 13 39 Okwute Primary School ,Umuomaku 16 40 Masdon Memo Sp. Edu. Centre ,Isulo 8
318
Table 24: Schools in Aguata Local Government Area
1 Central school, Achina 169 141 310
2 Eke Achina Pri. Sch., Achina 151 110 261
3 Achina Obinikpa Pri.Sch., Achina 90 62 152
4 Progressive Pri. Sch., Achina 120 96 216
5 Aguluezechukwu C/S, Aguluezechukwu
126 100 226
6 Pri. School, Aguluezechukwu 108 107 215
7 Comm. Pri School, Aguluezechukwu. 58 60 118
8 Obiofia Pri Sch. ,Aguluezechukwu 19 19 38
9 Central school, Akpo 199 145 344
10 Egbuike Pri School ,Akpo. 60 50 120
11 Achina/Akpo combined P/S, Achina/Akpo
64 35 99
12 Udoka Pri. Sch., Akpo/Achina 64 49 113
13 Central School, Amesi 110 83 193
14 Community school, Amesi 106 81 187
15 Pri. Sch. Agba, Ekwulobia 121 89 250
16 Central school, Ekwulobia 256 244 500
17 Efosie Pri. Sch. ,Ekwulobia 136 165 301
18 Ekwulobia Comm. Sch., Ekwulobia 281 299 580
19 Eziagulu Pri. Sch., Ekwulobia 194 191 385
20 Nwannebo Pri. Sch. Ekwulobia 214 170 384
21 Umuezenneofo Pri Sch., Ekwulobia 120 140 260
22 Akpunoji Comm. Sch., Ezinifite 116 56 202
23 Annuli Comm. Sch., Ezinifite 106 180 286
24 Central Sch., Ezinifite 150 250 400
319
25 Pri. School Ezinifite 138 77 237
26 Nwehia Pri School, Ezinifite. 48 32 -
27 Ogbugbogu Comm. Central SchooL,Ezinifite
108 11 219
28 Town School, Ezinifite 95 72 167
29 Pri. Sch. Amakpu Ngo, Igboukwu 77 76 153
30 Central School ,Igboukwu 225 235 460
31 Comm. Pri. Sch., Igboukwu 65 48 113
32 Ezihu Pri. Sch., Igboukwu 67 83 155
33 Pri. Sch. Amakpu, Igboukwu 194 130 304
34 Obigbo Central School, Igboukwu 47 54 101
35 Ogugwuagu Comm. Ngo, Igboukwu 116 100 216
36 Ifite Primary School, Igboukwu 106 90 916
37 Obinuno Pri. School ,Igboukwu 65 48 113
38 Town Primary School, Igboukwu 121 114 234
39 Union Primary School, Igboukwu 95 10 105
40 Ikenga Comm Primary School, Ikenga 93 94 187
41 Amaji Primary School, Isuofia 174 135 309
42 Central School, Isuofia 166 156 322
43 Comm. School ,Isuofia 131 111 242
44 Ikemee Primary School, Isuofia 156 178 334
45 Primary School, Isuofia 85 18 103
46 Comm. Prim. School, Nkpologwu 96 97 193
47 Primary School ,Nkpologwu 54 78 132
48 Central School, Nkpologwu 65 71 136
320
49 Central School, Oraeri 121 108 229
50 Central School ,Uga 150 214 364
51 Comm. Primary School, Uga 103 99 202
52 Ezinkwo Primary School Uga 31 13 44
53 Mbalaoye Primary School, Uga 148 142 290
54 Nwagwazi Primary School, Uga 133 189 422
55 Uganiru Primary School, Uga 100 53 153
56 Oka Comm. Primary School ,Uga 178 184 362
57 Okwute Primary School, Uga 114 200 314
58 Otioghata Primary School, Uga 154 128 272
59 Umuchu Central School, Umuchu 162 143 305
60 Ibughubu Umuchu Pri. School,
Umuchu
61 65 126
61 Community Primary School, Umuchu 158 113 271
62 Primary School Achalla, Umuchu 115 100 215
63 Ibughubu Comm Primary School,
Umuchu
160 153 313
64 Mbarafor Pri. Sch. Akukwua, Umuchu 124 92 216
65 Ogbaringba Primary School ,Umuchu 116 93 209
321
66 Primary School, Umuchu 121 112 233
67 Primary School Igbughubu, Umuchu 61 65 126
68 Primary School, Umuona 106 130 236
69 Special Education Central, Umuchu 36 24 60
Total 8279 7394 15673
322
Table: 25 Private Schools in Aguata L. G. A.
S/N
M F Total
1 All Saints Primary School, Ekwulobia 295 268 663
2 Holy Child Primary School, Isuofia 216 197 413
3 St. Mary’s Prim. School, Aguluezechukwu
205 190 390
4 St. Paul’s Primary School, Akpo 98 59 157
5 St. James’ Primary School, Uga 280 201 481
6 Future Hope Primary School, Igboukwu
163 134 297
7 Future Hope Primary School, Igboukwu
65 80 145
8 Emmanuel Primary School, Ezinifite 59 61 120
9 St. Michael’s Pri. Sch., Nkpologwu 51 43 94
10 St. Joseph’s Primary School, Ekwulobia
210 217 427
11 Immanuel Heart Pri. School, Ekwulobia
154 144 298
12 Holy Child Primary School ,Ekwulobia 162 185 347
13 Mercy Primary School ,Achina 115 90 195
14 Madona Primary School, Ezinifite 262 232 494
15 St. Martins School, Igboukwu 91 83 174
16 Holy Name Primary School Umuchu 101 74 175
17 Good shepherd Primary School ,Igboukwu
84 99 183
18 St. Mary Primary School ,Oraeri 70 60 130
19 Christ the King Pri. School, Ekwulobia 181 185 366
20 Angel of Peace Primary School, Amesi
100 103 203
21 Model Primary School, Igboukwu 111 106 216
22 Goodness Primary School, Ekwulobia 29 47 76
323
23 Our Lady of Welder ,Uga 175 103 276
24 Holy Family Primary School, Igboukwu
150 80 230
25 Fatima Primary School, Igboukwu 162 140 302
26 St. Anthony Primary School, Ikenga 65 50 115
27 Emmanuel Primary School, Nkpologwu
66 52 123
Total 3720 3283 7003