The effects of digital scaffolding on adolescent English reading in Japan: An experimental study on visual-syntactic text formatting
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Authors
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Sachiko Ozaki
Osaka Universit, Japan
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Isao Ueda
Osaka University and Nagoya University of Foreign Studies, Japan
Abstract
This experimental study examined how VSTF (Visual-Syntactic Text Formatting)-based text benefits reading speed, reading comprehension, reading efficiency and retention for middle and high school students. Prospective within-subjects tests were conducted in Japan on a total of 132 students: 76 high school students from 12th grade and 56 middle school students from eighth grade. Students read both block-formatted text and VSTF-based text and answered quizzes and subjective questionnaires related to what they read. Objectively, although middle school students did not show a significant difference between using block-formatted text and VSTF-based text, low proficiency students in high school showed a significant increase in reading speed, reading comprehension, reading efficiency and retention, while high proficiency students in high school showed a significant increase in reading speed and retention. Regarding subjective questionnaires, most students among all of the grades felt reading VSTF-based text was more effective than reading block-formatted text. Based on these results, future long-term studies with multiple texts should be considered.
Keywords: computer-assisted language learning, language acquisition, English reading, syntactic awareness, visual-syntactic text formatting
