ERIC Number: EJ1468904
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Apr
Pages: 22
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0922-4777
EISSN: EISSN-1573-0905
Available Date: 2024-05-12
Linguistically-Driven Text Formatting Improves Reading Comprehension for ELLs and EL1s
Jack Dempsey1,5; Kiel Christianson1,2; Julie A. Van Dyke3,4,5
Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, v38 n4 p1107-1128 2025
Typical print formatting provides no information regarding the linguistic features of a text, although texts vary considerably with respect to grammatical complexity and readability. Complex texts may be particularly challenging for individuals with weak language knowledge, such as English language learners. This paper investigates the usefulness of a text format referred to as Linguistically-Driven Text Formatting (LDTF), which provides visual cues to grammatical structure for in-the-moment language support during reading. We assessed reading comprehension in adult English Language Learners after a two-session exposure to the new format (also called Cascade Format). Participants' primary languages were Mandarin and Korean, which have substantially different syntactic structures from English. Ninety participants (30 L1 English, 30 L1 Mandarin, 30 L1 Korean) were randomly assigned to either the traditional or the LDTF format and read six English passages across two sessions within the same week. Comprehension was assessed via questions that probe sentence comprehension and global text properties. Participants also completed a TOEFL assessment, presented in either LDTF or traditional format. Bayesian analyses showed that the Cascade Format improved sentence comprehension relative to control participants for all language groups and experience levels. Effects on the TOEFL assessment, which taps inferencing and meta-linguistic skills, were not observed. Syntactic knowledge plays a fundamental role in reading comprehension, and LDTF appears to support comprehension by providing visual cues to this knowledge that can be used at the very moment of meaning construction.
Descriptors: Reading Comprehension, Mandarin Chinese, Korean, Native Language, Syntax, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Second Language Instruction, Grammar, Readability, Layout (Publications), Cues, Reading Processes, Reading Materials, English, Reading Tests, Language Tests, Metalinguistics, Bayesian Statistics, Inferences, Visual Aids
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Test of English as a Foreign Language
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, USA; 2Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, Urbana, USA; 3Yale University School of Medicine, Child Study Center, New Haven, USA; 4University of Connecticut, Institute for Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Storrs, USA; 5Cascade Reading, Inc, Minneapolis, USA