It’sallaboutengagementwithtexts– Empirical
findingsaboutpromotingstudents’reading
comprehensionbywell-structuredtexts
AnkeSchmitz,CarolineSchuttkowski,
BjoernRothstein,&CorneliaGraesel
InternationalLiteracyAssociation,Boston,MA
2016-07-09,3-4pm
16-07-05
Whoarewe?
AnkeSchmitz(post-doc)
Caroline Schuttkowski(PhD-Student)
Bjoern Rothstein(fullprofforGermanlinguistics)
Cornelia Graesel(fullprofforlearning&instruction)
UniversityofCologne
UniversityofBochum(RuhrValley)
UniversityofWuppertal
16-07-05
2
Outline
1. Researchinterestsandwrap-upoffindings
2. Brieftheoreticalbackground
3. Empiricalstudies
Methods,instrumentsandfindingsindetail
+Discussionabouttest-material(texts),insightintothinkaloud-protocols
4.Implicationsforschoolandfutureresearch
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3
1.Researchinterests
• Improvingcomprehensibilityofschooltextswithtextcohesion
• Consideringtheneedsofstudents:differentiatedhandlingof
textswithrespecttostudents‘engagement
• Analyzingwhatengagedreadingwithrespecttospecifictext
structurescharacterizes
• Searchingfornewwaystoimprove(strategic)reading
instructionatschool
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4
1.Scopeofempiricalstudies
Effectsoftext
cohesion
Students‘handling of
cohesivetexts
Students‘abilities and
expectations
Fig.1:Heuristicmodelofreadingcomprehension
(RANDReadingStudyGroup;Sweet&Snow2002)
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5
1.Studies
(1)
Effects textcohesiononreading
comprehension,whenstudentseither
expectanexpositoryor anarrativetext
(2)
Differentiated analysisofcohesionin
expositorytexts
(3)
Handlingoflessormorecohesivetexts
(process-oriented approach)
16-07-05
Experiments:
iv:textversions
dv:comprehensiontests
Thinking-aloud-study:
comparison oftexts
6
1.Centralfindings
•
Specificengagementwithrespecttostudents’expectations
abouttypesoftexts(narrativevs.expository)
•
Somecohesionmarkersareveryeffective,someare
interpretedasdisturbing,but noreversecohesioneffect is
existentin9th graders
•
Engagedstudentshavemorepriorknowledge,more
readingskills,moreknowledgeabouttextstructures
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7
2.Whatistextcohesion?
Textcohesionrunslikea“redthread”throughatext.
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8
2.Textcohesion
Grammatical,lexicalandsyntacticalelementswhichconnect
textsegments,sentences,paragraphsetc.(deBeaugrande &
Dressler 1983;Halliday&Hasan1976).
Localcohesion
Globalcohesion
connectsadjacentsentences
connectslargerpartsofatext
§
§
§
§
16-07-05
pronominalreferences
adverbs
conjunctions
tenses
§
§
§
§
nominalreferences
headlines
visual markers(paragraphs)
deicticdevices
9
2.Functionofcohesionforcomprehension
Cohesionmarkershelpreaderstoorientatthe topiccomment
structure duringcomprehension (Kintsch,1998).
Whatisalreadyknownandwhatisnew?Whereisthenext
importantinformationinthetext?
Cohesionfosterstheintegrationoftextsegmentswithprior
knowledge=deepunderstandingoftextsandlearning(ibid).
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2.Readingcomprehension&engagement
Comprehension isacomplexinteractionbetweenreader
characteristicsandtextfeatures (Graesser &Britton,1996;Kintsch,
1998;Schnotz,1994;vanDijk&Kintsch,1983).
“Engagedreaders…(are) motivated toreadforavarietyof
personalgoals,strategicinusingmultipleapproachesto
comprehend,knowledgeable intheirconstructionofnew
understandingfromtext,andsociallyinteractiveintheir
approachtoliteracy” (Guthrieetal.,1996).
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2.Readingachievement– selectedaspectscausing
moreorlessengagement
Text
features
Achievement
Reading
instruction
Fig.2(adaptedfrom:Guthrie&Wigfield,2000,p.410).
