The Process of Generating Graphic Organizers in EFL Reading: Suggestions for Reading Instructions That Can Support Global Coherence in Text Comprehension

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K20809
• Project/Area Number (Other): 18H05602 (2018)
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund (2019); Single-year Grants (2018)
• Review Section: 0102:Literature, linguistics, and related fields
• Research Institution: Hakuoh University
• Principal Investigator: MORI Yoshinobu 白鴎大学, 教育学部, 准教授 (10824170)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-08-24 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 英語教育 / 英文読解 / 概要理解 / タスク / グラフィックオーガナイザー

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study aimed to explore the generation of graphic organizers (GOs) by English as a foreign language (EFL) readers. GOs are visual representations of information and links within a text. The study examined the inter-rater reliability of assessing GOs and the impact of learner-generated GOs on global coherence in text comprehension. The results showed variations among raters in their responses, which were influenced by the length and appropriateness of information included in the GOs, as well as the categorization of GOs using a rubric that assigned numerical values. Furthermore, the results suggested that the generation of GOs had a positive effect on the processing of discourse comprehension by EFL learners. It enhanced their understanding of global coherence of a text.

Free Research Field

英語教育学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究の学術的な意義は，読解時の認知プロセスから読解後のテキスト記憶に至るまで，英語学習者の概要理解をGO作成がどのようにサポートするのかが明らかにされたことである。また，社会的な意義としては，概要理解を促す読解指導としてGO作成の有用性が確認されるとともに，作成されたGOを採点する際の留意点や評価者トレーニングを行う際のポイントについて示唆が得られたことがあげられる。