T'HES'S wnnmummmnuMinimum l. 1293 1 This is to certify that the thesis entitled THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE SUBSKILLS IN LISTENING COMPREHENSION TO THE SUBSKILLS IN READING COMPREHENSION presented by Christina Maude Neal has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Ph.D. degree in Elementary Education i I. a” K41 Major professor Date May 10, 1979 0.7 639 OVERDUE FINES ARE 25¢ mm DAY . PER mm Return to book drop to remove this checkout from your record. THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE SUBSKILLS IN LISTENING COMPREHENSION TO THE SUBSKILLS IN READING COMPREHENSION By Christina Maude Neal A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Elementary Education 1979 ABSTRACT THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE SUBSKILLS IN LISTENING COMPREHENSION TO THE SUBSKILLS IN READING COMPREHENSION By Christina Maude Neal In addition to the research on the relationship of listening to reading and on the development of models of reading comprehension, in depth research on reading comprehension was done by Davis and others. Davis believed that he had confirmed the independent existence of comprehension skills by his factor analytic studies. Although some research was done to confirm the existence of listening comprehension as a general ability, little research has been done to determine if component skills within listening compre- hension could be confirmed, the next question would focus on the correlation of the identified listening comprehension skills to the reading comprehension skills which were identified in past research. This study was designed to identify the operational skills which pupils employ when engaged in the reading comprehension act and in the listening comprehension act. The study also investigated the pupils' use of operational skills in the listening act whose Christina Maude Neal identity corresponded in nature to the operational skills employed by pupils engaged in the reading act. Factor analysis was used to establish the existence of operational skills for the listening comprehension act. It was originally hoped that correlations between operational skills used in listening comprehension and the ones used in reading comprehension could be computed. However, it could not be determined as a result of low loadings on the factor analysis. Using the top and the bottom twenty-fifth percentile as a designation of poor and of good readers, an item by item comparison determined if differences in pupil performance existed between those pupils scoring in various ranges on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills--Reading subtest. Independent operational skills employed by pupils engaged in the listening comprehension act were not identified for the population of this study. However, pupil performances on both the reading and the listening tests indicated that differences in performance were distinguishable on various types of comprehension questions by differing ability groups of pupils. After comparing pupil performances in three ability ranges, a hierarchy of compre- hension skills was indicated, suggesting that detail questions were low on the hierarchy and that organization and evaluation questions were high on the hierarchy. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank the members of my committee who made this dissertation possible: Dr. Eileen Earhart, Dr. Glen Cooper, and Dr. George Sherman. A special thanks to Dr. Byron Van Roekel for his guidance as chairman of the committee. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES . Chapter I. II. III. IV. INTRODUCTION Current Position in School Curriculums History of the English Language Theories of Language and Communication Models of Reading Conclusion . . Statement of The Problem . Significance of The Study Purpose of The Study Organization of the Remainder of the Dissertation. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Auditory and Visual Modalities of Learning . The Relationship Between Listening and Reading Research on Reading and Listening Comprehension Test Construction . . . . . . . Summary PROCEDURES Design . Subjects Description of Tests Statistical Procedures ANALYSIS OF RESULTS . . . . . . . SUMMARY Page vi Chapter Page Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Implications for Further Research . . . . . . . 88 BIBLIOGRAPHY . iv Table 01-wa ll. 12. 13. LIST OF TABLES Varimax Rotated Factor Matrix Reading Comprehension--Details . . . . . . . Reading Comprehension--Details . . . . Reading Comprehension--Details . Reading Comprehension--Purpose, Organization, and Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . Reading Comprehension--Evaluation . Listening Comprehension--Details . . . Listening Comprehension--Details Listening Comprehension--Details Listening Comprehension--Purpose and Orbanization Listening Comprehension--Evaluation Comparison of Good Reader Performance in Reading and Listening Comparison of Good Readers and Poor Readers Page 68 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 Figure l. 2. 