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2.Empiricalevidence
Cohesionisnotprofitableforallreaders(McNamara&Kintsch,
1996;O‘Reilly&McNamara,2009).
Studentswithfewpriorknowledgeprofitmorethanstudents
whohavemorepriorknowledge (McNamara&Kintsch,1996)
à Thelatterachievebetterunderstandingwithincohesivetexts
„reversecohesioneffect“
Readingskillsandstrategiescanbeprofitableformakinguseof
cohesionmarkers(Voss&Silfies,1996;Kintsch&Kintsch,1995).
Genreexpectations(merelycausedbyinstructions)trigger
differentprocessingmodesevenifthetextsaresimilar! (vanDijk
&Kintsch,1983;Zwaan,1994,1996)
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3.Studies
(1)
Effects oftextcohesiononreading
comprehension,whenstudents
either expectanexpositoryor a
narrativetext
(2)
Differentiated analysisofcohesion
inexpositorytexts
(3)
Handlingoflessormorecohesive
texts
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Researchquestions
Howdodifferentformsoftext
cohesion(localcohesion
and/orglobalcohesion)affect
readingcomprehension?
…whenstudentsexpect
eitheranarrativeoran
expositorytext?
…whenstudents’abilities
areconsidered?
Whatdostudentsthinkabout
textswithdifferentdegreesof
textcohesion?
14
3.1Method
Designà 4textversionsand2expectations
Demograpficdata
Cohesion
Genre
instruction
(N =754,9thgrade)
Expository
G+ L+ Exp
G- L+Exp
G+ L- Exp
G- L- Exp
Narrative
G+ L+Nar
G- L+Nar
G+ L- Nar
G- L- Nar
Tab.1:4x2-Design.
Expository
instruction
Narrative
instruction
Procedure
Pleasereadtheinformativenewspaperarticle „News
fromKenya“(fromFrankfurtPress,No.126,01.June
2006).Afterwards,pleaseanswerthecomprehension
questionsaboutthenewspaperarticle.
Pleasereadapartofthestory„AstoryaboutKenya“.
Afterwards,pleaseanswerthecomprehension
questionsaboutthestory.
Tab.2:Writteninstruction.
Topicknowledge,
readingabilities
Reading(1of4text
versions)
Comprehensiontest
(15Items,M =7.32,
SD =3.21)
15
3.1Readingtexts
Topic:aboy‘sexperiencewhileparticipatinginadevelopmental
projectinAfrica
Cohesion
Local
Global
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No.
Increaseoftextcohesion
1
Addingconnections(conjunctionsandadverbs)
2
Replacingpronounswithnouns
3
Addingdeicticconnectionsbetween paragraphs
4
Clarifyingmacropropositionswithsummarizing
sentences
5
Addingheadlinesandparagraphs
16
3.1What’syouropinionaboutthetextversionsand
instructions…?
Mini-questionnaire:Estimateyouwerea15years-old
student…J
Whatdoyoufeelwhenyoureadtheexpositoryorthenarrative
instruction?Whichtypeoftextwouldyouliketoreadmore?
Whichtextgenreisappropriateforthepresentedtext?Who
wouldassignthistexttobeanarrativeoranexpositorytext?
Aredistinctgenreexpectations(narrativevs.expository)
possible?
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3.1Results
ANOVA(G+/G-;L+/L-;Exp/Nar)
X Three-wayinteraction:(F (1, 753) = < 1,n.s.)
X Interactionoflocalcohesionwithgenreexpectations:
(F (1, 753) = < 1,n.s.)
X Interactionoflocalcohesionwithglobalcohesion:
(F (1, 753) = < 1,n.s.)
X Maineffectofcohesion:(F(1,753)=3.49,n.s.)
ü Interactionofglobalcohesion withgenreexpectations:
(F(1,753)=5.13,p <.05,partialη²=0.01)
(Schmitz,Graesel, &Rothstein,underreview)
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3.1Results
Comprehension
8.00
7.60
7.20
Expository
expectation
6.80
Narrative
expectations
6.40
6.00
t(1, 379) 4.02, p <.001
Degreeofcohesion
Fig.3:Effectsoftextcohesionandgenreexpectationsofreading
comprehension(Schmitz,Graesel,&Rothstein,underreview).
