Text Complexity and Reading Comprehension Tests

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Author :
Publisher : Peter Lang
ISBN 13 : 9783039117178
Total Pages : 364 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (171 download)

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Book Synopsis Text Complexity and Reading Comprehension Tests by : Erik Castello

Download or read book Text Complexity and Reading Comprehension Tests written by Erik Castello and published by Peter Lang. This book was released on 2008 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on the analysis of a specially compiled corpus of internationally recognized English as a foreign language (EFL) reading tests at different levels of proficiency, this volume explores the relation between the complexity of written texts and the difficulty of reading comprehension tests. It brings together linguistic investigations into the text-inherent complexity of the tests and a study of the data derived from their administration to groups of Italian university students. The study of text complexity draws on corpus linguistics, text linguistics and systemic functional linguistics. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses are carried out on the language used in the reading texts and in the related tasks that make up the corpus of tests. The assessment of test difficulty, on the other hand, is informed by research on language testing, and, in particular, by findings and methodologies of Classical Test Theory and Item Response Theory. Relevant aspects of these theories are used to analyze and interpret both the data obtained from the administration of the tests and the data collected by means of feedback questionnaires completed by test takers. The application of such diverse methodologies and the subsequent comparison of the results of the analyses has brought out interesting correlations between text-inherent complexity, perceived test difficulty and actual test difficulty.

Grammatical Complexity in Academic English

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Author :
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 110700926X
Total Pages : 293 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (7 download)

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Book Synopsis Grammatical Complexity in Academic English by : Douglas Biber

Download or read book Grammatical Complexity in Academic English written by Douglas Biber and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2016-05-26 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Using corpus-based analyses, the book challenges widely held beliefs about grammatical complexity, academic writing, and linguistic change in written English.

Language Complexity

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Author :
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9789027231048
Total Pages : 386 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (31 download)

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Book Synopsis Language Complexity by : Matti Miestamo

Download or read book Language Complexity written by Matti Miestamo and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2008 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Language complexity has recently attracted considerable attention from linguists of many different persuasions. This volume – a thematic selection of papers from the conference Approaches to Complexity in Language, held in Helsinki, August 2005 – is the first collection of articles devoted to the topic. The sixteen chapters of the volume approach the notion of language complexity from a variety of perspectives. The papers are divided into three thematic sections that reflect the central themes of the book: Typology and theory, Contact and change, Creoles and pidgins. The book is mainly intended for typologists, historical linguists, contact linguists and creolists, as well as all linguists interested in language complexity in general. As the first collective volume on a very topical theme, the book is expected to be of lasting interest to the linguistic community.

Morphological Complexity

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Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1107120640
Total Pages : 209 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (71 download)

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Book Synopsis Morphological Complexity by : Matthew Baerman

Download or read book Morphological Complexity written by Matthew Baerman and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2017-06-22 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book characterises the diverse morphological complexity we find in the languages of the world. Richly illustrated, examples are drawn from dozens of different languages and are subjected to rigorous quantitative analysis. It will be ideal reading for academic researchers and graduate students of linguistics, with a special interest in morphology and English language.

Every Living Thing

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Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1439136165
Total Pages : 100 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (391 download)

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Book Synopsis Every Living Thing by : Cynthia Rylant

Download or read book Every Living Thing written by Cynthia Rylant and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2011-02-22 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Here are twelve deeply moving short stories from the perceptive pen of Cynthia Rylant. Each captures the moment when someone's life changes -- when an animal causes a human being to see things in a different way, and, perhaps, changes his life.

The Growth and Maintenance of Linguistic Complexity

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Author :
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9789027230812
Total Pages : 358 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (38 download)

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Book Synopsis The Growth and Maintenance of Linguistic Complexity by : Östen Dahl

Download or read book The Growth and Maintenance of Linguistic Complexity written by Östen Dahl and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2004 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book studies linguistic complexity and the processes by which it arises and is maintained, focusing not so much on what one can say in a language as how it is said. Complexity is not seen as synonymous with “difficulty” but as an objective property of a system — a measure of the amount of information needed to describe or reconstruct it. Grammatical complexity is the result of historical processes often subsumed under the rubric of grammaticalization and involves what can be called mature linguistic phenomena, that is, features that take time to develop. The nature and characteristics of such processes are discussed in detail, as well as the external and internal factors that favor or disfavor stability and change in language.

