Measuring and Predicting Graded Reader Difficulty

Autor/inn/en	Holster, Trevor A.; Lake, J. W.; Pellowe, William R.
Titel	Measuring and Predicting Graded Reader Difficulty
Quelle	In: Reading in a Foreign Language, 29 (2017) 2, S.218-244 (27 Seiten) PDF als Volltext (1); PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei (2) Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1539-0578
Schlagwörter	Basal Reading; Difficulty Level; Books; Surveys; Sentences; Word Frequency; Predictor Variables; Student Attitudes; Readability; Foreign Countries; College Students; English (Second Language); Japan + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Lesetraining; Schwierigkeitsgrad; Book; Buch; Monographie; Monografie; Survey; Umfrage; Befragung; Sentence analysis; Satzanalyse; Word analysis; Frequency; Wortanalyse; Häufigkeit; Prädiktor; Schülerverhalten; Lesbarkeit; Ausland; Collegestudent; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache
Abstract	This study used many-faceted Rasch measurement to investigate the difficulty of graded readers using a 3-item survey. Book difficulty was compared with Kyoto Level, Yomiyasusa Level, Lexile Level, book length, mean sentence length, and mean word frequency. Word frequency and Kyoto Level were found to be ineffective in predicting students' perceptions of book difficulty. Book length was found to be highly predictive of perceived book difficulty, with the Yomiyasusa Levels predicting 68% of variance, while the Lexile measure of mean sentence length was moderately predictive, with 40% of variance explained. These results show that current headword levelling of graded readers is ineffective and that publishers' book levels do not provide useful guidance in selection of books to read. It is therefore recommended that students use book length as their primary consideration in choosing books and that reading recommendations and purchasing decisions be based on Yomiyasusa Levels rather than publishers' levels. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Reading in a Foreign Language. National Foreign Language Resource Center, 1859 East-West Road #106, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822. e-mail: readfl@hawaii.edu; Web site: http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/rfl/
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01