A mixed-methods investigation of third and sixth graders’ academic sentence knowledge
This qualitative-dominant mixed methods study aimed to investigate how native English speaking third graders (n = 72) and sixth graders (n = 88) navigate cohesive ties in academic sentences. There are studies on supporting students with academic language at the word and text levels, but less researc...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
De Gruyter
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of World Languages |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1515/jwl-2023-0022 |
| _version_ | 1797628684528517120 |
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| author | Townsend Dianna Knecht Rachel Lupo Sarah Chen Li-Ting Barrios Vickie Smith |
| author_facet | Townsend Dianna Knecht Rachel Lupo Sarah Chen Li-Ting Barrios Vickie Smith |
| author_sort | Townsend Dianna |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This qualitative-dominant mixed methods study aimed to investigate how native English speaking third graders (n = 72) and sixth graders (n = 88) navigate cohesive ties in academic sentences. There are studies on supporting students with academic language at the word and text levels, but less research has been done on readers’ knowledge of the dense and challenging sentences in academic texts. The current study examines both how students navigate cohesion in academic sentences as well as how their knowledge of cohesion relates to their performance on reading comprehension measures. With a multi-case study framework, we analyzed students’ (n = 6) metalinguistic interviews with academic sentences. We then designed Maze tasks for a larger sample (n = 160) to identify patterns in students’ knowledge of cohesion. We also conducted correlational analyses between students’ sentence-level knowledge and performance on measures of reading comprehension. Qualitative findings suggest that students draw on both metalinguistic and epilinguistic knowledge to explain cohesion, and that students value explicit instruction with academic sentences. Quantitative findings show that knowledge of cohesive ties is significantly correlated with performance on reading comprehension measures. Implications and future research for both monolingual and multilingual learners are addressed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T10:42:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f5a62e63d33b49ccb1d1e68aa879fb1b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2169-8260 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T10:42:24Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | De Gruyter |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of World Languages |
| spelling | doaj.art-f5a62e63d33b49ccb1d1e68aa879fb1b2023-11-14T08:29:42ZengDe GruyterJournal of World Languages2169-82602023-12-019333337010.1515/jwl-2023-0022A mixed-methods investigation of third and sixth graders’ academic sentence knowledgeTownsend Dianna0Knecht Rachel1Lupo Sarah2Chen Li-Ting3Barrios Vickie Smith4Department of Educational Specialties, University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, NV, USADepartment of Educational Specialties, University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, NV, USADepartment of Middle, Secondary, and Mathematics Education, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA, USADepartment of Educational Specialties, University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, NV, USADepartment of Educational Specialties, University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, NV, USAThis qualitative-dominant mixed methods study aimed to investigate how native English speaking third graders (n = 72) and sixth graders (n = 88) navigate cohesive ties in academic sentences. There are studies on supporting students with academic language at the word and text levels, but less research has been done on readers’ knowledge of the dense and challenging sentences in academic texts. The current study examines both how students navigate cohesion in academic sentences as well as how their knowledge of cohesion relates to their performance on reading comprehension measures. With a multi-case study framework, we analyzed students’ (n = 6) metalinguistic interviews with academic sentences. We then designed Maze tasks for a larger sample (n = 160) to identify patterns in students’ knowledge of cohesion. We also conducted correlational analyses between students’ sentence-level knowledge and performance on measures of reading comprehension. Qualitative findings suggest that students draw on both metalinguistic and epilinguistic knowledge to explain cohesion, and that students value explicit instruction with academic sentences. Quantitative findings show that knowledge of cohesive ties is significantly correlated with performance on reading comprehension measures. Implications and future research for both monolingual and multilingual learners are addressed.https://doi.org/10.1515/jwl-2023-0022academic languagecohesionmetalinguistic awarenessmixed methodselementarysecondary |
| spellingShingle | Townsend Dianna Knecht Rachel Lupo Sarah Chen Li-Ting Barrios Vickie Smith A mixed-methods investigation of third and sixth graders’ academic sentence knowledge Journal of World Languages academic language cohesion metalinguistic awareness mixed methods elementary secondary |
| title | A mixed-methods investigation of third and sixth graders’ academic sentence knowledge |
| title_full | A mixed-methods investigation of third and sixth graders’ academic sentence knowledge |
| title_fullStr | A mixed-methods investigation of third and sixth graders’ academic sentence knowledge |
| title_full_unstemmed | A mixed-methods investigation of third and sixth graders’ academic sentence knowledge |
| title_short | A mixed-methods investigation of third and sixth graders’ academic sentence knowledge |
| title_sort | mixed methods investigation of third and sixth graders academic sentence knowledge |
| topic | academic language cohesion metalinguistic awareness mixed methods elementary secondary |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1515/jwl-2023-0022 |
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