19
3.Studies
(1)
Effects oftextcohesiononreading
comprehension,whenstudents
either expectanexpositoryor a
narrativetext
(2)
Differentiated analysisofcohesion
inexpositorytexts
(3)
Handlingoflessormorecohesive
texts
16-07-05
Researchquestions
Howdodifferentformsoftext
cohesion(localcohesion
and/orglobalcohesion)affect
readingcomprehension?
…whenstudentsexpect
eitheranarrativeoran
expositorytext?
…whenstudents’abilities
areconsidered?
Whatdostudentsthinkabout
textswithdifferentdegreesof
textcohesion?
20
3.2Method
Designà 2textversions
Cohesion
Expositorytext
Globally
cohesive
Globally
incohesive
Tab.3:1x2-Design.
Assessmentofreadersabilities
- Topicknowledgetest(5Items,
Cronbachs-alpha:.71)
- Standardizedreadingabilitytest
- Questionnaireabouttopicinterest
(likert-scale;Cronbachs-alpha:.82)
Procedure
Demographic data
(N =741,9thgrade)
Topicknowledge,
readingabilities, interest
Readingof1of2text
versions
Comprehensiontest
(9Items,M =10.20,
SD =4.31)
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3.2Textbase
• Topic:Africa’seconomicdevelopment inthe21stcentury
(subtopics:educationalsystem,unemployment, poverty,
UNSECOaid)
• Relevantcontentforcurricularlearningin9thclass,e.g.
politics,socialstudies
• informationaltextofaboutonepage
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3.2Globalcohesionmanipulation(example)
Flourishing economy
TheOrganizationforEconomicCooperationandDevelopment(OECD)
asserted anastonishingincrease in
theeconomicgrowthfor Africa in
2004.Theaverageglobal
development wassetat4.1%.2007
Africa‘seconomicgrowthissaidto
beat5.7%andinoilrichcontriesto
increaseupto8%.Inotherwords:
Africa‘seconomygrowsstronger
thantheglobaleconomy.
(nextparagraph)
Addingtopicheaders
Addingnominalreferences(repetition
ofnouns)
Summarizing centralaspectstoavoid
misunderstanding
Visualizing paragraphs
(Schmitz,2016)
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3.2Comprehensionquestions(example)
Searchingand
extracting
Information
• MC-questions
• e.g.:Whatforis
developmentalaid
inAfrica
necessary?
(1)healthsystem
(2)environment
(3)education
(4)infrastructure
Combination and
interpretation
Reflectionand
evaluation
• Semiopen
questions
• Open-ended
questions
• e.g.:Whyandfor
whomisaprice
reductionofraw
material
problematic?
• e.g.:Explainin
whichway
industrialcountries
causeproblemsin
developing
countries?
(Schmitz,2016)
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3.2Results
✗ Nothree-wayinteractionbetweenglobalcohesion,priorknowledgeandreadingabilities(t(7, 740) = -3.38, n.s.)
✗ Notwo-wayinteractionsbetweenglobalcohesionandprior
knowledge(t41, 740) = -1.37, n.s.)orreadingabilities(t(4,
740) < 1, n.s.)
ü Maineffectofglobalcohesion oncomprehension (t(3,740)=
8.75,p <.001);Cohensd=0.63
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3.2Maineffectofglobalcohesion
Comprehension
K:Knowledge
15.00
R:Readingability
13.00
11.00
9.00
Globally cohesive
7.00
Globallyincohesive
5.00
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Readers’ abilities
K (M- 1SD)
K (M - 1SD)
K (M +1SD) K (M +1SD)
R (M - 1SD)
R (M +1SD)
R (M - 1SD)
R (M +1SD)
26
3.2Briefsummary
• Readers’achievement dependsoncentralaspectsof
engagement:priorknowledge,readingabilities,genre
expectations
• Readers’engagementinfluencestheprocessingoftextcohesion
But:gapbetween betterandworsereaderscannotbereduced
withcohesion(Matthew-effect) (seealso:Schmitz&Graesel, 2016;
Rothsteinetal.,2014)
Openquestion:Whatdostudentsreallythinkaboutcohesive
orlesscohesivetexts?
