Analysis on Text-level Reading

Reading,especially reading at text level,is a process of continuously repeating,consolidating and understanding words,phrases,and sentences.However,from the perspective of psycholinguistics,the compariosn and contrast of empirical data from experiments and researches would be evidences to support the idea that reading at text level is mainly influenced by readers' ability of identifying a text's cohesion and coherence,balancing the activation and suppression of background knowledge,as well as readers' utilization of working memory.Readers can make good use of these three aspects in order to advance their understanding of reading at text level.

A Preliminary Analysis of Text Coverage and Extensive Reading of Chinese ESL Learners--Range Analysis of The Little Prince and Pride and Prejudice

One of the common problems for L2 learners in ESL reading is that the text is either too difficult to understand or too simple to challenge,particularly the extracurricular reading material.The Little Prince and Pride and Prejudice are typically listed in the key reading materials for L2 learners.Contrary to the popularity,a large number of L2 learners find it is hard to complete due to the low text coverage with existing vocabulary.The corpus has become an important language research tool to store language materials according to the specific goals and the way through certain technical means.This paper is going to explore the text coverage of The Little Prince and Pride and Prejudice by range analysis,and comparing with English Curriculum Standards to figure out suitable reading targets of these two materials.

AB104.Validation of the international reading speed texts in a Canadian sample

Background:The International Reading Speed Texts(IReST)were developed in Europe as a standardized measure to assess continuous reading in normally sighted and visually impaired individuals.The IReST is used throughout the United States and Canada to assess reading speed;however,the normative values may not be valid in North America(NA).Additionally there are no normative values for individuals with visual impairments.The aim of this study was to validate the IReSTs in a normally sighted English-speaking NA sample with and without a simulated reduction in visual acuity.Methods:Fifty undergraduate students from Concordia University participated in this study.Participants were systematically assigned to a counterbalanced order of testing conditions and were asked to read all 10 IReSTs aloud.The normal and impaired vision conditions were counterbalanced such that the first set of five IReSTs were read with either the participants normal/corrected-to-normal vision or with a simulated 20/80 visual impairment.Results:Multiple two-sample dependent t-tests using a Holm-Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons were used to compare the IReST values(means and standard deviations)to the current sample;the results showed statistically significant differences between the current samples mean reading speed and the values provided by the IReSTs.In all cases,P were equal to or less than 0.005.Mean difference scores ranged from 14.87 to 30.05 wpm,with 95%confidence intervals ranging from 4.82 to 43.32.Measures of effect size using bias corrected Hedge’s g*ranged from 0.83 to 1.32,with 95%confidence intervals ranging from 0.25 to 1.93.Multiple two-sample dependent t-tests using a Holm-Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons were used to compare the mean reading speed in wpm of the normal and impaired vision conditions;the results showed statistically significant differences between the mean reading speeds of the normal vision condition and the simulated impairment condition on the IReSTs.In all cases,the P were less than 0.001.Mean difference scores ranged from 25.44 to 41.8 wpm,with 95%confidence intervals ranging from 21.66 to 46.Measures of effect size using bias corrected Hedge’s g*ranged from 2.74 to 3.81,with 95%confidence intervals ranging from 1.97 to 4.74.Further Bayesian analyses revealed BF10 factors ranging from 1.277×107 to 7.334×1011,indicating decisive evidence for the research.Conclusions:There are statistically significant differences in reading speed between the NA English sample and the normative values established by the IReST;such that reading speeds of the NA English sample are slower than the normative values of the IReST.Additionally,participants in the simulated impairment condition read the IReSTs significantly slower than the normal vision condition.

Exploring EFL Learners Reading Comprehension Problems in Reading ESP Texts

By considering the fact that in EFL （English as foreign language） contexts learners need reading comprehension skill more than other skills in their academic studies, reading comprehension should be attached more importance especialy in ESP （English for specific purposes） classes in which reading ability plays a crucial role in the students＇ academic success. But in order to help learners in the best possible way, teachers need to identify their learners＇ problems in reading ESP texts. Detecting the problematic areas for the students will assist teachers better design and apply appropriate methods and strategies to solve their students＇ reading comprehension problems. Therefore, the following research was an attempt to explore the EFL learners＇ reading comprehension problmes in reading ESP texts in ESP classes. For the purpose of the study, five passages from their coursebook were selected and they were asked to underline the syntactically problematic parts in the passages. The subjects of the study were composed of 185 homogenous engineering students who were learning english as a foregin langauge. Chi-square analysis showed that 15 major syntactic categories are serious hurdle to reading comprehension of ESP texts. The results and implications are discussed in the light of TLA （teachers＇ language awareness）.

Study on text analysis and advanced English teaching

This paper is attempted to explore advanced English teaching from perspective of text analysis. It involves the introduction of culture background, the application of genre-based approach, the appreciation of writing style and the analysis of textual structure through sample studies.

Reading Text Under Normal and Disappearing Presentation Conditions

In this article I discuss data from a series of experiments in which readers’ eye movements were recorded as they processed sentences in which each word disappeared or was masked 60ms after fixation onset. We used this paradigm to investigate whether we could induce a gap effect during reading, and how visual and linguistic factors affected eye movements under these conditions. The data showed that no gap effect occurred in our experiment. Overall reading times were the same under normal and disappearing presentation conditions. However, readers did adopt a strategy of making fewer but longer fixations when the text disappeared than when it did not. Additionally, clear frequency effects occurred regardless of whether the text was presented normally or disappeared. This finding indicates that while the visual uptake of information is important, cognitive processes associated with the lexical identification of words are a primary influence on when readers move their eyes during reading. The findings are taken to support the E-Z Reader model of eye movement control.

The Interaction Betweena Reader and a Text in Reading Process —— the Application of Schemata Theory in Reading Two Poems

Inrevealingthenatureofreadingprocess,moreattentionhasbeengiventotheroleplayedbya reader.ThispaperdiscussestheapplicationofSchematatheoryinreadinginthelightofunderstandingandappre ciationoftwopoems.Bycomparingthetwopoemsinchoiceofwordsandinarrangementofthepoems,thispaper verifiesthepracticalinfluenceofschematatheoryinreadingprocess.

Inheritance and Development of Three Pre-Qin Classics of Confucianism——An Application of Topic Modeling in Classical Chinese Text Analysis

The Analects, Mengzi and Xunzi are the top-three classical works of pre-Qin Confucianism, which epitomized thoughts and ideas of Confucius, Mencius and XunKuang1. There have been lots of spirited and in-depth discussions on their ideological inheritance and development from all kinds of academics. This paper tries to cast a new light on these discussions through “machine reading2”.

Comprehensive Study on the Basis of Eye Blink, Suggesting Length of Text Line, Considering Typographical Variables the Way How to Improve Reading from Computer Screen

The advent and extensive use of computer and increasing development of different technologies it is important to increase the awareness of issues related to the electronic text or text presentation on computer screen. The usage of web shows the importance of usability and readability of the web applications or sources provide by the web and web textual contents. Web application fails to encounter the user’s requirements in effective manner specially related to textual information, because the designers are unaware from some of the important factors effecting readability, reading from the screen. In this regard, this study is the continuation of the previous work that has been done for the improvement of readability, to handle the readability issues on the basis of Eye Blink for male participants and female participants. To achieve general recommendations for suitable or optimum length of text line for all type of users on the bases of eye blink. Basically during reading from the computer screen focus losses at two positions, when eye blink in the middle of text line and when text line ends. The study specifies suitable length of text line on the basis of Eye Blink, assuming three typographical variables i.e. font style, font color, font size, and with white background, which improve the overall readability or reading from computer screen. The study also shows two important things the degree of understandability and the degree of attractive appearance of different combination.

The effects of text structure, structure awareness and proficiency level on EFL learners＇ reading test performance

The present study probed into the effects of text structure, structure awareness and proficiency level on EFL learners＇ reading test performance. There are 112 college-level students participated in the experiment and their English proficiency belonged to distinct levels. The subjects＇ performance on the recall of two passages written in different types of structure was examined. Results of statistical indicate that text structure, structure awareness and proficiency level all have main effects on the subjects＇ reading performance. More specifically, two major findings emerged from the results of the investigation. One the one hand, text structures significantly affected the quantity but not the quality of the information recalled while proficiency level and structure awareness had significant impact on both the quantity and quality of information recalled. On the other hand, structure awareness was irrelevant to either text structure or proficiency level. The implications of the findings for teaching L2/FL reading were suggested.

Noticeable Focuses in Readinga Text

This paper discusses the relationship between commanding those basic information contained in a text and the final purpose of comprehending in a text-reading process.By using the main topic and the central meaning that all texts have as two main examples,the author mainly illustrates what a reader should pay attention to in reading a text.

The Probe of Significance of Text Analysis in Translation

This paper studies the significance of text analysis in translation in regard to the analysis both inside and outside the "text",discussing the weight of analyzing lexical units and stylistic scales in translation and examining the importance of analyzing the translator’s intention,the author’s intention and the target language(TL)readership.

Chinese English Learners＇ Text Reading Strategy Research

Reading strategies are different from identifying the words, but a kind of metacognitive activity based on the monitoring mode. This paper will explore Chinese English learners＇ text reading strategies according to the cognitive process of the reading, hoping for providing some suggestions and references for Chinese college students to learn English well and improve the text reading ability.

Text Difficulty,Working Memory Capacity and Mind Wandering During Chinese EFL Learners’Reading

This experimental study investigated how text difficulty and different working memory capacity(WMC)affected Chinese EFL learners’reading comprehension and their tendency to engage in task-unrelated thoughts,that is,mind wandering(MW),in the course of reading.Sixty first-year university non-English majors participated in the study.A two-factor mixed experimental design of 2(text difficulty:difficult and simple)×2(WMC:high/large and low/small)was employed.Results revealed that 1)the main and interaction effects of WMC and text difficulty on voluntary MW were significant,whereas those on involuntary MW were not;2)while reading the easy texts,the involuntary MW of high-WMC individuals was less frequent than that of low-WMC ones,whereas while reading the difficult ones,the direct relationship between WMC and involuntary MW was not found;and that 3)high-WMC individuals had a lower overall rate of MW and better reading performance than low-WMC individuals did,but with increasing text difficulty,their rates of overall MW and voluntary MW were getting higher and higher,and the reading performance was getting lower and lower.These results lend support to WM theory and have pedagogical implications for the instruction of L2 reading.

Priorities for Social and Humanities Projects Based on Text Analysis

Purpose:Changes in the world show that the role,importance,and coherence of SSH(social sciences and the humanities)will increase significantly in the coming years.This paper aims to monitor and analyze the evolution(or overlapping)of the SSH thematic pattern through three funding instruments since 2007.Design/methodology/approach:The goal of the paper is to check to what extent the EU Framework Program(FP)affects/does not affect research on national level,and to highlight hot topics from a given period with the help of text analysis.Funded project titles and abstracts derived from the EU FP,Slovenian,and Estonian RIS were used.The final analysis and comparisons between different datasets were made based on the 200 most frequent words.After removing punctuation marks,numeric values,articles,prepositions,conjunctions,and auxiliary verbs,4,854 unique words in ETIS,4,421 unique words in the Slovenian Research Information System(SICRIS),and 3,950 unique words in FP were identified.Findings:Across all funding instruments,about a quarter of the top words constitute half of the word occurrences.The text analysis results show that in the majority of cases words do not overlap between FP and nationally funded projects.In some cases,it may be due to using different vocabulary.There is more overlapping between words in the case of Slovenia(SL)and Estonia(EE)and less in the case of Estonia and EU Framework Programmes(FP).At the same time,overlapping words indicate a wider reach(culture,education,social,history,human,innovation,etc.).In nationally funded projects(bottom-up),it was relatively difficult to observe the change in thematic trends over time.More specific results emerged from the comparison of the different programs throughout FP(top-down).Research limitations:Only projects with English titles and abstracts were analyzed.Practical implications:The specifics of SSH have to take into account—the one-to-one meaning of terms/words is not as important as,for example,in the exact sciences.Thus,even in co-word analysis,the final content may go unnoticed.Originality/value:This was the first attempt to monitor the trends of SSH projects using text analysis.The text analysis of the SSH projects of the two new EU Member States used in the study showed that SSH’s thematic coverage is not much affected by the EU Framework Program.Whether this result is field-specific or country-specific should be shown in the following study,which targets SSH projects in the so-called old Member States.

Learning Outcomes Using Cooperative Learning in Communication Classes: Evaluation Using Text Analysis

Objectives: The study examined nursing students’ acquisition of good communication skills via text analysis of learning outcomes using cooperative learning. Methods: The study involved 90 first-year students enrolled in the nursing department of a Japanese university. Participants were asked to learn three learning tasks considered to heighten communicative ability through firsthand experience using the discussion-based technique of cooperative learning: 1) to engage in self-reflection, 2) to imagine something beyond your own experience, and 3) to accept something that does not fit within the scope of your own experience or thought. A questionnaire survey consisted of five items, including learning challenges 1) to 3) as well as 4) “Satisfaction with the exercises” and 5) “Students’ hopes.” These items were evaluated using text analysis. Results: A total of 79 survey questionnaires were collected (87.8% recovery rate) for analysis. “Self-reflection and self-realizations prompted by the communication exercise” was observed as a characteristic of Task 1, “becoming aware of ideas and opinions different than one’s own by listening to the opinions of others” as a characteristic of Task 2, “deepening relationships by learning about diverse ideas and values through interactions with others” as a characteristic of Task 3, and “the effects of communicating with student subjects” as a characteristic of Task 4. The responses to Task 5 were diverse;no common characteristics were found. The intervention was found to be useful for student engagement and the communication required of nurses. Conclusions: Using cooperative learning discussion in communication class was found to be effective. As nursing is an inherently interpersonal occupation, such effects include important elements.

Features of Suffering Perceived by Japanese Patients in a Stable Condition: A Text Analysis

Objectives: We performed a text analysis of telephone consultation content regarding features of suffering (thoughts that patients cannot express to nurses) perceived by Japanese patients in a stable condition. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted by 8 telephone counselors who listened to patients’ suffering. Interview content was recorded verbatim, text was organized, and a text and association analysis was conducted (cluster analysis, bubble plot analysis, and a co-occurrence network analysis). Results: Seventy-two conversations were obtained and analyzed. It was confirmed that suffering as perceived by stable, Japanese patients had consistent concerns such as “lack of inference,” “privacy issues,” and “nurses’ not intervening on patients’ behalf.” Additionally, expectations of patients when patients are suffering are extremely diverse and were not characterized by specific tendencies. Conclusions: Emotions have a complicated influence in the context of Japanese patients’ suffering. It is necessary to consider the cultural background of expression in Japan to treat patients’ suffering.

Evolution and prospect of China's rural development policy: A policy text analysis of the No.1 Central Documents

By combing 20 documents of the Central Committee on the historical evolution of rural development policies since 1982, we hold that historical evolution has undergone reforms, adjustments, modernization developments and new ideas, and the path of reform experienced economic recovery, industrial nurturing agriculture, agriculture modernization and rural revitalization. The study found that: farmers' income has always been the focus of attention; agricultural production has shifted from total demand to green ecology; urban and rural resource elements are not well-organized, resulting in internal contradictions. The implementation of the rural revitalization strategy is an important measure to fundamentally solve the rural development problems in the new era.

Reference in cohesion： From the perspective of text analysis

This paper attempts to explore how cohesion is realized by meanings of reference in text analysis. Through analyzing some aspects of reference, especially personal reference and demonstrative reference, we know that reference is a text characteristic beyond sentences. It contributes to the development of a text and makes the text more cohesive, communicative and accurate. Of course, reference in cohesion is not used separately, it is closely related with other aspects of text analysis, and they cooperate and restrain each other and perform functions together. So translators are required to have the competence of understanding and applying reference, ellipsis and other cohesive device from the viewpoint of texts level with the combination of other aspects in text analysis, then texts can be more cohesive, coherent and acceptable.

Characteristic & Text Analysis:a cup of tea

凯瑟琳·曼斯菲尔德的短篇小说《一杯茶》的主角——罗斯玛丽·菲尔——是一个生活在上层社会的典型人物。她交际于上层聪明人中,身边伴着鲜花和奢侈物品,过着极其安逸的生活。本文将用文体和文本语言学的方法,来客观剖析该故事中人物的性格特点。