IMPROVING INTERMEDIATE LEVEL STUDENTS READING COMPREHENSION - REPORT

Post on 13-Dec-2014

775 views 3 download

Tags:

description

 

Transcript of IMPROVING INTERMEDIATE LEVEL STUDENTS READING COMPREHENSION - REPORT

GENERAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION

CEFR – B2 LEVEL

CEFR – B2 Level

B2

OVERALL READING COMPREHENSION

Can read with a large degree of independence, adapting

style and speed of reading to different texts and purposes,and using appropriate reference sources selectively. Has a

broad active reading vocabulary, but may experience

some difficulty with low‑frequency idioms.

OVERVIEW

FIRST PARTDIAGNOSIS OF THE

PROBLEM

What is the problem?

107 Target

What is the problem?

Target126

What is the problem?

126Target

Why can’t our students reach the target for the Reading

Section?

SECOND PART

ANALYSIS OF EXISTING DATA

VOCABULARY

ELASH/WP READING SECTIONS: CONTRAST CHART

(%)(Against COCA)

1-500 501-3000 >3000 Academic

Elash2 69 16.7 14.3 5.7

WP 62 22 16 22

100%

69

62

16.722

14.3 16

5.7

22

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

1-500 501-3000 >3000 Academic

READING SAMPLES - ELASH vs WP

E1

WP

E2

Analysis of ELASH 2 Reading Samples (against OXFORD3000)

Sample 1 - 3000

1 95 %

2 96%

3 97%

4 89%

5 89%

6 91%

7 94%

AVERAGE 92.8%

READABILITY

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Test

This test rates text on a U.S. school grade level. For example, a score of 8.0 means that an eighth grader can understand the document. For most documents, aim for a score of approximately 7.0 to 8.0.

Flesch Reading Ease Test

This test rates text on a 100-point scale. The higher the score, the easier it is to understand the document. For most standard files, you want the score to be between 60 and 70.

Score Description (EFL students)

90-100 Easily understandable by an average 11-year-old student.

60-70 Easily understandable by 13- to 15-year-old students.

0-30 Best understood by university graduates

ELASH - READING SECTION -SAMPLE READABILITY

Sample FLESCH-KINCAID GRADE LEVEL FLESCH READING EASE

1 7.2 64

2 10.5 46.4

3 8.7 62.6

4 5.1 78.7

5 10.8 51.6

6 9.5 59.2

7 8.8 62.3

AVERAGE 8.66 60.69

Ideal : 7 to 8 Ideal : 60 to 70

ELASH/WP : CONTRAST CHART (Readability)

FLESCH-KINCAID GRADE LEVEL

FLESCH READING EASE

Elash2 8.66 60.69

WP 12.6 40.9

Ideal : 7 to 8 Ideal : 60 to 70

ELASH/WP : CONTRAST CHART (Readability)

ANALYSIS OF OUR STUDENTS’ WORD

LEVEL/SIZE & READING STRATEGIES

The Vocabulary Levels Test (Nation, P.)

2nd One Thousand Word List

SCORE Number of Students Percentage

16/30 535 words 16 ss 11.50%

17/30 568 words 11ss 7.90%

18/30 601 words 19 ss 13.60%

19/30 634 words 10 ss 7.10%

20/30 667 words 12 ss 8.60%

21/30 700 words 15 ss 10.70%

22/30 733 words 09 ss 6.40%

23/30 766 words 13 ss 9.30%

24/30 832 words 06 ss 4.30%

25/30 832 words 04 ss 2.80%

Target : I05

n=139

533 567 600 633 667 700 733 767 800 833

SCORE (in word families)

0.00%

2.00%

4.00%

6.00%

8.00%

10.00%

12.00%

14.00%

I05 STUDENTS WORD LEVEL 2nd 1000 WORD LIST

SCORE (in word families)

683.3 wf

Analysis of Reading Strategies Required in

ELASH Texts

ANALYSIS OF READING STRATEGIES REQUIRED BY ELASH 2 TESTS

ANALYSIS OF READING STRATEGIES REQUIRED BY ELASH

2 TESTSO Inferences: Readers must draw

conclusions about what is meant based on clues in the text (“reading between lines”).

O ScanningO Skimming

Taking the Test: Steps to the Inferential

StrategyO Test-takers are required to…

O …read the target questions or statements carefully.