3. LIST OF FIGURES Parallels Between Speech and Writing . The Relationship Between Listening and Reading Variances in the Davis Study vi Page l9 43 47 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The act of listening is held by professional educators to contribute to cognitive learning and to reading acquisition. Investigators, primarily concerned with the "apprehesion of meaning" when one is employed in the act of listening and when one is employed in the act of reading, have provided data supporting the contention that a relationship between these two modalities of communication does exist. That there has long been widespread acceptance of the belief that a relationship exists between the listening process and the reading process can be demonstrated by reviewing the range of investigations into the effects of instruction in listening skills within the school curriculum; by examining the history of speech and writing with special attention to English, and the roles of the decoding correlates, listening and reading; by analyzing theories of language and communication; and by tracing the explicit functions of the components of the reading act as described in models of reading. Although many view reading and listening as parallel processes--that written text is input by eye and speech by ear with a common internal mechanism--it does not necessarily follow that these two activities are directly analagous. A case in point is the attempt by educational researchers (e.g., Davis [1968]; Herronymus, Schreiner and Forsyth [1969]) to identify the component tasks requisite to the apprehension of meaning from connected text. In contrast, there is little evidence available to suggest that comparable component tasks are employed in the listening act. Nonetheless the deployment of such subtasks in listening has often been assumed without providing a data base for this assumption. Because of this assumption, students have often been directed to listen for the main idea of a selection, to identify details in a selection, or to perform other listening comprehension tasks. Such activities were often assumed to have transfer value and the successful performance of such subtasks would facilitate the acquisition of such subtask skills in reading comprehension. Current Position in School Curriculums In practice, listening ability has long been linked to student learning and to reading achievement. As early as in l892, longitudinal research was done on the effectiveness of listening versus reading in the acquisition of knowledge as the pupil advanced in chronological age. In a summary of the earlier studies of listening, Witty and Sizemore concluded that the purported superi- ority of the auditory mode of learning was more prevalent among younger pupils and that the visual mode of learning becomes increasingly effective as pupils advanced in chronological age.1 1Paul A. Nitty and Robert A. Sizemore, “Studies in Listening: Ill," Elementary English, 36 (February, 1959), 130. Interest in listening has intensified, the impetus, according to Sam Duker, stemming from a doctoral dissertation by Paul T. Rankin (1926) in which he determined the incidence of listening in the course of everyday life. Rankin reported that out of a total of 68 percent of the waking time spent in some form of communication, 42 percent was spent in listening.2 Duker believed that Rankin's research set the stage for later researchers like Ralph G. Nichols (1948) whose doctoral thesis titled "Factors Accounting for Differences in Comprehension of Materials Presented Orally in the Classroom" was one of the major contributors to the notion that skill in listening is amenable to pedagogy. 7 During the 19505, the increased interest in listening as a teachable skill was reflected in educational periodicals like Elementary English, Grade Teacher, and the Instructor. Accordingly, the topic of listening, which had seldom been mentioned previously, gained advocates who stressed listening as an important consideration in educational programs. Although the advocates urged instruction in listening skills, specific suggestions for developing listening were rarely provided. That listening continued to gain stature as an important part of school curricula was again demonstrated in January, 1955, when Education devoted an entire issue to listening.3 2Sam Duker, Teaching Listening in the Elementary School: Readings (Metuchen, N.J.: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1966), p. 19. 3Sam Duker, Listening: Readings (Metuchen, N.J.: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1966), p. 19. Much of the work on listening done during the 19505 centered on the teaching of listening at the college level. One of the forerunners was Clyde W. Dow, who after completing the Development of Listening Comprehension Tests for Michigan State College Freshmen as his doctoral research, then described a plan to include listening instruction in the basic communication skills program at Michigan State College.4 Later in the decade, Bruce R. Markgraf, in his doctoral research, obtained information from 839 questionnaires returned by speech, education, and English departments in 406 teacher training colleges, that these institutions included collectively in their curricula, almost 300 college courses which had units on the teaching of listening.5 This research on listening was integrated into many college curriculums by including the teaching of reading and listening in a Language Arts course requirement. Mary C. Austin (1961), after studying college reading and education programs, reported in Ihg_ Torch Lighters that almost one-half of the colleges which were studied combined the teaching of reading and other communication skills as an integrated Language Arts course, in which between four to eleven hours were devoted to the teaching of reading with the 4Clyde Walton Dow, "Listenin Instruction at Michigan State," Journal of Communication, 5 (Fall, 1955), 110-12. 