Reading Difficulty and Language Features in an Arabic Physics Text.
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| Title: | Reading Difficulty and Language Features in an Arabic Physics Text. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Mohammed Albadi, Nouf1 C3086763@uon.edu.au, O'Toole, John Mitchell2, Harkins, Jean2 |
| Source: | Electronic Journal of Science Education. 2017, Vol. 21 Issue 8, p46-69. 24p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Struggling readers, *Physics textbooks |
| Abstract: | Reading research in K-12 English-speaking contexts reveals that inferential and expository texts cause substantial difficulty for students but less such research exists regarding other languages. It was the purpose of this quantitative cloze-based study to expose any relationship between student difficulty and particular features of the Arabic used in a mandatory Saudi Year 10 Physics textbook. Findings reveal that: (a) These 360 female students appear to be having significant difficulty understanding their textbook. (b) Nouns seem to cause the greatest difficulty, followed by technical- and semi-technical words; adjectives and grammatical particles. (c) Prior knowledge did not appear to reduce reading difficulties. This textbook may present difficulties for such students that go beyond the obvious issues of technicality in Physics text. This is significant because it suggests that the broader language difficulties that seem to characterise science text in English may also be emerging in specialist Arabic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Electronic Journal of Science Education is the property of Electronic Journal of Science Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
| FullText | Links: – Type: pdflink Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 126807323 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=126807323 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 24 StartPage: 46 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Struggling readers Type: general – SubjectFull: Physics textbooks Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Reading Difficulty and Language Features in an Arabic Physics Text. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Mohammed Albadi, Nouf – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: O'Toole, John Mitchell – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Harkins, Jean IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 18 M: 12 Text: 2017 Type: published Y: 2017 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 10873430 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 21 – Type: issue Value: 8 Titles: – TitleFull: Electronic Journal of Science Education Type: main |
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