Fry文章难度测试公式的有效性及与英语阅读教学的联系

一篇文章的难度是影响学生阅读理解的重要因素之一。日常阅读教学选材的难度控制和阅读考试的难度控制是教师急切需要掌握的技术手段。在实用语言学的研究领域中，语言学家提出了一些测试文章难度的公式。探讨这些公式对于高职高专英语阅读教学是否具有指导意义，这是我们试验的目的。通过试验证实，Fry提出的文章难度测试公式对于中国高职高专现行的教材具有可靠性、易行性和较高的可信度。     

The language of school science

In this paper, three different methods for estimating the linguistic complexity of textbooks are reviewed: research on the readability, research on the vocabulary and research on understanding a text by means of the cloze technique. Application of these techniques leads to similar results as regards the difficulty of science textbooks. The results suggest that there is a general tendency for school science texts to be overdemanding on pupils’ abilities.     

A study of readability of texts in Bangla through machine learning approaches

In this work, we have investigated text readability in Bangla language. Text readability is an indicator of the suitability of a given document with respect to a target reader group. Therefore, text readability has huge impact on educational content preparation. The advances in the field of natural language processing have enabled the automatic identification of reading difficulty of texts and contributed in the design and development of suitable educational materials. In spite of the fact that, Bangla is one of the major languages in India and the official language of Bangladesh, the research of text readability in Bangla is still in its nascent stage. In this paper, we have presented computational models to determine the readability of Bangla text documents based on syntactic properties. Since Bangla is a digital resource poor language, therefore, we were required to develop a novel dataset suitable for automatic identification of text properties. Our initial experiments have shown that existing English readability metrics are inapplicable for Bangla. Accordingly, we have proceeded towards new models for analyzing text readability in Bangla. We have considered language specific syntactic features of Bangla text in this work. We have identified major structural contributors responsible for text comprehensibility and subsequently developed readability models for Bangla texts. We have used different machine-learning methods such as regression, support vector machines (SVM) and support vector regression (SVR) to achieve our aim. The performance of the individual models has been compared against one another. We have conducted detailed user survey for data preparation, identification of important structural parameters of texts and validation of our proposed models. The work posses further implications in the field of educational research and in matching text to readers.     

Predicting continued participation in college chemistry for men and women

The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of a cognitive motivational model of course selection patterns to explain the continued participation of men and women in college science courses. A number of cognitive motivational constructs were analyzed in a path model and their effect on students' intention to continue in college chemistry was determined. Variables in the model included self-perceived ability in science, future expectations, level of past success, effort expended, subjective interpretations of both past success and task difficulty, and the intention to continue in college chemistry. The results showed no sex differences in course performance, the plan to continue in chemistry, perceived ability in science, or past achievement in science courses. The path analysis did confirm the usefulness of the cognitive motivational perspective to explain the intention of both men and women to continue in science. Central to that process appears to be a person's belief about their ability. Students who had confidence in their ability in chemistry expected to do well in the future and were more likely to take more chemistry. Ability ratings in turn were dependent on a number of past achievement experiences and the personal interpretation of those experiences.     

Investigating the validity of two widely used quantitative text tools

In recent years, readability formulas have gained new prominence as a basis for selecting texts for learning and assessment. Variables that quantitative tools count (e.g., word frequency, sentence length) provide valid measures of text complexity insofar as they accurately predict representative and high-quality criteria. The longstanding consensus of text researchers has been that such criteria will measure readers’ comprehension of sample texts. This study used Bormuth’s (1969) rigorously developed criterion measure to investigate two of today’s most widely used quantitative text tools—the Lexile Framework and the Flesch–Kincaid Grade-Level formula. Correlations between the two tools’ complexity scores and Bormuth’s measured difficulties of criterion passages were only moderately high in light of the literature and new high stakes uses for such tools. These correlations declined a small amount when passages from the University grade band of use were removed. The ability of these tools to predict measured text difficulties within any single grade band below University was low. Analyses showed that word complexity made a larger contribution relative to sentence complexity when each tool’s predictors were regressed on the Bormuth criterion rather than their original criteria. When the criterion was texts’ grade band of use instead of mean cloze scores, neither tool classified texts well and errors disproportionally placed texts from higher grade bands into lower ones. Results suggest these two text tools may lack adequate validity for their current uses in educational settings.     

