Effects of Culturally Specific Prior Knowledge on Taiwanese EFL Students' English Reading Comprehension by Lufang Lin B.A., Nati
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Effects of Culturally Specific Prior Knowledge on Taiwanese EFL Students' English Reading Comprehension BY Lufang Lin B.A., National Kaohsiung Normal University, 1987 M.A., Fu Jen Catholic University, 1996 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction O Lufang Lin, 2004 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This dissertation may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopying or other means, without the permission of the author. Supervisor: Dr. Alison Preece ABSTRACT This research investigates the effects of culturally specific prior knowledge on Taiwanese EFL senior high school students' English reading comprehension, utilizing a retelling technique. Fourteen participants were selected from the volunteer pool of 97 students from a senior high school in Taipei, Taiwan. An informal reading inventory test was used to identify those with English reading ability equivalent to the grade seven instructional level. Each participant's prior knowledge of the focus topics (Chinese and non-Chinese) was determined through an individual, self-report interview. After the initial interview, twelve separate meetings were arranged for each participant to orally report hisher comprehension of the assigned passages, using the retelling technique. Chinese and non-Chinese topics were evenly balanced in the reading passage provided to each participant. Finally, a second interview was conducted to allow each participant to reflect on hisher experience of the retelling process. Every interview and retelling meeting was tape-recorded and transcribed for intensive analysis (a total of 28 interview and 168 retelling transcripts).The analysis confirms the positive influence of the participants' culturally specific prior knowledge on their reading comprehension. The results of the quantitative analysis indicate that the retelling of the Chinese topic passages was significantly different from those with non-Chinese topics. Most Taiwanese students produced more thought units for the passages with Chinese topics than for those with non-Chinese topics. The participants retold almost the same amount of synthesizing information for the passages with Chinese and non-Chinese topics. However, most students retold more analyzing and inferring information for the passages with Chinese topics than for those with non-Chinese topics. The results also make evident that most participants made fewer errors in retelling the passages with Chinese topics than in retelling those with non-Chinese topics. Qualitative data were analyzed and interpreted to further explore the relationship of culturally specific prior knowledge and EFL students' English reading comprehension. The findings of the exploration confirm and elaborate the results of the quantitative analysis. In this study, culturally specific prior knowledge has been demonstrated to be pivotal in enabling Taiwanese senior high school students to make a more comprehensive understanding of English passages. The instructional implications are discussed. This study contributes to the theoretical foundations of reading comprehension theory in the EFL context and introduces retelling as a research tool in that context. Table of Contents Abstract Table of Contents List of Tables List of Figures Acknowledgements CHAPTER ONE Introduction Current Reading Research in Taiwan Some Considerations for the Current Study Research Purpose Research Objective Research Questions Definitions of Terms Theoretical Assumptions Summary CHAPTER TWO Literature Review Reading Comprehension Factors Influencing Reading Comprehension Major Reading Models Bottom-up Reading Model Theoretical support. Meaning driven by text. Serial and stage-by-stage processes. Prior knowledge. Top-down Reading Model Theoretical support. Meaning-driven processes. Prior knowledge. Interactive Reading Model Theoretical support. Highly interactive processes. Prior knowledge. Sociocultural Reading Model Theoretical support. Social and interpersonal interaction. Reading in a sociocultural context. The Study of Prior Knowledge Current Research in Prior Knowledge Mental Representation of Prior Knowledge The Link between Prior Knowledge and Schemata Schema Theory Schema Theory in Ll reading Research The semantic attributes of schemata. The underlying organization of specific stories. Larger chunks of information. Schema Theory in L2 Reading Research Cross-cultural Reading Research A Reading Model for EFL Learners Interactive Perspective of Reading Process Prior Knowledge and Experiences Critical to the Reading Process Cultural Knowledge in EFL Reading Comprehension Socio-cultural Factors in EFL