Analyzing Discourse and Text Complexity for Learning and Collaborating

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Author :
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3319034197
Total Pages : 283 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (19 download)

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Book Synopsis Analyzing Discourse and Text Complexity for Learning and Collaborating by : Mihai Dascălu

Download or read book Analyzing Discourse and Text Complexity for Learning and Collaborating written by Mihai Dascălu and published by Springer. This book was released on 2013-11-26 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the advent and increasing popularity of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) and e-learning technologies, the need of automatic assessment and of teacher/tutor support for the two tightly intertwined activities of comprehension of reading materials and of collaboration among peers has grown significantly. In this context, a polyphonic model of discourse derived from Bakhtin’s work as a paradigm is used for analyzing both general texts and CSCL conversations in a unique framework focused on different facets of textual cohesion. As specificity of our analysis, the individual learning perspective is focused on the identification of reading strategies and on providing a multi-dimensional textual complexity model, whereas the collaborative learning dimension is centered on the evaluation of participants’ involvement, as well as on collaboration assessment. Our approach based on advanced Natural Language Processing techniques provides a qualitative estimation of the learning process and enhances understanding as a “mediator of learning” by providing automated feedback to both learners and teachers or tutors. The main benefits are its flexibility, extensibility and nevertheless specificity for covering multiple stages, starting from reading classroom materials, to discussing on specific topics in a collaborative manner and finishing the feedback loop by verbalizing metacognitive thoughts.

Book Fiesta!

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Author :
Publisher : Harper Collins
ISBN 13 : 0061288772
Total Pages : 42 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (612 download)

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Book Synopsis Book Fiesta! by : Pat Mora

Download or read book Book Fiesta! written by Pat Mora and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2009-03-10 with total page 42 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Take a ride in a long submarine or fly away in a hot air balloon. Whatever you do, just be sure to bring your favorite book! Rafael López's colorful illustrations perfectly complement Pat Mora's lilting text in this delightful celebration of El día de los niños/El día de los libros; Children's Day/Book Day. Toon! Toon! Includes a letter from the author and suggestions for celebrating El día de los niños/El día de los libros; Children's Day/Book Day. Pasea por el mar en un largo submarino o viaja lejos en un globo aerostático. No importa lo que hagas, ¡no olvides traer tu libro preferido! Las coloridas ilustraciones de Rafael López complementan perfectamente el texto rítmico de Pat Mora en esta encantadora celebración de El día de los niños/El día de los libros. ¡Tun! ¡Tun! Incluye una carta de la autora y sugerencias para celebrar El día de los niños/El día de los libros. The author will donate a portion of the proceeds from this book to literacy initiatives related to Children's Day/Book Day. La autora donará una porción de las ganancias de este libro a programas para fomentar la alfabetización relacionados con El día de los niños/El día de los libros.

Grammatical gender and linguistic complexity I

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Author :
Publisher : Language Science Press
ISBN 13 : 3961101787
Total Pages : 350 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (611 download)

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Book Synopsis Grammatical gender and linguistic complexity I by : Francesca Di Garbo

Download or read book Grammatical gender and linguistic complexity I written by Francesca Di Garbo and published by Language Science Press. This book was released on 2019 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The many facets of grammatical gender remain one of the most fruitful areas of linguistic research, and pose fascinating questions about the origins and development of complexity in language. The present work is a two-volume collection of 13 chapters on the topic of grammatical gender seen through the prism of linguistic complexity. The contributions discuss what counts as complex and/or simple in grammatical gender systems, whether the distribution of gender systems across the world’s languages relates to the language ecology and social history of speech communities. Contributors demonstrate how the complexity of gender systems can be studied synchronically, both in individual languages and over large cross-linguistic samples, and diachronically, by exploring how gender systems change over time. In addition to three chapters on the theoretical foundations of gender complexity, volume one contains six chapters on grammatical gender and complexity in individual languages and language families of Africa, New Guinea, and South Asia. This volume is complemented by volume two, which consists of three chapters providing diachronic and typological case studies, followed by a final chapter discussing old and new theoretical and empirical challenges in the study of the dynamics of gender complexity.

