![Sample our Education journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5932/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Education.jpg"})
Abstract
Previous studies have evaluated reading comprehension as the general understanding of reading texts. However, this broad and generic assessment of reading comprehension overlooks the specific aspects and processes that students need to develop. This study adopted Kintsch's Construction–Integration model to tap into reading comprehension at different levels and investigated how English as a foreign language (EFL) students benefit from online annotations to scaffold reading comprehension. Fifty EFL students participated in this study and the data collected included (1) the pre- and post-test assessments in reading comprehension levels, (2) the students’ online annotations on reading texts, and (3) the discussion transcripts from an online discussion forum. The results from the first two data sources (1 and 2) were the data-sets used to investigate the influence of the annotation types on reading comprehension levels. The third data source was the data-set used to probe into the process of how students benefited from annotation types to reach different levels of reading comprehension. Four types of online annotations were frequently used by the students while reading online, including (1) marking vocabulary, (2) adding Chinese explanatory notes to unknown vocabulary, (3) marking text information, and (4) adding summary notes to each paragraph. Different frequencies of using the four types of online annotations resulted in three different comprehension levels: surface-based, text-based, and situation-based levels. Marking vocabulary and adding Chinese explanatory notes helped scaffold the students' learning to achieve surface comprehension levels to facilitate recognition and meaning of unknown vocabulary. Marking text information and in particular, the adding of summary notes to each paragraph were the core annotations that helped students comprehend the online text in text-based and situation-based levels. EFL teachers can guide students to use online annotations to different extents in order to deepen their reading comprehension.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan [grant number MOST 103-2401-H-224-013]. This support makes the the implementation of the project possible.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Sheng-Shiang Tseng
Sheng-Shiang Tseng is currently a PhD student in the Learning, Design, and Technology department at University of Georgia. He is interested in the application and evaluation of open educational resources to facilitate teaching and learning.
Hui-Chin Yeh
Hui-Chin Yeh is currently an Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Applied Foreign Languages at National Yunlin University of Science and Technology in Taiwan. She received her PhD in Language Education at Indiana University-Bloomington. Her research interests center on EFL teacher education, computer-assisted language learning, and EFL reading and writing. She has published many articles on these topics in Language Learning & Technology, Computer Assisted Language Learning, Teaching and Teacher Education, British Journal of Educational Technology, Educational Technology Research & Development, Educational Technology and Society, Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, and Asia Pacific Education Review. In 2010, she was awarded a Distinguished Young Scholar Award from the Ministry of Science and Technology, and a Teaching Excellence Award. In 2011, she received an Excellent Mentor Award from her university. Her Multimedia English course has been certified as a quality e-learning course from the Ministry of Education in Taiwan. She hopes her efforts and scholarship in multiple disciplines can make positive contributions to academia.
Shih-hsien Yang
Shih-hsien Yang is an Associate Professor and Chairperson in the Applied Foreign Languages Department at National Formosa University in Taiwan. He graduated from the Language Education Department at Indiana University-Bloomington. His research interests are computer assisted language learning and teacher professional development. He has published several manuscripts in Educational Technology and Society (ETS), Teaching and Teacher Education (TATE), and Asia-Pacific Education Researcher.