A 12-week syntactic parsing instruction produced a significantly greater reading-rate gain in the experimental group than in the control group (Cohen's d = 0.52)¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · causal r1 · q3 · i2 medium
Currency · newest study 2018 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i2 After 12 weeks of instruction, the experimental group's average reading rate rose from 130wpm to 151wpm while the control group rose from 133wpm to 138wpm, a significant between-group difference (t=2.324, p=.023) with a medium effect size (Cohen's d = 0.52). → Chen et al. 2018 q3 i? Before instruction the two groups' reading rates did not differ significantly (p=.493), supporting comparability at baseline. → Chen et al. 2018 (2)

Evidence¶

Chen et al. 2018¶

Xiaokan Chen, Hongmei Li, Min Gui. (2018). Instructional Effects of Syntactic Parsing on Chinese College Students’ EFL Reading Rates. Journal of Education and Training Studies, Vol. 6, No. 11. https://doi.org/10.11114/jets.v6i11.3470

q3 · i2 · causal · r1

Pretest-posttest intact-class comparison: 39 of 43 experimental and 37 of 44 control participants included at posttest after the 70% comprehension cutoff. The conclusion reports t=2.324, p=0.023, and "effect size was medium (Cohen’s d = 0.52)"; gains were 21wpm versus 5wpm.

"The average reading rate of the experimental group is 151wpm, while the average reading rate of the control group is 138wpm, yielding a significant difference in average reading rate between groups (p= .023<0.05)."

Chen et al. 2018 (2)¶

Xiaokan Chen, Hongmei Li, Min Gui. (2018). Instructional Effects of Syntactic Parsing on Chinese College Students’ EFL Reading Rates. Journal of Education and Training Studies, Vol. 6, No. 11. https://doi.org/10.11114/jets.v6i11.3470

q3 · i? · causal · r1

Baseline comparison of pretest reading rates (experimental 130wpm, control 133wpm) with 34 experimental and 35 control participants included. No significant difference was found; equivalence was not otherwise tested.

"An independent t-test was employed to identify whether the participants’ reading rates were comparable before the instruction. No significant difference was observed between the groups (p= .493>0.05)."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Reading Fluency — outcome: instruction changes it

Related Claims¶

• Chinese college EFL students read at about 130wpm before instruction, far below fluent L1 reading rates of 250-300wpm — related
• Interviewed students held positive attitudes toward syntactic parsing instruction and reported benefits including faster reading and greater confidence with long complex sentences — related
• Syntactic parsing ability is strongly correlated with EFL reading rate among Chinese college students in both pretest and posttest — related
• Experimental-group students' syntactic parsing ability improved significantly from pretest to posttest after the 12-week instruction — related