Text Complexity

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Author :
Publisher : Corwin Press
ISBN 13 : 150634397X
Total Pages : 217 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (63 download)

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Book Synopsis Text Complexity by : Douglas Fisher

Download or read book Text Complexity written by Douglas Fisher and published by Corwin Press. This book was released on 2016-01-28 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is a big difference between assigning complex texts and teaching complex texts No matter what discipline you teach, learn how to use complexity as a dynamic, powerful tool for sliding the right text in front of your students’ at just the right time. Updates to this new edition include How-to’s for measuring countable features of any written work A rubric for analyzing the complexity of both literary and informational texts Classroom scenarios that show the difference between a healthy struggle and frustration The authors’ latest thinking on teacher modeling, close reading, scaffolded small group reading, and independent reading

Unpacking Complexity in Informational Texts

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Author :
Publisher : Guilford Publications
ISBN 13 : 1462518508
Total Pages : 161 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (625 download)

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Book Synopsis Unpacking Complexity in Informational Texts by : Sunday Cummins

Download or read book Unpacking Complexity in Informational Texts written by Sunday Cummins and published by Guilford Publications. This book was released on 2014-11-12 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To acquire content knowledge through reading, students must understand the complex components and diverse purposes of informational texts, as emphasized in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). This practical book illuminates the ways in which a text?s purpose, structure, details, connective language, and construction of themes combine to create meaning. Classroom-tested instructional recommendations and "kid-friendly" explanations guide teachers in helping students to identify and understand the role of these elements in different types of informational texts. Numerous student work samples, excerpts from exemplary books and articles, and a Study Guide with discussion questions and activities for professional learning add to the book?s utility. ÿ

Linguistic Complexity

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Author :
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter
ISBN 13 : 3110229226
Total Pages : 272 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (12 download)

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Book Synopsis Linguistic Complexity by : Bernd Kortmann

Download or read book Linguistic Complexity written by Bernd Kortmann and published by Walter de Gruyter. This book was released on 2012-05-29 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Linguistic complexity is one of the currently most hotly debated notions in linguistics. The essays in this volume reflect the intricacies of thinking about the complexity of languages and language varieties (here: of English) in three major contact-related fields of (and schools in) linguistics: creolistics, indigenization and nativization studies (i.e. in the realm of English linguistics, the “World Englishes” community), and Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research: How can we adequately assess linguistic complexity? Should we be interested in absolute complexity or rather relative complexity? What is the extent to which language contact and/or (adult) language learning might lead to morphosyntactic simplification? The authors in this volume are all leading linguists in different areas of specialization, and they were asked to elaborate on those facets of linguistic complexity which are most relevant in their area of specialization, and/or which strike them as being most intriguing. The result is a collection of papers that is unique in bringing together leading representatives of three often disjunct fields of linguistic scholarship in which linguistic complexity is seen as a dynamic and inherently variable parameter.

Language Complexity as an Evolving Variable

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Publisher : OUP Oxford
ISBN 13 : 0191567663
Total Pages : 328 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (915 download)

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Book Synopsis Language Complexity as an Evolving Variable by : Geoffrey Sampson

Download or read book Language Complexity as an Evolving Variable written by Geoffrey Sampson and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2009-02-26 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents a challenge to the widely-held assumption that human languages are both similar and constant in their degree of complexity. For a hundred years or more the universal equality of languages has been a tenet of faith among most anthropologists and linguists. It has been frequently advanced as a corrective to the idea that some languages are at a later stage of evolution than others. It also appears to be an inevitable outcome of one of the central axioms of generative linguistic theory: that the mental architecture of language is fixed and is thus identical in all languages and that whereas genes evolve languages do not. Language Complexity as an Evolving Variable reopens the debate. Geoffrey Sampson's introductory chapter re-examines and clarifies the notion and theoretical importance of complexity in language, linguistics, cognitive science, and evolution. Eighteen distinguished scholars from all over the world then look at evidence gleaned from their own research in order to reconsider whether languages do or do not exhibit the same degrees and kinds of complexity. They examine data from a wide range of times and places. They consider the links between linguistic structure and social complexity and relate their findings to the causes and processes of language change. Their arguments are frequently controversial and provocative; their conclusions add up to an important challenge to conventional ideas about the nature of language. The authors write readably and accessibly with no recourse to unnecessary jargon. This fascinating book will appeal to all those interested in the interrelations between human nature, culture, and language.