汉语分级阅读的词汇影响因素研究

文本可读性研究旨在为分级阅读文本的选取和编写提供客观、可量化的评测依据。本文选取部编版二年级、七年级和十二年级语文教材构建低、中、高三个难度等级的文本库,从词汇多样性、词频概貌、词汇密度和词汇长度四个维度考察可能影响汉语文本可读性的词汇因素。研究发现影响低难度与中、高难度文本分级的主要词汇因素为:MSTTR>常用词词频>实词数>词种数>单音节词长>词数>双音节词长>实词比,而中、高难度文本在词汇层面并无显著差异;这些词汇因素在不同长度文本中预测效力基本一致,在一定程度上表明这些词汇因素对文本难度的评测具有有效性和稳定性。     

Effect of Varying Item Order on Multiple-Choice Test Scores: Importance of Statistical and Cognitive Difficulty

Research on the use of multiple-choice tests has presented conflicting evidence about the use of statistical item difficulty as a means of ordering items. An alternate method advocated by many texts is the use of cognitive difficulty. This study examined the effect of using both statistical and cognitive item difficulty in determining item order. Results indicated that those students who received items in an increasing cognitive order, no matter what the order of statistical difficulty, scored higher on hard items. Those students who received the forms with opposing cognitive and statistical difficulty orders scored the highest on medium-level items. The study concludes with a call for more research on the effects of cognitive difficulty and suggests that future studies examine subscores as well as total test results.     

Language in Science Classrooms: An Analysis of Physics Teachers’ Use of and Beliefs About Language

The world over, secondary school science is viewed mainly as a practical subject. This may be one reason why effectiveness of teaching approaches in science education has often been judged on the kinds of practical activity with which teachers and students engage. In addition to practical work, language??often written (as in science texts) or oral (as in the form of teacher and student talk)??is unavoidable in effective teaching and learning of science. Generally however, the role of (instructional) language in quality of learning of school science has remained out of focus in science education research. This has been in spite of findings in empirical research on difficulties science students encounter with words of the instructional language used in science. The findings have suggested that use of (instructional) language in science texts and classrooms can be a major influence on the level of students?? understandings and retention of science concepts. This article reports and discusses findings in an investigation of physics teachers?? approaches to use of and their beliefs about classroom instructional language. Direct classroom observations of, interviews with, as well as content analyses of the participant teachers?? verbatim classroom talk, were used as the methods of data collection. Evidence is presented of participant physics teachers?? lack of explicit awareness of the difficulty, nature, and functional value of different categories of words in the instructional language. In conclusion, the implications of this lack of explicit awareness on the general education (initial and in-service) of school physics teachers are considered.     

The level of abstraction of textual materials: a new and an old measure compared

The level of abstraction of textual material is one factor affecting the difficulty it presents to the reader and so effective ways of assessing it are potentially useful for the teacher and researcher. A ‘new’ measure was compared with an old one and some similarity found in their assessment of science texts. The earlier measure may be the easier one for the non-specialist to use. The results also suggested a rule of thumb which practising teachers might find useful.     

Two new readability predictors for the professional writer: pilot trials

A combination of two new, but very different, approaches to the prediction of readability could be particularly valuable in evaluating English texts written for native and non-native speakers. One approach develops the concept of lexical density, whereas the other is a novel measurement of two mechanical variables of text. The paper first outlines the traditional approach to readability. Next, it explains the concept of lexical density, and presents the results of a pilot study into reader preferences for different levels of density in text. It then offers an alternative approach to readability that uses sentence and ‘packet’ lengths. Finally, it indicates how the two approaches have been combined into a computer software program, and suggests the direction of future work. Our conclusions are threefold. Firstly, the lexical density of text is a better indicator of its readability than the scores given by many of the more common readability formulae. Secondly, the effective breaking up of sentences into ‘packets’ is as important to readability as sentence length. Finally, in looking at the mechanical variables of texts, we should not only be concerned with averages, but with distributions and most frequently occurring values.     