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3.Studies
(1)
Effects oftextcohesiononreading
comprehension,whenstudents
either expectanexpositoryor a
narrativetext
(2)
Differentiated analysisofcohesion
inexpositorytexts
(3)
Handlingoflessormorecohesive
texts
16-07-05
Researchquestions
Howdodifferentformsoftext
cohesion(localcohesion
and/orglobalcohesion)affect
readingcomprehension?
…whenstudentsexpect
eitheranarrativeoran
expositorytext?
…whenstudents’abilities
areconsidered?
Whatdostudentsthinkabout
textswithdifferentdegreesof
textcohesion?
28
3.3Handlingofmoreorlesscohesivetexts:
findingsofathinking-aloud-study
• Thinking-aloud-method wasdeveloped basedonthetechniques
ofprotocolanalysesbyEricsson&Simon(1980,1993)
• Methodinvolvesparticipantsthinkingaloudwhileperforminga
setofspecifictasks(Boren&Ramey,2000;Somerenetal.,1994)
• Verbalizingofthoughtsgivesinsightintoparticipants’cognitive
processesà Howdostudentshandlemoreorlesscohesive
textswhencomparingtwotextsinlanguageandstructure?
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3.3Method
Procedure
design à 2textversions
Cohesion
expositorytext
(newspaper
report)
locallycohesive
(temporal
cohesion)
lesscohesive
(temporal
cohesion)
Tab.3:2-factorialdesign.
Task/instruction:
“Please read the two following texts A and
B carefully and compare the sentences. Do
you notice any differences in language and
structure? Please refer to them.”
Demographic data
(N =57,9thgrade)
readingabilities
(standardizedtest)
readingandcomparingof2
textversionsbythinkingaloud(audio-recorded)
transcribingandanalyzing
thinking-aloud-protocols
30
3.3Localcohesionmanipulation:
temporaladverbsanddifferenttenses
Cohesivetext
LastSaturday,theresidentsofMedfield
Street/ParkStreethadanunpleasant
surprise.Theworkersofthecommunity
wastedisposalwerewonderingalittle
laterastheywantedtoemptythetrash
cans:Theyhadalreadybeenemptied.
Instead,thestinkinggarbagewas
scatteredankle-highinthestaircases.
Beforethediscoveryunknownhadput
thegarbageintothehousesandhad
simultaneously stackedposterswith
insultsonthedoors.Afterwards,the
outrageamongthehouseresidentswas
huge.Thentheywereoccupiedthe
wholemorningtoeliminate the
”swinishness".Itisstillmysterioushow
theunknownpreviouslyhadmanagedto
getintothelockedhouse.
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Lesscohesivetext:
LastSaturday,theresidentsofMedfield
Street/ParkStreethadanunpleasant
surprise.Theworkersofthecommunity
wastedisposalwerewonderingasthey
wantedtoemptythetrashcans:They
wereemptied.Instead,thestinking
garbagewasscatteredankle-highinthe
staircases.Unknownputthegarbagein
thehousesandstackedposterswith
insultsonthedoors.Theoutrageamong
thehouseresidentswashuge.Theywere
occupiedtoeliminate the"swinishness".
Itwasmysterioushowtheunknown
managedtogetintothelockedhouses.
31
3.3Localcohesionmanipulation:
temporaladverbsanddifferenttenses
Cohesivetext
LastSaturday,theresidentsofMedfield
Street/ParkStreethadanunpleasant
surprise.Theworkersofthecommunity
wastedisposalwerewonderingalittle
later astheywantedtoemptythetrash
cans:Theyhadalreadybeenemptied.
Instead,thestinkinggarbagewas
scatteredankle-highinthestaircases.
Before thediscoveryunknownhadput
thegarbageintothehousesandhad
simultaneously stackedposterswith
insultsonthedoors.Afterwards,the
outrageamongthehouseresidentswas
huge.Then theywereoccupiedthe
wholemorningtoeliminate the
"swinishness".Itisstill mysterioushow
theunknownpreviouslyhadmanagedto
getintothelockedhouse.