The Formal Complexity of Natural Language

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Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 9400934017
Total Pages : 462 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (9 download)

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Book Synopsis The Formal Complexity of Natural Language by : W.J. Savitch

Download or read book The Formal Complexity of Natural Language written by W.J. Savitch and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 462 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ever since Chomsky laid the framework for a mathematically formal theory of syntax, two classes of formal models have held wide appeal. The finite state model offered simplicity. At the opposite extreme numerous very powerful models, most notable transformational grammar, offered generality. As soon as this mathematical framework was laid, devastating arguments were given by Chomsky and others indicating that the finite state model was woefully inadequate for the syntax of natural language. In response, the completely general transformational grammar model was advanced as a suitable vehicle for capturing the description of natural language syntax. While transformational grammar seems likely to be adequate to the task, many researchers have advanced the argument that it is "too adequate. " A now classic result of Peters and Ritchie shows that the model of transformational grammar given in Chomsky's Aspects [IJ is powerful indeed. So powerful as to allow it to describe any recursively enumerable set. In other words it can describe the syntax of any language that is describable by any algorithmic process whatsoever. This situation led many researchers to reasses the claim that natural languages are included in the class of transformational grammar languages. The conclu sion that many reached is that the claim is void of content, since, in their view, it says little more than that natural language syntax is doable algo rithmically and, in the framework of modern linguistics, psychology or neuroscience, that is axiomatic.

The Complexity of Identity and Interaction in Language Education

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Author :
Publisher : Multilingual Matters
ISBN 13 : 1788927443
Total Pages : 408 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (889 download)

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Book Synopsis The Complexity of Identity and Interaction in Language Education by : Nathanael Rudolph

Download or read book The Complexity of Identity and Interaction in Language Education written by Nathanael Rudolph and published by Multilingual Matters. This book was released on 2020-08-07 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book addresses two critical calls pertaining to language education. Firstly, for attention to be paid to the transdisciplinary nature and complexity of learner identity and interaction in the classroom and secondly, for the need to attend to conceptualizations of and approaches to manifestations of (in)equity in the sociohistorical contexts in which they occur. Collectively, the chapters envision classrooms and educational institutions as sites both shaping and shaped by larger (trans)communal negotiations of being and belonging, in which individuals affirm and/or problematize essentialized and idealized nativeness and community membership. The volume, comprised of chapters contributed by a diverse array of researcher-practitioners living, working and/or studying around the globe, is intended to inform, empower and inspire stakeholders in language education to explore, potentially reimagine, and ultimately critically and practically transform, the communities in which they live, work and/or study.

Research Methods for Complexity Theory in Applied Linguistics

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Author :
Publisher : Multilingual Matters
ISBN 13 : 1788925769
Total Pages : 301 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (889 download)

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Book Synopsis Research Methods for Complexity Theory in Applied Linguistics by : Phil Hiver

Download or read book Research Methods for Complexity Theory in Applied Linguistics written by Phil Hiver and published by Multilingual Matters. This book was released on 2019-12-06 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides practical guidance on research methods and designs that can be applied to Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST) research. It discusses the contribution of CDST to the field of applied linguistics, examines what this perspective entails for research and introduces practical methods and templates, both qualitative and quantitative, for how applied linguistics researchers can design and conduct research using the CDST framework. Introduced in the book are methods ranging from those in widespread use in social complexity, to more familiar methods in use throughout applied linguistics. All are inherently suited to studying both dynamic change in context and interconnectedness. This accessible introduction to CDST research will equip readers with the knowledge to ensure compatibility between empirical research designs and the theoretical tenets of complexity. It will be of value to researchers working in the areas of applied linguistics, language pedagogy and educational linguistics and to scholars and professionals with an interest in second/foreign language acquisition and complexity theory.

Readicide

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Author :
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 1003843549
Total Pages : 128 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (38 download)

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Book Synopsis Readicide by : Kelly Gallagher

Download or read book Readicide written by Kelly Gallagher and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-10-10 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Read-i-cide: The systematic killing of the love of reading, often exacerbated by the inane, mind-numbing practices found in schools. Reading is dying in our schools. Educators are familiar with many of the factors that have contributed to the decline, poverty, second-language issues, and the ever-expanding choices of electronic entertainment. In this provocative book Readicide: How Schools are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It , author and teacher Kelly Gallagher suggests it is time to recognize a new and significant contributor to the death of reading: our schools. Readicide , Gallagher argues that American schools are actively (though unwittingly) furthering the decline of reading. Specifically, he contends that the standard instructional practices used in most schools are killing reading by:Valuing standardized testing over the development of lifelong readersMandating breadth over depth in instructionRequiring students to read difficult texts without proper instructional support and insisting students focus on academic textsIgnoring the importance of developing recreational readingLosing sight of authentic instruction in the looming shadow of political pressuresReadicide provides teachers, literacy coaches, and administrators with specific steps to reverse the downward spiral in reading-;steps that will help prevent the loss of another generation of readers.