5Bruce Richard Markgraf, "A Survey of Listening Pedagogy in American Teacher-Training Institutions," Journal of Communication, 12 (March, 1962), 33-35. other communications skills receiving attention in the remaining instructional time.6 By the beginning of the 19605, a large number of research findings had been reported concerning the teaching of listening in the elementary school. Although these investigations were primarily independent efforts, the general assumption of the research on listening at the elementary school level was that training in listening could contribute to educational growth and development, especially in the area of reading instruction. Listening ability, although usually not precisely defined, was often assumed to be an essential element in reading instruction. In their third summary of research on listening, Witty and Sizemore concluded that effective learning can occur through listening or through reading and in many situations, with equal success.7 The status which the teaching of listening has gained in reading curricula is demonstrated by the attention it receives in the instructional program of modern basal reading series. Harper and Row, Publishers, begins the development of listening skills in the preprimer levels of instruction in Reading Basics Plus (1976).8 Promotion materials describing the reading program state that "the ability to listen effectively is related directly to 6Mary C. Austin, The Torch Lighters (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1961), p. xiii. 7 Witty, 22. EI_t-a PP. 138-139. 8Delores R. Amato, gt_al., Reading Basics Plus (New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc., 1976). success in reading." The reasoning for this statement is that listening provides a means of extending knowledge of word meanings and acquiring new ideas. The Merrill Linguistic ReadinggProgram (1975)9 and J. B. Lippincott Company's Basic Reading (1975),10 both emphasize that reading instruction must be related to a child's capacity for understanding what is said to him. Thus, learning to read is considered to build upon the oral language control previously achieved by the pupil. This rationale supports their belief that training in listening is an essential part of learning to read. A review of the Teacher's Editions of several contemporary basal reading series provides descriptions of listening activities, which for editorial convenience, may be grouped into the following clusters: 1. listening to a story, followed by oral questions about the story; 2. listening to a story, followed by choosing a picture concerning a selected detail in the story; 3. listening to a story and being able to summarize or give the main idea of the selection; 4. listening to follow directions; 9Wayne Otto, gt_al., The Merrill Linguistic ReadinggProgram (Columbus: Charles E. Merrill Company, 1975), p. TE 21. 10Glenn McCracken, et al., Basic Reading_(Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1975), p._TE x. 5. listening to provide background information or to develop concepts; 6. listening to a story followed by recalling details, evaluating, making comparisons, drawing conclusions, making inferences, and determining sequence; and 7. auditory discrimination of phonemes and words. It is significant to note that a majority of these tasks and subtasks are similar to the activities labeled as reading comprehension exercises utilized to develop reading skills. This, then, raises the question: Although listening and reading involve different modalities, is the mental process for apprehending meaning when listening identical to the mental process used for apprehending meaning when reading? The similarities between tasks considered to require listening comprehension and the tasks considered to require reading comprehension, suggest that although the information is received by receptors of two different senses, the cognitive processing of the information may be identical. Although many writers have attempted to come to grips with issues inherent in the previous question, the relationship of the process of reading a language to the process of listening to it has remained elusive. Were it possible, however, to show that the apprehension of meaning while listening employs a set of operational skills similar to the operational skills already identified as underlying accurate comprehension in reading, it might lend support to the concept that comprehension is a single mental process dependent upon common internal representation. History of the English Language Previous comment has already suggested that much of the literature dealing with listening and reading proceeds on the assumption that listening and reading are related language abilities. The genesis of this assumption can perhaps be better understood by examining the history of the English language. Because a "natural" language, in the sense of being dictated biologically and being spoken by all people, does not exist, authorities usually view language as an arbitrary invention of a social group, the development of which has been a gradual and creative process. The nature and form of a language is said to be dependent upon the social requirements and culture of the society that used it.11 Archives attest to the fact that the development of the English language emerged as an accommodation to changes in the needs of the society using the language. Old English began as a 12 collection of dialects from the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. Within each of these dialects, regional differences occurred. The nW. Nelson Francis, The Structure of American English (New York: The Ronald Press Company, 1958), p. 438. 12The English language has been divided into periods in various ways by different writers. Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language, second edition, (1943) gives the first period, known as Old English because of the influence of the Danish invaders, as beginning in the Fifth or Sixth Century and extending to 1100. The second period from 1100 to 1500 is the Middle English period characterized by the strong influence of the French that followed the Norman Conquest. Modern English is the period from 1500 to the present time. majority of the literature has focused on the West Saxon dialect due to the availability of old English writings from the period of Alfred the Great, who ruled the West Saxons from A.D. 871 to 899. Old English varied from Modern English in many ways. Among these were differences in: (l) the writing system, (2) the pronunciation or sound system, (3) the forms taken by various parts of speech, and (4) the syntax. Changes in these four areas were sometimes independent. One of the most apparent differences between Old English and Modern English, was the dissimilarity among some of the symbols or letters in the alphabets. Early Germanic people first used a writing system known as the Runic Alphabet while the Latin-oriented churchmen used Roman symbols. A problem arose because there were phonemes in Old English which had no equivalents in Latin. Therefore, in adapting the writing system of the Germanic people, the symbols of the Runic Alphabet were intermingled with the Roman symbols to achieve the needed sounds. Although the consonants of Old English and Modern English were similar, the vowels of Old English sounded more like those of modern European language than like the vowels of Modern English. Distinctions between long and short vowels were a matter of duration rather than a matter of different sounds. When dipthongs, or combinations of vowel sounds, occurred in Old English, the two sounds were more distinct than are the dipthongs of Modern English. The verb patterns of Old English show that differences in parts of speech were distinguished by the verb forms. Each verb 10 had two dozens or more forms rather than the three to five forms of Modern English verbs. In Old English, verbs were inflected to show person (first, second, and third), number (singular and plural), tense (past and present), and mood (indicative, subjunctive, and imperative). These inflected forms used suffixes to identify differing forms of verbs. As a result of using verb forms to identify the parts of speech with their function in phrases and sentences, syntax in Old English was more varied than the word order of Modern English. For example, words such as prepositions could be placed in sentences with more flexibility in Old English than in Modern English where prepositions are used to establish syntactic relationships necessary for understanding the meaning of the sentence. During the Middle English period (1066-1500), England became a land of three languages: Norman French was the language of the court, the government, and the upper social classes; Latin was still the language of the church; and English was spoken by the masses of the English people, who were forced by the Norman conquerors into the status of lower class. Until the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) began to bring about other changes, important written records were in French. Gradually, English as a language, regained social status. The importance of English as a literary medium was established with the Wycliff translation of the Bible (1388) and other literary writings during the Fourteenth Century. At the same time, the 11 English borrowed many of the French words commonly spoken by the upper classes of people. Not only did English develop a richer vocabulary, but also a custom of word-borrowing was established. Resulting from the century and a half when English was almost entirely used as a spoken language by the lower classes without the restraints of scholarship, literature, and social pressure, the Old English inflectional system began to disappear. As inflections disappeared, syntactical distinctions were shown by placing words in relation to each other in phrases and sentences according to their function. According to Herndon, the single most important development of English during the late Middle English period was the emergence of the London dialect as Standard English. The determination of class distinctions, which previously had been based upon whether French or English was spoken, gradually shifted to the dialect of English which was considered at the time to be prestigous. The prestige dialect was the one used by the faction considered to be at the political, social, and economic center of England. Thus, the East Midland dialect of London gained prominence as Standard English due to its use by prestigous groups of English-speaking people.13 The Modern English period, beginning in the 15005 had a profound effect upon the English language in establishing a standard 13Jeanne H. Herndon, A Survey of Modern Grammars (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1970), pp. 40-41. 12 dialect. A5 a part of the Renaissance, the printing press was introduced into England, education was extended to include the masses of lower middle-class people, and greater trade and communication occurred. Printing and widespread education aided in the establish- ment of the standard dialect shared by large numbers of English- speaking people; the increase in communication and exchange of ideas resulted in an enlarged English vocabulary. Increased trade encouraged the utilization of English in other countries by those people involved in trade with English-speaking people. This period also witnessed another important change in the English language. This change, known as the Great Vowel Shift, involved changes in the pronunciation of what is known, in tradi- tional terminology, as the long vowel sounds. The Great Vowel Shift evolved gradually, beginning about 1500 and being completed by about 1750. Herndon charts the changes this way: ai (as in eye) au (as in how) i// (as in see) \h (as in boot) A (as in name) A (as in boat) \ae (as in path) jf (as in hawk) a (as in father)M The vowels heard in the words in parentheses are examples of the sounds found in Modern English words. For the Middle English 141bid., p. 47. 