O …identify relevant information related to the questions or statements in the text.

O …evaluate how logical the link is between the identified relevant information and the target statements.

O …double check their line of reasoning, provided there is enough time.

Analysis of Teaching Strategies

Diagnosis of Teaching Strategies

O Class ObservationO Level: IntermediateO Formative basisO Goal: Determine level of effectiveness in the

teaching of reading strategies during textbook activities

O Outcome: O Listening and speaking skills are mostly

integrated.O Very good application of “stretching the task”

notion.O Teachers are primarily task-resolution orientedO Reading strategies are taught neither

explicitly nor consistently

Analysis of Students’ Perception on Reading

Strategies

SURVEY OF READING STRATEGIES (SORS)Kouider Mokhtari and Ravi Sheorey, 2002

The purpose of this survey is to collect information about the various strategies you use when you read school-related academic materials in ENGLISH (e.g., reading textbooks for homework or examinations; reading journal articles, etc.).

KEY TO AVERAGES

3.5 or higher = High 2.5 – 3.4 = Medium 2.4 or lower = Low

INTERPRETING SCORES

1) The overall average indicates how often you use reading strategies when reading academic materials.

2) The average for each subscale shows which group of strategies (i.e., Global, Problem Solving, or support strategies) you use most often when reading. It is important to note, however, that the best possible use of these strategies depends on your reading ability in English, the type of material read, and your reading purpose.

3) A low score on any of the subscales or parts of the inventory indicates that there may be some strategies in these parts that you might want to learn about and consider using when reading

SORS - AVERAGE (3.5 or up being high)

TEACHER GLOBAL RSPROBLEM SOLVING

RSSUPPORT

RS OVERALL

1 3.21 3.51 3.19 3.30

2 3.13 3.5 3.54 3.39

3 3.42 3.77 3.7 3.63

4 3.47 3.81 3.38 3.55

5 3.26 3.75 3.45 3.49

6 3.44 3.75 3.62 3.60

7 3.62 3.89 3.75 3.75

8 3.22 3.76 3.2 3.39

9 3.58 3.89 3.61 3.69

10 3.21 3.59 3.41 3.40

11 3.26 3.74 3.38 3.46

12 3.12 3.58 3.26 3.32

13 3.3 3.57 3.71 3.53

14 3.18 3.63 3.3 3.37

15 3.42 3.69 3.44 3.52

16 3.22 3.77 3.21 3.40

AVERAGE 3.32 3.70 3.45 3.49

SURVEY RESULTS ON Ss’ USE (PERCEPTION) ON READING STRATEGIES

Ss’ Use of Reading Strategies

Perceived

Actual

Learning

Mercado, L. (2012)

Low*

High**

* Based on ELASH scores, current teaching orientation, observation of classes.

** Based on SORS results

“A learning experience (…) perceived to be of high quality can facilitate learner self-actualization(…)”

THIRD PARTPRELIMINARY

CONCLUSIONS

Preliminary Conclusions

Preliminary Conclusions

Preliminary Conclusions

* Not ICPNA’s program major focus.

Hypotheses

HOW DO WE ACHIEVE THIS?

This text enables students and teachers to take a fresh look at the learning process. Its strategies-based instruction guides students to become aware of their learning styles and to develop strategies to make their language learning successful. It can be used to enhance any English language course.

This text enables students and teachers to take a fresh look at the learning process. Its strategies-based instruction guides students to become aware of their learning styles and to develop strategies to make their language learning successful. It can be used to enhance any English language course.

Anderson’s Guidelines on How to Teach Reading

StrategiesO Teach specific strategies explicitly.O Teach strategy clusters.O Integrate strategies consistently into

your teaching.O Teach students a wide variety of

strategies

From Neil Anderson Teaching ESL/EFL Reading

Raising Awareness – Metacognitive Level

TEACHING STRATEGIESDEMO

THINK-ALOUD PROTOCOL

O I predict that …O I can picture …O A question I have is …O This reminds me of …O This is like …O I’m confused about …O The big idea here is …O I believe …O The author’s purpose seems to be…

STUDENT MATERIAL FOR APPLICATION

(Samples)READING WORKSHEET I09 UNIT 3

PART A: MAKING PREDICTIONS. What do you think the reading at page 16 will be about? Look at the pictures below and predict 5 words that might appear in the text. Justify your answer.

