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The effects of syntactic and lexical complexity on the comprehension of elementary science texts

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dc.creator Diana J. ARYA
dc.creator Elfrieda H. HIEBERT
dc.creator P. David PEARSON
dc.date 2011-11-01T00:00:00Z
dc.date.accessioned 2015-07-20T22:12:00Z
dc.date.available 2015-07-20T22:12:00Z
dc.identifier 1307-9298
dc.identifier https://doaj.org/article/dd3ee2ad40704024b0a97cf2631aeef5
dc.identifier.uri http://evidence.thinkportal.org/handle/123456789/14882
dc.description In this study we examined the effects of syntactic and lexical complexity on third-grade students' comprehension of science texts. A total of 16 expository texts were designed to represent systematic differences in levels of syntactic and lexical complexity across four science-related topics (Tree Frogs, Soil, Jelly Beans and Toothpaste). A Latin-square design was used to counterbalance theorder of administration of these 16 texts. After reading each text, students responded to a post-test comprehension measure (without access to the text). External measures of reading achievement andprior vocabulary knowledge were also gathered to serve as control variables. Findings show that lexical complexity had a significant impact on students' comprehension on two of the four topics. Comprehension performance was not influenced by the syntactic complexity of texts, regardless of topic. Further, no additional effects were found for English language learners. Potentially moderating and confounding issues, such as the inference demand of syntactically simple texts and the role of topic familiarity, are discussed in order to explain the inconsistency of the findings across topics.
dc.language English
dc.publisher International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education
dc.relation http://www.iejee.com/4_1_2011/7_IEJEE_4_1_Arya_Hiebert_Pearson.pdf
dc.relation https://doaj.org/toc/1307-9298
dc.source International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, Vol 4, Iss 1, Pp 107-125 (2011)
dc.subject Text complexity
dc.subject reading comprehension
dc.subject science literacy
dc.subject Education (General)
dc.subject L7-991
dc.subject Education
dc.subject L
dc.subject DOAJ:Education
dc.subject DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject Education (General)
dc.subject L7-991
dc.subject Education
dc.subject L
dc.subject DOAJ:Education
dc.subject DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject Education (General)
dc.subject L7-991
dc.subject Education
dc.subject L
dc.subject Education (General)
dc.subject L7-991
dc.subject Education
dc.subject L
dc.subject Education (General)
dc.subject L7-991
dc.subject Education
dc.subject L
dc.title The effects of syntactic and lexical complexity on the comprehension of elementary science texts
dc.type article


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