The Influence of Prior Knowledge on Expert Readers' Main Idea Construction Strategies

Afflerbach, Peter

doi:10.2307/747986

Cited by 160 publications

(129 citation statements)

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“…In contrast to the proposal that readers' use of prediction is determined by text genre, and that readers of essays do not use predictions and prediction-related behaviors, competent readers' use of predictions while reading texts in essay form has been noted in several recent think-aloud studies (Afflerbach, 1990;Johnston & Afflerbach, 1985). In these studies, subjects were asked to report on the processes they used to construct main idea statements for expository texts, including essays.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…The study reported in this paper examined the influence of readers' content domain prior knowledge, and the genre of text on the prediction strategies of competent readers. A further concern was the investigation of the apparent conflict in the findings of Olson, Duffy, and Mack (1984;Olson, Mack, & Duffy, 1981), who proposed that prediction is rarely used by readers reading essays, and those of Afflerbach (1990; see also Johnston & Afflerbach, 1985) who reported that expert readers used diverse prediction strategies while reading essays. Additionally, this study was intended to allow for the qualitative analysis of readers' prediction and predictionrelated strategies.…”

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The Influence of Prior Knowledge and Text Genre on Readers' Prediction Strategies

Afflerbach

1990

Journal of Reading Behavior

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This study examined the influence of prior knowledge and text genre on readers' prediction strategies. Three groups of subjects read two genres of text (short stories and essays), and gave verbal reports of their prediction strategies while reading. Next, subjects rated the texts in terms of relative familiarity of text content. Quantitative analysis of the think-aloud protocols indicated statistically significant differences in frequency of reports of predictions for particular texts. Subjects reported making significantly more predictions on the essays rated more familiar, and on the story which was rated more familiar. There were no significant differences in frequency of reported predictions on the short story and essay which were rated most familiar. Results indicate that readers' prior knowledge for the content of the text may significantly influence the nature of readers' prediction strategies. Qualitative analysis of protocols allowed for examination of the variation in the types of predictions and prediction-related strategies which were used by readers in this study. Implications of findings for reading comprehension theory and educational practice are discussed.

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The Influence of Prior Knowledge and Text Genre on Readers' Prediction Strategies

Afflerbach

1990

Journal of Reading Behavior

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“…Brantmeier (2003) also emphasizes the role of topic familiarity as a significant factor in L2 comprehension, following Afflerbach's (1986) claim that topic familiarity obtained by reading a text enhances the rebuilding of the main idea. Swaffer (1988) considered schemata plays a priority role in applying world knowledge to reading comprehension.…”

Section: Topic Familiaritymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Familiarity with Content Knowledge on Iranian Medical Students’ Performance in Reading Comprehension Texts: A Comparative Study of Medical and TEFL Students

Ashrafzadeh

Don

Meshkat

2015

JLTR

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Abstract-This study considers the effect of relevant background knowledge (schema) on reading comprehension in a group of Iranian medical students. The participants were selected using random sampling from two different groups: thirty students enrolled in an MA course in TEFL, and thirty medical students in years 4 to 7 of a seven year medical course. The selection requirement for all participants was an IELTS score of between 6 and 7. All participants were asked to respond to two texts. The first was an academic text with a tendency towards using sub-technical medical terms (e.g. asthma, air ventilation), and which was part of a sample text for an IELTS reading skill test. The second text contained highly technical or subject-specific medical terms from neurology as a specific area of medicine. Both texts were selected by a medical specialist who had also taught English for Medical Purposes (EMP) for several years in medical colleges in Iran. After reading each text, students were asked to answer questions based on the text. The results obtained from an analysis of the scores using SPSS indicated that background knowledge plays an important role in text reading comprehension for medical students in Iran (p< 0.05). The study also considered the three phases of reading (pre-reading, reading, and post-reading) and ways to build and activate background knowledge (schema) to achieve better reading comprehension.

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“…Most models assume that reading comprises a set component skills: decodification of words, encoding of syntactic information, derivation of word meanings, generation of inferences, assignment of importance to information, integration of information, monitoring of comprehension (AFFLERBACH, 1990). It seems that the approach above favours one specific skill to the detriment of others.…”

Section: The Gap Between Research and Approaches To Efl Main Idea Insmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If the main idea is not explicit, readers cannot identify or select the main idea from those statements available in the text. As a result, they make greater cognitive effort to infer it (AFFLERBACH, 1990).…”

Section: A Model Of Assignment Of Importancementioning

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Um modelo de atribuição de importância e sua contribuição para a avaliação e instrução de ideias principais

Torres

2004

Signum: Estud. Ling.

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Resumo: Este artigo apresenta os problemas envolvidos no ensino e na avaliação da compreensão de idéias principais em leitura em língua estrangeira (inglês): arrolamos os pontos que provocam falta de consenso na definição do termo idéias principais; apontamos a dificuldade de se estabelecer critérios para a identificação e avaliação dessas idéias; apontamos uma lacuna entre o ensino e a pesquisa na área de compreensão em leitura em língua estrangeira. Argumentamos que modelos de atribuição de importância à informação que já se encontram corroboradas por resultados experimentais podem contribuir para o preenchimento dessa lacuna. No entanto, concluímos que, devido à complexidade envolvida na compreensão de idéias principais, há uma necessidade de se conduzir novas pesquisas experimentais e de cunho etnográfico. Palavras-chave: compreensão em leitura em língua estrangeira (inglês), ensino e avaliação de idéias principais, modelo de atribuição de importância à informação Abstract: This paper presents the difficulties in assessing and teaching the ability to identify main ideas in EFL: the lack of consensus on what the term main idea means; the difficulty in establishing a criterion for main idea identification; the gap between research and EFL reading instruction. Attempting to bridge this gap, we propose that it is important for teachers and test constructors to become acquainted with models of assignment of importance to information which have already received support from previous experimental research. Finally, we conclude that due to the complexity of the construct (ability to identify main ideas), there is a need for further experimental and ethnographic research. SIGNUM: Estud. Ling., Londrina, n. 7/2, p. 225-240, dez. 2004 226

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The Influence of Prior Knowledge on Expert Readers' Main Idea Construction Strategies

Cited by 160 publications

References 4 publications

The Influence of Prior Knowledge and Text Genre on Readers' Prediction Strategies

The Influence of Prior Knowledge and Text Genre on Readers' Prediction Strategies

The Effect of Familiarity with Content Knowledge on Iranian Medical Students’ Performance in Reading Comprehension Texts: A Comparative Study of Medical and TEFL Students

Um modelo de atribuição de importância e sua contribuição para a avaliação e instrução de ideias principais

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