16-07-05
Lesscohesivetext:
LastSaturday,theresidentsofMedfield
Street/ParkStreethadanunpleasant
surprise.Theworkersofthecommunity
wastedisposalwerewonderingasthey
wantedtoemptythetrashcans:They
wereemptied.Instead,thestinking
garbagewasscatteredankle-highinthe
staircases.Unknownputthegarbagein
thehousesandstackedposterswith
insultsonthedoors.Theoutrageamong
thehouseresidentswashuge.Theywere
occupiedtoeliminate the"swinishness".
Itwasmysterioushowtheunknown
managedtogetintothelockedhouses.
32
3.3Localcohesionmanipulation:
temporaladverbsanddifferenttenses
Cohesivetext:
LastSaturday,theresidentsofMedfield
Street/ParkStreethadanunpleasant
surprise.Theworkersofthecommunity
wastedisposalwerewonderingalittle
later astheywantedtoemptythetrash
cans:Theyhad alreadybeen emptied.
Instead,thestinkinggarbagewas
scatteredankle-highinthestaircases.
Before thediscoveryunknownhadput
thegarbageintothehousesandhad
simultaneously stackedposterswith
insultsonthedoors.Afterwards,the
outrageamongthehouseresidentswas
huge.Then theywereoccupiedthe
wholemorningtoeliminate the
"swinishness".Itis stillmysterioushow
theunknownpreviously hadmanaged to
getintothelockedhouse.
16-07-05
Lesscohesivetext:
LastSaturday,theresidentsofMedfield
Street/ParkStreethadanunpleasant
surprise.Theworkersofthecommunity
wastedisposalwerewonderingasthey
wantedtoemptythetrashcans:They
were emptied.Instead,thestinking
garbagewasscatteredankle-highinthe
staircases.Unknownput thegarbagein
thehousesandstacked posterswith
insultsonthedoors.Theoutrageamong
thehouseresidentswashuge.Theywere
occupiedtoeliminate the"swinishness".
Itwas mysterioushowtheunknown
managed togetintothelockedhouses.
33
3.3Qualitativeanalysis:categorysystem
CODE
definition
Focusoncohesionmarkers– tenses/changeoftenses(e.g.is/was,managed/hadmanaged))
T1– focussingontenseswithoutany
Thestudentonlyfocussesonthesyntacticalelement(tense)andneither
explanation
namesitnorexplainsitsfunctionintexts.
T2– definingtenseswithregardto
Thestudentknowsthegrammaticaltermsandisabletousethem
grammaticalterms
correctly(e.g.present,pasttense)
T3– definingtenseswithoutregardto
Thestudenttriestoexplainthetenseswithoutusinggrammaticalterms
grammaticalterms
(e.g.changeoftenses)
T4– interpretationofusingdifferenttenses
Thestudentexplains/interpretstheuseofdifferenttensesintexts(e.g.
exactrepresentationoftheeventsinchronologicalorder)
Focusoncohesionmarkers– temporaladverbs(e.g.then)
A1– focussingonadverbswithoutany
Thestudentonlyfocussesonthesyntacticalelement(adverbs)andneither
explanation
namesitnorexplainshisfunctionintexts.
A2– definingadverbswithregardto
Thestudentknowsthegrammaticaltermsandisabletousethem
grammaticalterms
correctly(eg.(temporal)adverb).
A3– definingadverbswithoutregardto
Thestudenttriestoexplainthetenseswithoutusinggrammaticalterms
grammaticalterms
(e.g.exactinformationabouttime,moredetails).
A4– interpretationofusingdifferentadverbs Thestudentexplains/interpretstheuseofdifferenttemporaladverbsin
texts(e.g.exactrepresentationoftheeventsinchronologicalorder).
(Schuttkowskietal.,2015;Schmitzetal.,accepted)
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3.3Qualitativeanalysis:encodingthinking-aloudprotocols
Let‘sseehowtodealwithourcategorysystem…
Pleasereadthefollowingtwoextractsofthinking-aloudprotocols:
• Dothestudentsnoticedifferencesinlanguageandstructureof
bothtextsAandB?
