Deaf adults and comprehension of expository texts
The study presents a comparison between deaf participants' (14-65 years of age) comprehension of expository texts. Each participant was exposed to 12 texts with regard to the following four differ-ent conditions: 1. Silent reading of an authentic...
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The study presents a comparison between deaf participants' (14-65 years of age) comprehension of expository texts. Each participant was exposed to 12 texts with regard to the following four differ-ent conditions: 1. Silent reading of an authentic text. 2. Viewing of a videotaped signed authentic text 3. Silent reading of an easy-to-read text 4. Viewing of a videotaped signed easy-to-read- text. The conditions were counterbalanced in order to control order and passage effects. The good deaf readers had a higher mean score than the poor deaf readers on all text versions. There was a significant difference in mean scores between good deaf and poor deaf readers on the easy-to-read text version. How then can the results be explained? All of the easy-to-read texts were much shorter than the authentic texts. However, since there has to be the identical content as in the authentic texts, there was much implicit information in the easy-to-read texts. Consequently, the reader needs prior knowledge and reading experience to fill in the missing information in the text. A conclusion is that the easy-to-read texts did not serve their purpose then since the process of simplification itself has given rise to the removal of structures that are relevant to facilitate understanding.
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Facilitating second-language learners' access to expository texts : teachers' understanding of the challenges involved
Many second-language learners (SLLs) struggle with comprehending texts in their second language. However, teachers have reported feeling incompetent when it comes to teaching SLLs. The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers' understanding...
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Many second-language learners (SLLs) struggle with comprehending texts in their second language. However, teachers have reported feeling incompetent when it comes to teaching SLLs. The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers' understanding of the challenges involved in facilitating SLLs' access to expository texts. Data were collected through interviews with nine teachers of 10–12-year-olds. The findings show that the teachers understood text challenges to be found at the word and text levels. Further, the teachers recognized SLLs' need for text-comprehension support, which they seemed to understand mainly as providing explanations for words and texts. However, they questioned the effectiveness of their adapted teaching. The findings suggest that the teachers' understanding of the issue may unintentionally restrict SLLs' academic-language development and their opportunities to learn from texts. Hence there may be a need for a change in the teachers' understanding of what it means to give access to texts in order to empower SLLs for future participation in society.
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