Reading Comprehension Amalgamation of Reading Models to Fit EFL Students 'Needs Retelling as a Tool to Assess Reading Comprehension The Distinction between Recall and Retelling Recall. Retelling. Theoretical Foundation for Retelling Dzferent Forms of Retelling Procedure Rationale for Using Retelling as an Assessment Tool Content Analysis of Retelling Retelling Scoring Criteria Limitations of the Retelling Technique Summary CHAPTER THREE Methodology Research Design Rationale for the Combination of Quantitative and Qualitative Inquiries To Investigate Individual Dzferences To Investigate Dynamic Individual Development Holistically To Objectively Determine the Efects of the Reading Passages Procedure Pilot Study Pilot study for testing the first interview questions. Pilot study for the retelling practice session. Procedure for Participant Selection Criteria for participant selection. Setting. Participants. Anonymity. Language in instructional explanations and the student response. Instruments Retelling Passages Topics. Genres. Length. Arrangement of the Twelve Retelling Passages Sequence of the Study Informal Reading Inventory Test Passages First Interview Retelling Practice Session Passage Retelling Written-to-oral Retelling Procedure Instructions and Prompts for Retelling Second Interviews Data Analysis Coding Quantitative Data Inter-rater Reliabilities Scoring Quantitative data in the first interview. Quantitative data in the passage retelling. Limitations in this classification of thought units. Quantitative data in the second interview. Coding Qualitative Data Participants' Prior Knowledge Participants' Culturally Speczjic Prior Knowledge Nature of EFL Students 'Retelling Completeness of correct responses. Generalization. Repetition of the author b words in the passage. Activation of prior knowledge. Illogical responses. Summary CHAPTER FOUR Results Research Questions The Participants 'Prior Experience with the Twelve Topics of the Retelling Passages The Participants 'Perceptions about the Topics of the Retelling Passages vii Factors in Familiarity School-learned information. Daily life experience. Factors in Lack of Familiarity Factors in Ranking the Most Difficult and the Easiest Passage Personal interests. Vocabulary. Combined Analysis of the Passage Familiarity and D@culty Completeness of the Participant's Retellings Particularly High Scores for Some Chinese Topic Passages Exceptionally Low Scores for Some Chinese Topic Passages Particularly Low Scores for Some Non-Chinese Topic Passages Exceptionally High Scores for Some Non-Chinese Topic Passages The Role of Prior Knowledge in the Four Categories of Retelling Information Synthesizing Information Analyzing Information Inferring Information Erroneous Information The Total of Synthesizing, Analyzing, and Inferring Information The Role of Participants ' Culturally Spec@ Prior Knowledge Summary CHAPTER FIVE Discussion Discussion of the Results The Role of Prior Knowledge Results consistent with some reading comprehension research. Results inconsistent with some reading comprehension research. The Role of Culturally SpeciJic Prior Knowledge Results consistent with some reading comprehension research. Results inconsistent with some reading comprehension research. The Role of Cross-Culture Prior knowledge Deficiency of Prior Knowledge Lack of prior knowledge about Chinese topics. Lack of prior knowledge about non-Chinese topics. Schematic Structure of Prior Knowledge Recommendationsfor EFL Classroom Instructors Consideration of EFL Students' Prior Knowledge Emphasis of EFL Students' Cross-cultural Awareness Development of a Reader-centered Reading Program Limitations for the Study Suggestions for Further Research Implications Concluding Statements .. Vlll References Appendices Appendix A: First Interview Questions Appendix B: Procedure for Participant Selection Appendix C: Consent Forms Appendix D: Sample for the Chinese Topic Passage Appendix E: Sample for the Non-Chinese Topic Passages Appendix F: Passage Codes, Length, Readability, a Total of Though Units and Inter-rater Reliability for the Retelling Passages Appendix G: Timeline for the Data Collection and Analysis Appendix H: Sample for the IRI Test Passage to Establish English Reading Level Appendix I: Second Interview Questions Appendix J: Sample for Thought Unit Marking Sheet Appendix K: Sample for Categorizing Synthesizing, Analyzing, Inferring, and Erroneous Information List of Tables Table 1. Information for the IRI Test Passages Table 2. The Participants' Experience with the Twelve Topics of the Retelling Passages Table 3. The Ranking of Passage Familiarity Table 4. The Ranking of Passage Difficulty Table 5. Means and Standard Deviations for the Twelve Passages Table 6. Means and Standard Deviations for Synthesizing Information Table 7. Means and