• Trytoassignthestudents’statementstothecategoriesof
tenses(T1– T4)andtemporaladverbs(A1– A4)
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3.3Extractofthinking-aloud-protocols
Protocol120115:(observer =O,student=S)
[…]
O:Now,pleasetrytocomparebothtextsandeachoftheirsentencesandtellmeifyounotice
anydifferencesinlanguageandstructure[…]andpleaseexpressall ofyourthoughtsand
whatevercomesintoyourmind.[…]
S:Forthemoment(.)Ididn’tfindanyrelevantdifferences.(24)Fromtimetotime(.)whatisthat
called (13)thereareusednounsoradjectiveswithtemporalinformationintextAthataren’t
usedintextB.
O:Couldyoupleasenamethesewords?
S:Forexample,thesentence(.)Theyhadalreadybeenemptied.[…]AndintextBthereisthe
sentenceTheywereemptied,forexample.[…]orthesentenceBeforethediscoveryunknownhad
putthegarbageintothehousesandhadsimultaneouslystackedpostersonthedoorsisalso
differentintextB:Unknownputthegarbageinthehousesandstackedpostersonthedoors.
Thisway,textAisactuallymuchlonger.(22)OrforexampleAfterwards,theoutrageamongthe
residentswashugeintextAandintextBTheoutrageamongtheresidentswashuge.Thelatter
isshortandcrisp.
O:Hhm,doyoufindanydifferenceinthecontentofbothtexts?
S:Yes,textAismorecomprehensibleand(.)figurativelyeasier toimaginewiththehelpofallthe
detailsliketheadjectives.
[…]
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3.3Extractofthinking-aloud-protocols
Protocol120115:(observer =O,student=S)
[…]
O:Now,pleasetrytocomparebothtextsandeachoftheirsentencesandtellmeifyounotice
anydifferencesinlanguageandstructure[…]andpleaseexpressall ofyourthoughtsandsay
whatevercomesintoyourmind.[…]
S:Forthemoment(.)Ididn’tfindanyrelevantdifferences.(24)Fromtimetotime(.)whatisthat
called (13)thereareusednounsoradjectiveswithtemporalinformationintextAthataren’t
usedintextB.
O:Couldyoupleasenamethesewords?
S:Forexample,thesentence(.)Theyhadalreadybeenemptied.[…]AndintextBthereisthe
sentenceTheywereemptied,forexample.[…]orthesentenceBeforethediscoveryunknownhad
putthegarbageintothehousesandhadsimultaneouslystackedpostersonthedoorsisalso
differentintextB:Unknownputthegarbageinthehousesandstackedpostersonthedoors.
Thisway,textAisactuallymuchlonger.(22)OrforexampleAfterwards,theoutrageamongthe
residentswashugeintextAandintextBTheoutrageamongtheresidentswashuge.Thelatter
isshortandcrisp.
O:Hhm,doyoufindanydifferenceinthecontentofbothtexts?
S:Yes,textAismorecomprehensible and(.)figurativelyeasier toimaginewiththehelpofallthe
detailsliketheadjectives.
[…]
16-07-05
Coding:
A3
A1
A1
A4
37
3.3Extractofthinking-aloud-protocols
Protocol210104(observer =O,student=S):
[…]
O: Pleasecomparebothtextsandeachoftheirsentences.Juststartwiththefirstsentenceand
comparehimtothefirstsentenceoftextB.Afterthatyou’llgoandonandyou’lltellmeifyoucan
noticeanydifferencesorcommongroundinlanguageandstructure.
S:Okay,thefirstsentenceisthesame,there isn’tanydifference.Nodifferentwords.[…]Bothare
thesame(22)TextBiswithoutanytemporalinformation.Theyweresurprisedatfindingtheempty
trashcans(murmuring)andthereistheinformationthattheywerewonderingalittle later.So,they
hadalreadybeenemptied,thetrashcans.TextAisdrawnupinmoreconcreteform,sortedwith
temporalinformation.(23).Inthethirdsentencebothtextshavethesamewords.Therearen’tany
differences.[…]Theforthsentenceisalsothesame.IntextAtheoutrageamongthehouse
residentswashuge,afterthat.SothereisthereasonfortheirreactionandintextBthereisnothing
likethat.(21)IntextBthereisthesentenceTheywereoccupiedtoeliminatethe"swinishness".[…]
andintextAthereisanadditionalthen.So,theclean-upfollowstheresidents’outrage.[…]here
(textB),itissaidwasandthere(textA),itisisstill.Forme,textBiswritteninpasttenseandtextA
iswritteninpresenttense.