13 pronunciation, the pronunciation is that of the word in the next lower position. Because of this shift in pronunciation, the present spelling of many English words, which was fixed before the shift, may not be consistent with modern pronunciation--i.e., pronunciation of English words do not always observe the alphabetic principle.15 Since the period of the Great Vowel Shift, the Concept of a Standard American English has been extended as modern linguistic influences have encouraged the recognition of dialectical differences and varieties of usage. To encourage acceptance of this point of view, investigations of American English have utilized different objectives and interests. The following have been the subject of intensive study: (1) dialect geography, (2) social dialects, and (3) Standard American English. Dialect geography has analyzed the dialects and speech habits of Americans in different parts of the country. Resulting from these efforts to identify geographical areas with distinct dialectical usage, east-west dividing lines which separated the eastern United States into the Northern, Midland, and Southern dialect regions. The western expansion movements tended to expand these dialect regions westward with interesting patterns of mixed dialects occurring west of the Mississippi River. These areas of dialect differences have been based upon differences in pronunciation, e5pecially of the vowels; in vocabulary; and in the use of verb forms, particularly of past 15Ibid., pp. 46-49. 14 and past participle forms of irregular verbs. Many of these differences in dialect in reality should be viewed as extensions of the changes occurring in the English language during its three major periods of development. Language habits of American people can also be shown to differ by comparing the speech of socially different groups of people. Herndon lists the following as influences which effect the speech habits of American English speakers. 1. User of the language A. Education 8. Prestige in the community II. Means of communication A. Spoken B. Written III. Context A. Private 8. Public16 Herndon also found speech patterns to be dependent upon the listener or the reader and upon the circumstances in which language is used. Hence, speech variations may also be classified according to the amount of judgment and precision given to the level of usage chosen by a user of the language. The major classification of language common to all literate users of English 16111111., p. 113. 15 are: (l) informal spoken, (2) informal written, (3) formal spoken, and (4) formal written. Levels of usage categories are not precise enough, however, to formulate a basis for a definition of Standard American English because the choices made by some language users for informal speaking situations differed greatly from the choices made by other users in similar circumstances. The standard dialect of American English then becomes a value judgment based upon (1) the social prestige of certain language users; (2) public or private context; and (3) the medium of written or spoken communication. Proceeding with the evidence that nonstandard dialects were both systematically and consistently different from the standard dialect, linguists promoted the idea that language habits and dialects cannot be marked "good" or "bad" but must be accepted as a culturally influenced factor.17 Language is thus viewed as changing and evolving in response to the change in cultural patterns of people. As portrayed by the history of the English language, when the cultural patterns of people change, the spoken and written language responds to the needs imposed by cultural changes through the addition of new vocabulary, alterations in the use of writing pronunciation, and syntactical systems in different forms of expression. This influence of social changes in the development of the English language is reflected in the variations among speech patterns in dialectical regions and with social habits of Americans. Various 171b1d.. pp. 105-115. 16 changes in oral language were related to changes in written language. Hence, the previous comment which reviews these changes, supports the idea that oral language and written language are related and that continuity in the relationship between the two modes of communi- cation evolves as societal changes occur. Theories of Lagguage and Communication Because of the interest during the last three decades or so, in listening and its relationship to other communication skills, much research has been reported on various aspects of speaking, listening, writing, and reading and employed in the development of theories of language and communication. Some of the theorists consider the acts of speaking and listening to be parallel forms of communication along with the acts of writing and reading; others contend that the two forms of communication are not parallel but acknowledge that similarities do exist. An overview of several of these theories will alert one to the sharp differences in interpretations which are available concerning the relationship of listening and reading. From his research of the two means of communication, Francis has concluded that the purpose of a writing system is to 18 The produce "an utterance which one has never heard spoken." writing system is assumed to be a representation of the speech system which allows the message or communication to occur without the presence of the initiator of the communication. As a representation 18Francis, _o_p. 91., p. 438. 