Academic language and the quality of written arguments and explanations of Chilean 8th graders.
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| Title: | Academic language and the quality of written arguments and explanations of Chilean 8th graders. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Figueroa, Javiera1 jfigueroami@uc.cl, Meneses, Alejandra1, Chandia, Eugenio2 |
| Source: | Reading & Writing. Mar2018, Vol. 31 Issue 3, p703-723. 21p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Academic language, *English language ability testing, Vocabulary ability testing, Writing ability testing, Spanish language ability testing |
| Abstract: | Writing is a task that entails high cognitive and linguistic efforts, especially when producing academic texts. Academic language might be one of the factors influencing the quality of written texts, given that prior research has shown its impact on reading comprehension. The purpose of this study is to examine the contribution of Spanish Core Academic Language Skills (S-CALS) and academic vocabulary to the quality of written argumentation and explanation. For this study, 126 Chilean 8th grade students produced an argumentative text and an explanatory text about the same topic. In addition, their academic vocabulary was assessed with the S-AVoc-T test and their CALS with the S-CALS-I test. Results show that both CALS and academic vocabulary are significantly and positively correlated with both writing tasks. Even though these instruments make different contributions to the predictive models in each discursive genre, a Principal Component Analysis revealed that the model that best explains writing quality are those which combine both language variables, namely Spanish Core Academic Language and Vocabulary Skills (S-CALVS). In argumentation, the S-CALVS model explains 29% of the variance, after controlling by gender. In contrast, in explanation, S-CALVS explains 35% of the variance. It is concluded that it is relevant to develop situated writing in each discursive genre and, upon that basis, to work with both CALS and academic vocabulary, because they have a specific impact on academic texts writing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Reading & Writing is the property of Springer Nature 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 |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 127876884 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Academic language and the quality of written arguments and explanations of Chilean 8th graders. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Figueroa%2C+Javiera%22">Figueroa, Javiera</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> jfigueroami@uc.cl</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Meneses%2C+Alejandra%22">Meneses, Alejandra</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Chandia%2C+Eugenio%22">Chandia, Eugenio</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Reading+%26+Writing%22">Reading & Writing</searchLink>. Mar2018, Vol. 31 Issue 3, p703-723. 21p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Academic+language%22">Academic language</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22English+language+ability+testing%22">English language ability testing</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Vocabulary+ability+testing%22">Vocabulary ability testing</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Writing+ability+testing%22">Writing ability testing</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Spanish+language+ability+testing%22">Spanish language ability testing</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Writing is a task that entails high cognitive and linguistic efforts, especially when producing academic texts. Academic language might be one of the factors influencing the quality of written texts, given that prior research has shown its impact on reading comprehension. The purpose of this study is to examine the contribution of Spanish Core Academic Language Skills (S-CALS) and academic vocabulary to the quality of written argumentation and explanation. For this study, 126 Chilean 8th grade students produced an argumentative text and an explanatory text about the same topic. In addition, their academic vocabulary was assessed with the S-AVoc-T test and their CALS with the S-CALS-I test. Results show that both CALS and academic vocabulary are significantly and positively correlated with both writing tasks. Even though these instruments make different contributions to the predictive models in each discursive genre, a Principal Component Analysis revealed that the model that best explains writing quality are those which combine both language variables, namely Spanish Core Academic Language and Vocabulary Skills (S-CALVS). In argumentation, the S-CALVS model explains 29% of the variance, after controlling by gender. In contrast, in explanation, S-CALVS explains 35% of the variance. It is concluded that it is relevant to develop situated writing in each discursive genre and, upon that basis, to work with both CALS and academic vocabulary, because they have a specific impact on academic texts writing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Reading & Writing is the property of Springer Nature 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.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=127876884 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1007/s11145-017-9806-5 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 21 StartPage: 703 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Academic language Type: general – SubjectFull: English language ability testing Type: general – SubjectFull: Vocabulary ability testing Type: general – SubjectFull: Writing ability testing Type: general – SubjectFull: Spanish language ability testing Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Academic language and the quality of written arguments and explanations of Chilean 8th graders. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Figueroa, Javiera – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Meneses, Alejandra – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Chandia, Eugenio IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 03 Text: Mar2018 Type: published Y: 2018 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 09224777 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 31 – Type: issue Value: 3 Titles: – TitleFull: Reading & Writing Type: main |
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