Proficiency-sensitive barrier-to-support mapping for EAP reading materials

Design · All designs
Evidence · 2 claims (2 for) · 3 studies (3 causal), q2–q3 · 3 of 3 report an effect size · 1 claim rests on one study

Description

The article organizes EAP reading adaptation around a mapping from proficiency-specific reading barriers to text-embedded supports, process indicators, and outcome foci. Low-proficiency learners face vocabulary and syntax load addressed by "glosses, short paraphrases, sentence unpacking, and clause segmentation"; intermediate learners face discourse navigation addressed by rhetorical labels, paragraph-function notes, and claim–evidence outlines; high-proficiency learners face evidence and stance evaluation addressed by critical prompts. Each pathway assigns a distinct process indicator (cognitive load, discourse awareness, critical engagement) so process variables are not treated as interchangeable.

Design Implications

Context

Requirements

• Supports must be fixed, text-embedded, and task-bound, printed into the material as glosses, labels, notes, outlines, or prompts.
• The dominant barrier for each proficiency group must be identified before selecting the support layer.

Constraints

• Teacher mediation during reading falls outside this operationalization of scaffolding.
• The mapping was evaluated in one EAP instructional context with three source passages and 15 reviewed material versions.

Target Learners

• Adult undergraduate EAP readers at low, intermediate, and high proficiency

Learning Goals

• Academic reading comprehension
• EAP task performance including summary, claim–evidence use, and critical response

Claims

• Within Stratum Differentiated Advantage Reading Comprehension [+M]
• Limited Structural Separation Differentiated Versions [+M]

Related Designs

Examples

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Key Sources

• Gao X (2026) From unified to differentiated materials: generative AI–supported adaptation of EAP reading materials. Front. Psychol. 17:1887565. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1887565

Page metadata

Field	Value
type	design
id	proficiency-sensitive-barrier-support-mapping-eap
title	Proficiency-sensitive barrier-to-support mapping for EAP reading materials
description	The article organizes EAP reading adaptation around a mapping from proficiency-specific reading barriers to text-embedded supports, process indicators, and outcome foci.
status	review
generated	by process:settle-candidates on 2026-10-10
trust	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
sources	1 — gao-x-2026

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