EFL Textbook Evaluation: An Analysis of Readability and Vocabulary Profiler of Four Corners Book Series
Subject Areas :
Milad Malverdi Varzaneh
1
,
Laya Heidari Darani
2
1 - Department of Foreign Languages, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran
2 - Department of English, Falavarjan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran
Keywords: reading comprehension, Vocabulary, word frequency, readability, K1 words, Academic Word List,
Abstract :
This study aimed to investigate whether there is any significant relationship between the readability and vocabulary profile including the most frequent words (K1 words) and academic word list (AWL) of reading passages of Four Corners series which were EFL textbooks. To determine the readability of the texts, the Flesch–Kincaid (1975) readability test was used, while the texts' academic word list and most frequent words which were the indicators of vocabulary profiler were calculated by Cobb's (2002) vocabulary profiler test. In order to analyze the data obtained Pearson Product-Moment correlation coefficients were exploited. With respect to the relationship between readability and most frequent words, there was no significant correlation between readability and K1 words. This means that whatever the text is more difficult, the number of K1 words does not change while it was thought if the text is more difficult the number of K1 words is lower. Concerning the relationship between readability and academic word list, no significant correlation between readability and academic word list was observed, either. In other words, the readability of these texts is not due to their academic word list. It can be concluded that some other factors such as sentence length, syntactic complexity, and learners' background knowledge might contribute to the difficulty of the texts.
Abd-Al, T., & Al-Odwan, H. (2012). The effect of the directed reading thinking activity through cooperative learning on English secondary stage students' reading comprehension in Jordan. Humanities and Social Science international Journal, 2(16), 138-151.
Alderson J. C. (2000). Assessing reading. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Alhaidari, M. S. (2006). The effectiveness of using cooperative learning to promote reading comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency achievement scores of male fourth, and fifth-grade students in a Saudi Arabian school (Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation). Pennsylvania State University.
Beck, I.L., McKeown, M.G., & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing words to life: Robust vocabulary instruction. New York: Guildford Press.
Carkin, S. (2005). English for academic purposes. In E. Hinkel (Ed.), Handbook of Research in Second Language Teaching and Learning. (pp. 85-98). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Carrell, P. L. (1984). Schema theory and ESL reading: Classroom implications and applications. The Modern Language Journal, 68(4): 332-43.
Chall, J. S. (1958). Readability: An appraisal of research and application. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press.
Chastain, K. (1988). Developing second language skills: Theory and practice, (3rd ed.).
San-Diago, CA: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Chen, J. C. (2005). Explicit instruction of reading strategies at senior high school in Taiwan. (Unpublished MA dissertation, National Kaohsiung Normal University). Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Cobb, T. & Horst, M. (2001). Reading academic English. In J. Flowerdew & M. Peacock (Eds.), Research Perspectives on English for Academic Purposes (pp: 315- 329). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Cobb, T. (2002). Web VocabProfile. Available at http: //www.er.uqam.ca /nobel/r21270 /cgi-bin/webfreqs / web_vp.cgi.
Dale, E., & Chall, J. S. (1949). The concept of readability. Elementary English, 26, 23.
Day, R. R. (1994). Selecting a passage for the EFL reading class. Forum, 32(1): 20.
Essem Educational Limited (2007). Readability: How readable are your texts. Retrieved from www.readability.biz/indices.html, on 13/2/13.
Flesch–Kincaid, J. P. (1975). Derivation of new readability formulas (automated readability index, fog count, and flesch reading ease formula) for Navy enlisted personnel. Research Branch Report, 8–75. Chief of Naval Technical Training: Naval Air Station Memphis.
Ghaith, G. M. (2003). Effects of the Learning Together Model of cooperative learning on English as a foreign language reading achievement, academic self-esteem, and feelings of school alienation. Bilingual Research Journal, 27, 451-474.
Grabe, W. & Stoller, F. L. (2002). Teaching and researching reading. London: Pearson Education.
Harris, T. L. & Hodges, R. E. (1995) (Eds.). The Literacy Dictionary: The Vocabulary of Reading and Writing. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Haynes, M., & Baker, I. (1993). American and Chinese readers learning from lexical familiarization in English text. In T. Huckin, M. Haynes, & J. Coady (Eds.), Second Language Reading and Vocabulary Learning (pp. 130-152). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Hidi, S. (2001). Interest, reading, and learning: Theoretical and Practical Considerations. Educational Psychology Review, 13(3), 191-209.
Hu, M. & Nation, I.S.P. (2000). Unknown vocabulary density and reading comprehension. Reading in a Foreign Language 13(1), 403-430.
Laufer, B., & Goldstein, Z. (2004). Testing vocabulary knowledge: Size, strength, and computer adaptiveness. Journal of Learning Language, 54(3), 399-436
Lee, S. K. (2009). Topic congruence and topic interest: How do they affect second language reading comprehension? Reading in a Foreign Language, 21(2), 159-178.
Liang, T. (2002). Implementing cooperative learning in EFL teaching: Process and effects. (Doctoral dissertation, National Taiwan Normal University). Retrieved on 2/19/12 from http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/Thesis_Liang_Tsailing.pdf.
Lunzer, E., & Gardner, K. (1979). The effective use of reading. New York: Heinemann.
Mirshojaee, S. B. & Sahragard, R. (2015). Reading comprehension passages of Iranian general English books and MA. English Language Teaching, 2(2), 77-98.
Nation, I. S. P., & Meara, P. (2002). Vocabulary. In N. Schmitt (Ed.), An Introduction to Applied Linguistics (pp. 35–54). London: Arnold.
Nation, I.S.P. (2001). Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Nation, I.S.P. (1990). Teaching and learning vocabulary. Boston, Mass: Heinle & Heinle Publishers.
Nurweni, A., & Read, J. (1999). The English vocabulary knowledge of Endonesian students. English for Specific Purposes, 18,161-175.
Nuttall, C. (1982). Teaching reading skills in a foreign language. London: Heinemann Educational Books.
Owu-Ewie, Ch. (2014). Readability of comprehension passages in junior high school (JHS) English textbooks in Ghana. Ghana Journal of Linguistics, 3(2), 35-68.
Qian, D. (2002). Investigating the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and academic reading performance: An assessment perspective. Language Learning, 52, 513-536.
Read, J. (2000). Assessing vocabulary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Richards, J. C., Platt, J., & Platt, H. (1992). Longman dictionary of language teaching and applied linguistics. London: Longman
Saville-Troike, M. (1984). What really matters in second language learning for academic achievement? TESOL Quarterly. 18 (2), 199-219.
Schmitt, N. (2000). Vocabulary in language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Schraw, G., Bruning, R., & Svoboda, C. (1995). Sources of situational interest. Journal of Reading Behavior, 27(1), 1-17.
Schulz, R. A. (1981). Literature and readability: Bridging the gap in foreign language reading. The Modern Language Journal, 65(1), 43-53.
Stahl, S. (2003). Vocabulary and readability: how knowing word meanings affects comprehension. Topics in Language Disorders, 23(3), 241-247.
Stephens, C. (2000). All about Readability. Retrieved from http://plainlanguage.com/newreadability on12/04/12.
Wei, W. (2009). Gender differences in reading comprehension for Chinese secondary school students. Seminar paper Presented to the Graduate Faculty; University of Wisconsin-Platteville.