[…]
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3.3Extractofthinking-aloud-protocols
Protocol210104(observer =O,student=S):
Coding:
[…]
O: Pleasecomparebothtextsandeachoftheirsentences.Juststartwiththefirstsentenceand
comparehimtothefirstsentenceoftextB.Afterthatyou’llgoandonandyou’lltellmeifyoucan
noticeanydifferencesorcommongroundinlanguageandstructure.
S:Okay,thefirstsentenceisthesame,there isn’tanydifference.Nodifferentwords.[…]Bothare
thesame(22)TextBiswithoutanytemporalinformation.Theyweresurprisedatfindingtheempty
trashcans(murmuring)andthereistheinformationthattheywerewonderingalittle later.So,they
hadalready beenemptied,thetrashcans.TextAisdrawnupinmoreconcreteform,sortedwith
temporalinformation.(23).Inthethirdsentencebothtextshavethesamewords.Therearen’tany
differences.[…]Theforthsentenceisalsothesame.IntextAtheoutrageamongthehouse
residentswashuge,afterthat.SothereisthereasonfortheirreactionandintextBthereisnothing
likethat.(21)IntextBthereisthesentenceTheywereoccupiedtoeliminatethe“swinishness".[…]
andintextAthereisanadditionalthen. So,theclean-upfollowstheresidentsoutrage.[…]here
(textB),itissaidwasandthere(textA),itisisstill.Forme,textBiswritteninpasttenseandtextA
iswritteninpresenttense.
[…]
16-07-05
A4
A1,A4
A1
A1,A4
T2
39
3.3Results
ü StudentsperceivethecohesiveelementsintextA
à focusmoreonadverbsthanontenses
X Students arerarelyabletousegrammaticaltermsorto
explainthefunctionoftemporalcohesion
Unclearifthecohesivemarkersaremeaningfulfortext
comprehension:
ü Incomparison,studentspreferthecohesivetextà more
comprehensible,moredetails
X Additionaladverbsareinterpretedasdisturbing(possible
reason:textsaretooshort;usageisinauthentic)
(Schuttkowskietal.,2015,Schmitzetal.,accepted)
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4.Implicationsforschool
Especiallyglobalcohesionpromotesunderstandingexpository
textswhereasnarrativecomprehensionseemstoberobust
againstanycohesionmanipulationà differentengagementdue
totextinstruction(andherebyaffectedmotivation?)
Localcohesionhasnoeffectandtemporalcohesionisinterpreted
asdisturbing(toomuch!)
à Whenweakerstudentsworkwithgloballycohesiveexpository
textsdisparitiesinclasscouldbereduced
à Differentiatedreadingmaterialregardingglobalcohesioncould
beakeyforpromotingweakerstudents
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4.Implicationsforschool
Changingschoolbookpublishers’practicesisalongprocess.
Manyschooltextsarejudgedasincomprehensible=>lackof
cohesion (McNamara&Kintsch,1996)
Needforad-hocconstructionofcomprehensibletextsduring
lessonsà teacherprofessionalizationmustincludeknowledge
abouttextcomprehension,readers’engagementandlinguistic
expertiseabouttextcomprehensibility
Teachershavetoengagestudentstoactivelyworkwithtexts
à Raisingawarenessabouttextstructures+usingcohesion
strategically+connectingreadingandwriting
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4.Futureresearch:interventionstudy
Pre-test:demographic
data,readingskills,
comprehensiontest1
Intervention
Post-test: comprehension
test2
Follow-up:
comprehensiontest3
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Keyelementsoftheintervention
• Topic:explicatethefunctionofcohesive
elements (here:temporalelements, e.g.
adverbs) tostructuretexts(here:explicate
chronologicalorder)andstrategicallyuse
themforcomprehension
• Material:workingoutgrammaticalrules
(e.g.formsofpasttense andpastperfect),
worksheets(e.g.underliningcohesive
elements intexts,cloze-tests) +reflections
• Learning objective:linkingtheactiveuseof
cohesiveelements withreadingstrategies
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Thanksforyourattention!
Thefloorisopenfor…
[email protected] [email protected]
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