From Verbal Complexity to Student Success: Understanding the Role of Linguistic Features in Teachers' Oral Classroom Explanations
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| Title: | From Verbal Complexity to Student Success: Understanding the Role of Linguistic Features in Teachers' Oral Classroom Explanations |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Catharina Tippe (ORCID |
| Source: | European Journal of Psychology of Education. 2025 40(3). |
| Availability: | Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/ |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 16 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Foreign Countries, Oral Language, Classroom Communication, Video Technology, Language Processing, Language Usage, Teacher Student Relationship, Difficulty Level, Connected Discourse, Correlation |
| Geographic Terms: | Germany |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10212-025-00992-0 |
| ISSN: | 0256-2928 1878-5174 |
| Abstract: | Oral explanations (OE) by teachers are one of the most common forms of communication in the classroom to support students' comprehension of subject-specific content. Thus, students have to deal with the language the teachers use in explanations. Research indicates that linguistic features (LF) of texts can influence students' comprehension as they affect cognitive processes of text comprehension. While the importance of LF of texts has been addressed widely, to date, relatively little attention has been given to the influence of LF of teachers' oral explanations on students' comprehension. We aimed to investigate whether the linguistic design of teachers' OE improves students' comprehension. N = 102 German students (age: M = 14.04; 55.9% female) took part in the study. Students watched explanatory videos on the same content but with differing verbal complexity (simple/difficult). The two versions differed in their levels of cohesion and surface features at word and sentence level. After listening to the explanation, students' comprehension was assessed. The results showed that the simpler version of the explanation was associated with significantly higher results in comprehension. The linguistic complexity of explanations affected students' comprehension. The findings suggest that teachers should pay more attention to the linguistic complexity of OE. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1479212 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Oral explanations (OE) by teachers are one of the most common forms of communication in the classroom to support students' comprehension of subject-specific content. Thus, students have to deal with the language the teachers use in explanations. Research indicates that linguistic features (LF) of texts can influence students' comprehension as they affect cognitive processes of text comprehension. While the importance of LF of texts has been addressed widely, to date, relatively little attention has been given to the influence of LF of teachers' oral explanations on students' comprehension. We aimed to investigate whether the linguistic design of teachers' OE improves students' comprehension. N = 102 German students (age: M = 14.04; 55.9% female) took part in the study. Students watched explanatory videos on the same content but with differing verbal complexity (simple/difficult). The two versions differed in their levels of cohesion and surface features at word and sentence level. After listening to the explanation, students' comprehension was assessed. The results showed that the simpler version of the explanation was associated with significantly higher results in comprehension. The linguistic complexity of explanations affected students' comprehension. The findings suggest that teachers should pay more attention to the linguistic complexity of OE. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0256-2928 1878-5174 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10212-025-00992-0 |
