초록 열기/닫기 버튼
Researchers have used text analysis software to raise concerns about English textbook continuity within and between various textbook series with respect to key text features such as their readability, vocabulary, syntax and cohesion. However, these text analysis tools have not been used to examine beginning reading textbooks to establish their readability for L2 learners. Similarly, they do not identify whether beginning L2 reading texts take into account text features that support beginning L2 reading. To address these questions, grade five texts were selected because these are the first intact texts that L2 learners are exposed to in the public school curriculum. The Coh-Metrix linguistic analysis software compared results from a traditional readability formula and an updated readability formula for L2 readers. An additional analysis of text features deemed to be essential dimensions of text cohesion and processability was performed. Results revealed that texts were generally readable according to a traditional and L2 readability analyses. However, discrepancies surfaced in text readability depending on the textbook or readability formula used. Easability results showed that theses texts were generally high on traditional indicators like narrativity and syntactic simplicity but low on other important indicators of text ease such as word concreteness and cohesion.