Analogical Instruction in Statistics: Implications for Social Work Educators

This paper examines the use of analogies in statistics instruction. Much has been written about the difficulty social work students have with statistics. To address this concern, Glisson and Fischer (1987) called for the use of analogies. Understanding of analogical problem solving has surged in the last few decades with the integration of psychology and artificial intelligence. However, the application of analogies has not been examined further in social work literature. This work uses cognitive science to discuss the five steps of analogical problem solving. Implications for statistics instruction in social work are discussed with examples.     

Selection,Frequency, and Functions of Literary Texts in Finnish General Upper-Secondary EFL Education

Although the number of studies on literature in language education has increased in the past two decades, the subject is still in need of empirical research. This case study examines literary texts, their selection, frequency, and functions in Finnish general upper-secondary English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education. The data was collected from 21 Finnish EFL teachers using a survey, and the content was thematically analyzed. In these contexts, literary texts had a marginal role. The texts were mostly twentieth-century poetry and novels. Selections by teachers were primarily based on the texts. Often students chose texts independently. Literature was mainly used to teach language, particularly reading skills, and secondarily as content. In light of EFL teaching, the results suggest a need for a conceptual expansion of literature, the wider use of literary texts with visual components, and the use of literary texts for developing students’ intercultural competence.     

Language and Student Performance in Junior Secondary Science Examinations: The Case of Second Language Learners in Botswana

Teaching and testing in science in junior secondary schools in Botswana, takes place in English which is a second language for the majority of Batswana (Citizens of Botswana are called Batswana [sing. Motswana] and the national language is Setswana.) students and a third language for many. The understanding of textual material in science has been shown to be problematic for first language speakers, which means that difficulties in comprehension are likely to be even greater for second language readers. This study set out to test the hypothesis that improving the readability of junior certificate science examination questions would improve student achievement. Results show that changing certain readability factors, such as sentence length, simplified vocabulary and the removal of obscure information, brought about an improvement in achievement. The conclusion considers the implications of the study for the writers of examinations and other texts in science.     

The Language Demands of Science Reading in Middle School

The language used to construct knowledge, beliefs, and worldviews in school science is distinct from the social language that students use in their everyday ordinary life. This difference is a major source of reading difficulty for many students, especially struggling readers and English‐language learners. This article identifies some of the linguistic challenges involved in reading middle‐school science texts and suggests several teaching strategies to help students cope with these challenges. It is argued that explicit attention to the unique language of school science should be an integral part of science literacy pedagogy.     

Teacher Education: A Focus on Action

The educational community has, in recent times, abandoned a quantitative approach to research on teaching, characterized by process-product research, for a focus on naturalistic inquiry and the use of qualitative research methods. Major changes in research directions are accompanied in time by an integration process, that is, attempts to assimilate new knowledge with an already existing knowledge base. Attempts to integrate process-product research on teaching with more recent work have been impeded by major assumptions in research paradigms that have made the two directions seeming antagonists in the pursuit of knowledge. This paper explores the potential of integrating the results of earlier research on teaching with recent work stemming from both naturalistic inquiry and theoretical work in cognitive science. Major directions and issues are examined for their compatibility and ability to contribute to a broader perspective of the teaching/leaming process and teacher education.     

An augmented reality-based learning approach to enhancing students’ science reading performances from the perspective of the cognitive load theory

Reading has been regarded as a medium for learning science, revealing the importance of enhancing learners’ reading competence in science education. The critical features of science texts are their multiple representations, such as text and visual elements, which assist the representation of science concepts. A multimedia learning environment can present relevant materials in various formats and help students to process the materials in meaningful ways, for example, by integrating learning materials with relevant prior concepts, and organizing them into a consistent and coherent cognitive structure. However, some issues with multimedia instructional design have been proposed, such as students’ cognitive load and learning motivations. In this study, an augmented reality-based science learning system was developed based on the contiguity principle of multimedia learning in order to promote students’ science learning. Moreover, an experiment was conducted on a natural science course in an elementary school to assess the effectiveness of the implemented system on students’ learning. The experimental results display that the students learning with this approach found made significant gains in their learning achievements and motivations compared to those learning science with conventional multimedia science learning; moreover, their perceptions of extraneous cognitive load were significantly reduced during the learning activity.     

