Role of Text Structure Awareness in the Recall of Expository Discourse

Abstract

This study examined the role of text structure awareness in the recall of information of four expository text types: description/collection, comparison/contrast, cause/effect, and problem/solution. One hundred nine university‐bound students of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) participated in the study. Data collection and analysis focused on the participants' written recalls of information organized into the text structures under investigation. The results revealed that the participants were most aware of the comparison/contrast, less aware of the problem/solution, and least aware of the description/collection and cause/effect structures. Furthermore, the results showed that text structure awareness was positively related to recall of information across all text types studied. However, the results did not indicate a statistically significant difference between high‐and low‐proficiency readers in their awareness of various text structures at the p < .05 alpha level. Recommendations for further research are made.

The relation between time spent on the written recall task and the memory of L2 text

“…The examination of L2 reading studies that employed the recall assessment task revealed that research has varied in terms of the time allowed for doing the recall task. As seen in Table 1, while some researchers allowed the participants to read and recall at their own pace (e.g., Allen et al, 1988;Barry & Lazarte, 1995;Barry & Lazarte, 1998;Bernhardt, 1983;Chen & Donin, 1997;Connor, 1984;Donin & Silva, 1993;Horiba, 1996a, b;Horiba et al, 1993;Riley & Lee, 1996;Sadoski et al, 2000;Schraw, 1998;Stott, 2004;Young, 1999), others set a certain time limit and asked the participants to finish the task within the time limit (e.g., Baylor & McCormick, 2003;Chu et al, 2002;Davis et al, 1988;Ghaith & Harkouss, 2003;Kim, 1995;Sadoski et al, 1995).…”

Expectations eclipsed in foreign language education: learners and educators on an ongoing journey

“…The passages in each test were in a particular text structure or rhetorical pattern; one comparison-contrast, another cause-effect, and the other problem-solution. It should also be mentioned that, the passages enjoy equal readability level (grade 9) according to the Fry Readability Graph (Ghaith & Harkouss, 2003). These passages were selected from Ghaith and Harkouss (2003).…”

“…It should also be mentioned that, the passages enjoy equal readability level (grade 9) according to the Fry Readability Graph (Ghaith & Harkouss, 2003). These passages were selected from Ghaith and Harkouss (2003). In addition, the reliability coefficients of the test were estimated to be .70, .67, and .71 which according to Bachman (1990), are acceptable estimates of reliability.…”

Using metaphor to explore the organizational patterns of expository writing

“…On the other, explicit knowledge of text organization has been shown to have a positive effect on both young and mature readers' comprehension and recall (Meyer, Talbot, Poon and Johnson 2001;Meyer and Poon 2004;Richardson and Morgan 2003). As Pearson and Raphael (1990) point out, readers who have a clear understanding of the various types of text structure comprehend texts better (see also Ghaith and Harkouss 2003;Goldman and Rakestraw 2000;Kusiak-Pisowacka 2016;Salmani-Nodoushan 2010;Vahidi 2008). This seems logical, if we take into account that text comprehension involves the construction of a coherent cognitive representation of the text content rather than of its surface form (Murray 1997;Sanders and Noordman 2000;Van den Broek 1999;Virtue, van den Broek and Linderholm 2006;Zwaan and Singer 2003) and that text structure actively contributes to enhancing coherence (Kibble and Power 2004;Sanders and Noordman 2000).…”