Before… After … 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. PART B: SKIMMING Answer the questions below.

1. The main idea of paragraph 2 is that June Diaz changed careers because:

(A) she realized she had always wanted to be a teacher. (B) She majored in education. (C) she wasn’t successful in her business career. (D) She was offered a promotion.

2. According to the text, crossover teachers are not widely accepted

because

READING WORKSHEET / I11

PART A: (MAKING PREDICTIONS) Look at the two pictures below. In general, they reflect what the article is about. Make predictions about its content by reading the statements below and writing either “I agree” or “I disagree”.

1. To learn better, it is a good idea to know how the brain works. (_________________) 2. There are two types of memory (___________________) 3. The structure of our brain changes physically as a result of studying. (_________________) 4. The brain can remember better when the information is organized. (_________________) 5. The best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else. (__________________)

Now, read the article on page 40 in your workbook. If your prediction was correct, whisper, “Yes!” If your prediction was wrong, whisper, “Oops!!” Say, “Aha!” or “Wow!” if you are learning something new from the text. Additionally, write one piece of information that you learned out of this first reading:

________________________________________________________________________________

PART B: (GUESSING MEANING FROM CONTEXT) Mark the best answer to the following questions. Be ready to justify your answer by thinking aloud.

1. The word “resolve” in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to …….. . a. work out c. make a firm decision b. avoid d. result

2. The word “key” in the first paragraph means …… . a. put information into a computer c. instrument b. unimportant d. deciding factor

3. The word “take in” in paragraph 2 is closes in meaning to ……. . a. perceive c. ignore b. misunderstand d. illusion

4. The expression “make up” in paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to …. . a. construct c. reconcile b. accommodate d. memorize

FOURTH PART

SUGGESTIONS

SUGGESTION 1: Incorporate Reading into the Evaluation

SystemOReading should be regarded as

an objective gradeOAs of WHEN?

OThe sooner the betterOHow should it be evaluated?:OMultiple Choice Quiz?OPost-reading discussion in

class?

Suggested Class Objectives

OBJECTIVES

S S R W W

Why would this change not drastically affect the current status

(grading/ T’s workload, etc.) ?

OCurrent 3rd Objective EvaluationOSpeaking : Ss

orally report to teacher/class

OSuggested 3rd Objective EvaluationOReading : Ss

will orally report to teacher/class

ANY GIVEN SOURCESOURCE: TEXT

Why is this change necessary?

SUGGESTION 2: Standardize Effective Reading Strategy

Instruction O Direct explanation

O Modeling

O Guided practice

O Application

WL: Reading Strategies

WL: Reading Strategies

SUGGESTION 3: Provide Teachers with Tools to Model Reading

Strategies

O Training

O Video resources

O Written material: worksheets / professional reading/ tips

SUGGESTION 4: Promote Reading Portfolios (ALP?)

O SORS.

O Reading Worksheets.

O Graphic Organizers.

O Vocabulary cards (PAVE) O Vocabulary/learning logs

PAVE STRATEGY

SUGGESTION 5: Promote the Reading Flow Initiative

O 40 novels (ADV)O 40 graded readers (INT)O 18 Reader’s Digest + MAGAZINES (INT)O 60 Forum magazines (MET)O Graded Readers available in the library

O Basic : 150 titles*O Intermediate : 92 titles*O Advanced : 62 titles*

*In some cases up to 3 copies per title

Final Remarks

OCrucial skillOTeaching of reading

strategiesOMandatoryOGreat opportunityONow

SOURCESO Anderson, N. (2010) Teaching ESL/EFL Reading. Education to Go, a

part of Cengage Learning.O Anderson, N. (1999) Exploring Second Language Reading. Heinle &

HeinleO Mercado, L.(2012) English Language Technology. Cengage LearningO Mokhtari, K., & Sheorey, R. (2002). Measuring ESL students reading

strategies. Journal of Developmental Education, 25 (3), pp. 2-10.O Phillips, D. ((2006) Preparation Course for the TOEFL TEST. LongmanO SORS: (Adapted from Oxford 1990, pp. 297-300).O http://www.readingrockets.org/article/21160/O http://www.readingquest.org/strat/qta.html O http://www.educationoasis.com/curriculum/graphic_organizers.htmO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgUbdzL7gmkO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHTwGsnQ710