Exploring the role of language knowledge and background knowledge in reading comprehension of specific-purpose tests in higher education
Abstract Though the empirical findings of the past studies in the literature have offered strong support to the significant role of language knowledge and background knowledge in reading comprehension, this issue has not been explored with regard to specific purposes tests in the Iranian higher educ...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SpringerOpen
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Language Testing in Asia |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40468-022-00198-x |
| _version_ | 1811250030675230720 |
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| author | Hasan Tarlani-Aliabadi Khalil Tazik Zeinab Azizi |
| author_facet | Hasan Tarlani-Aliabadi Khalil Tazik Zeinab Azizi |
| author_sort | Hasan Tarlani-Aliabadi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Though the empirical findings of the past studies in the literature have offered strong support to the significant role of language knowledge and background knowledge in reading comprehension, this issue has not been explored with regard to specific purposes tests in the Iranian higher education context. Therefore, this study aimed at exploring the interaction effects between language knowledge and background knowledge among Iranian university students majoring in economics. For this purpose, a total of 90 students including male students (n = 35) and female students (n = 55) majoring in economics were selected through a convenience sampling method. Having been divided into three proficiency levels, they took three high-stakes reading tests constructed by the National Organization of Educational Testing in Iran for Economics candidates. Based on three criteria, including sentences with passive, Flesch Readability Index, and sentences with participles as attributes, the three texts were ranked in order of easy to difficult (text 1, text 2, and text 3). Afterward, 15 participants participated in semi-structured interviews to express their experiences with the reading tests. The results indicated that background knowledge had marked effects on the performances of the participants across the three reading texts. However, in the more specific reading text (text 3), neither general language knowledge nor general background knowledge were strong indicators. Additionally, the results of the semi-structured interviews with the participants revealed they lacked the required language and content knowledge to perform well on the reading text 3. In light of the findings, a range of implications is proposed for pertinent stakeholders. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T15:56:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-270747cf9fd44e32b79153ee9fafaec6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2229-0443 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T15:56:55Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Language Testing in Asia |
| spelling | doaj.art-270747cf9fd44e32b79153ee9fafaec62022-12-22T03:26:19ZengSpringerOpenLanguage Testing in Asia2229-04432022-10-0112112310.1186/s40468-022-00198-xExploring the role of language knowledge and background knowledge in reading comprehension of specific-purpose tests in higher educationHasan Tarlani-Aliabadi0Khalil Tazik1Zeinab Azizi2Farhanghian UniversityAhvaz Jundishapur University of Medical SciencesDepartment of Teaching English and Linguistics, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Ayatollah Borujerdi UniversityAbstract Though the empirical findings of the past studies in the literature have offered strong support to the significant role of language knowledge and background knowledge in reading comprehension, this issue has not been explored with regard to specific purposes tests in the Iranian higher education context. Therefore, this study aimed at exploring the interaction effects between language knowledge and background knowledge among Iranian university students majoring in economics. For this purpose, a total of 90 students including male students (n = 35) and female students (n = 55) majoring in economics were selected through a convenience sampling method. Having been divided into three proficiency levels, they took three high-stakes reading tests constructed by the National Organization of Educational Testing in Iran for Economics candidates. Based on three criteria, including sentences with passive, Flesch Readability Index, and sentences with participles as attributes, the three texts were ranked in order of easy to difficult (text 1, text 2, and text 3). Afterward, 15 participants participated in semi-structured interviews to express their experiences with the reading tests. The results indicated that background knowledge had marked effects on the performances of the participants across the three reading texts. However, in the more specific reading text (text 3), neither general language knowledge nor general background knowledge were strong indicators. Additionally, the results of the semi-structured interviews with the participants revealed they lacked the required language and content knowledge to perform well on the reading text 3. In light of the findings, a range of implications is proposed for pertinent stakeholders.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40468-022-00198-xLanguage knowledgeBackground KnowledgeReading ComprehensionSpecific-purpose testsHigher Education |
| spellingShingle | Hasan Tarlani-Aliabadi Khalil Tazik Zeinab Azizi Exploring the role of language knowledge and background knowledge in reading comprehension of specific-purpose tests in higher education Language Testing in Asia Language knowledge Background Knowledge Reading Comprehension Specific-purpose tests Higher Education |
| title | Exploring the role of language knowledge and background knowledge in reading comprehension of specific-purpose tests in higher education |
| title_full | Exploring the role of language knowledge and background knowledge in reading comprehension of specific-purpose tests in higher education |
| title_fullStr | Exploring the role of language knowledge and background knowledge in reading comprehension of specific-purpose tests in higher education |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring the role of language knowledge and background knowledge in reading comprehension of specific-purpose tests in higher education |
| title_short | Exploring the role of language knowledge and background knowledge in reading comprehension of specific-purpose tests in higher education |
| title_sort | exploring the role of language knowledge and background knowledge in reading comprehension of specific purpose tests in higher education |
| topic | Language knowledge Background Knowledge Reading Comprehension Specific-purpose tests Higher Education |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40468-022-00198-x |
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