Working memory capacity and disfluency effect: an aptitude-treatment-interaction study

According to Cognitive Load Theory, learning material should be designed in a way to decrease unnecessary demands on working memory (WM). However, recent research has shown that additional demands on WM caused by less legible texts lead to better learning outcomes. This so-called disfluency effect can be assumed as a metacognitive regulation process during which learners assign their cognitive resources depending on the perceived difficulty of a cognitive task. Increasing the perceived difficulty associated with a cognitive task stimulates deeper processing and a more analytic and elaborative reasoning. Yet there are studies which could not replicate the disfluency effect indicating that disfluency might be beneficial only for learners with particular learner characteristics. Additional demands on working memory caused by disfluent texts are possibly just usable by learners with a high working memory capacity. Therefore the present study investigated the aptitude-treatment-interaction between working memory capacity and disfluency. Learning outcomes were measured by means of a retention, a comprehension, and a transfer test. Moreover, the three types of cognitive load (intrinsic, extraneous, and germane) were assessed. The results revealed significant aptitude-treatment-interaction effects with respect to retention and comprehension. Working memory capacity had a significant influence only in the disfluency condition: The higher the working memory capacity, the better the retention and comprehension performance in the disfluency condition. No effects were found with respect to transfer or cognitive load. Thus, the role of metacognitive regulation and its possible effects on cognitive load need further investigation.     

Upper Secondary Students’ Understanding of the Use of Multiple Models in Biology Textbooks—The Importance of Conceptual Variation and Incommensurability

In this study we investigate students’ ability to discern conceptual variation and the use of multiple models in genetics when reading content-specific excerpts from biology textbooks. Using the history and philosophy of science as our reference, we were able to develop a research instrument allowing students themselves to investigate the occurrence of multiple models and conceptual variation in Swedish upper secondary textbooks. Two excerpts using different models of gene function were selected from authentic textbooks. Students were given the same questionnaire-instrument after reading the two texts, and the results were compared. In this way the students themselves made a classification of the texts which could then be compared with the researchers’ classification of the texts. Forty-one upper secondary students aged 18–19 participated in the study. Nine of the students also participated in semi-structured interviews. Students recognized the existence of multiple models in a general way, but had difficulty discerning the different models and the conceptual variation that occurs between them in the texts. Further they did not recognize the occurrence of incommensurability between multiple models. Students had difficulty in transforming their general knowledge of multiple models into an understanding of content specific models of gene function in the textbooks. These findings may have implications for students’ understanding of conceptual knowledge because research has established textbooks as one of the most influential aspects in the planning and execution of biology lessons, and teachers commonly assign reading passages to their students without further explanation.     

Reading for meaning: The foundational knowledge every teacher of science should have

Reading is fundamental to science and not an adjunct to its practice. In other words, understanding the meaning of the various forms of written discourse employed in the creation, discussion, and communication of scientific knowledge is inherent to how science works. The language used in science, however, sets up a barrier, that in order to be overcome requires all students to have a clear understanding of the features of the multimodal informational texts employed in science and the strategies they can use to decode the scientific concepts communicated in informational texts. We argue that all teachers of science must develop a functional understanding of reading comprehension as part of their professional knowledge and skill. After describing our rationale for including knowledge about reading as a professional knowledge base every teacher of science should have, we outline the knowledge about language teachers must develop, the knowledge about the challenges that reading comprehension of science texts poses for students, and the knowledge about instructional strategies science teachers should know to support their students’ reading comprehension of science texts. Implications regarding the essential role that knowledge about reading should play in the preparation of science teachers are also discussed here.