17 of the speech system, the writing system should exhibit a high correlation to the speech system. Accordingly, Francis believes that the writing system should represent these aspects of the speech system: 1. the phonemes, or sounds; 2. the combination of phonemes into morphemes, or units of meaning, 3. the combination of morphemes into words; 4. the combination of words into structures, such as parts of speech, phrases, or classes; 5. the combination of structures into sentences; 6. the combination of sentences into continuous discourse. How well a writing system attains these six representations with a minimum amount of insignificant detail, is considered by Francis to be a measure of the efficiency of that writing system. Francis reminds one of various differences between listening and reading. Listening involves time; sight involves space. Speech is based upon sounds having relative existence in time, while writing is based on shapes having relative position in space. Both speech and writing depend on various contrasts, in speech, the contrast is between sound and silence and, in writing, the contrast is between a visible shape and a plain background or surface. A major difference stems from the inability to recapture a sound from the sequence of phonetic segments in speech. The eye span during reading on the other hand, is able to focus simultaneously 18 on letters and words as units. Regression in eye movement is possible in reading, allowing letters or words to be recaptured.19 Eleanor J. Gibson has devised a simplified illustration of what is learned in listening/speaking and in reading/writing. Figure 1 highlights the parallels between the two systems of communication. Three general categories are shown under each: the phonological or graphological system, the semantic system, and the syntactic system. In hearing/speaking, the phonological and syntactical systems are viewed as rules which function to bring order to the sounds which are heard or which are produced. The semantic system links meaning with the encoded speech symbols. In reading/writing, Gibson considers the graphological system to be parallel to the phonological system in speech. Even though it is undetermined if the learning process is similar in the two forms of communication, parallels do exist. As in speech, distinctive features and recombination of elements are learned in printed materials. In both processes the unique distinctive features are learned for graphemes or for phonemes. Invariant features of graphemes must be recognized from a variety of prints and handwritings while invariant features of phonemes must be distinguished from many voices. Just as hearing/speaking has a phonological rule system, there is an orthographic rule system for 191b1d.. pp. 437-444. 19 HEARING/SPEAKING ——————_—_ READING/WRITING Phonological System: babbling intonation (stress) segmentation (pauses) distinctive features (phonemes) phonological rule system Graphological System: scribbling categorical features segmentation (letters, spaces) distinctive features (letters) orthographic rule system Semantic System: conceptual structure lexicon Semantic System: second-order meanings and lexicon from speech Syntactic Rule Structure: morphology grammar Syntactic Rule Structure: morphology grammar Possible Relations: Independence Transfer Mapping rules Figure l.--Parallels between speech and writing. 20 reading/writing, nonetheless, a major difference exists because the speech code is not an alphabetic one. In the semantic systems, meaning in the beginning reading/ writing process can be seen as a second-order mapping of meanings. Spoken words are considered symbols of concrete objects, events, and ideas; written words are viewed as symbols for spoken ones. The relationship appears to be one of direct transfer, but this transfer is not always immediate and automatic, as demonstrated by the difficulty that some children demonstrate when "reading for meaning" during early stages of learning to read. As the person becomes a more efficient reader, he/she gradually progresses toward immediate recognition of meaning from printed words. In studying the syntactical aspects of reading, Gibson describes research involving the study of eye-voice span to delineate the role of syntactic constraints in focusing on units for reading. These studies suggest that even by the end of second grade, the differences in eye-voice spans with random words and with sentences have developed. The efficient reader uses regularities in language structure to group the reading material into units. In general, Gibson states that clues to syntax on the printed page are comparable, but not identical to the syntactical clues heard in speech.20 20Eleanor J. Gibson, ''Reading for Some Purpose: Keynote Address," Language by Ear and by Eye, ed. by J. F. Kavanaugh and I. G. Mattingly (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1972), pp. 9-15. 21 In her discussion of the model, Gibson emphasizes the common traits of acquisition for speaking/listening and for reading/writing. Despite the various similarities between the two language systems, Gibson's model shows writing/reading as a separate language process from speaking/listening. Supporting a similar view of speech and reading, Franklin S. C00per states that the total process of communication involves these three main operations: production, transmission, and reception. Hi5 emphasis is on the interdependence of perception and production which allows acoustic clues to be used and peripheral effects to be ignored as speech occurs. Speech is seen as the counterpart to reading.21 In contrast to the viewpoint that reading and listening are parallel processes in which the two inputs have a common internal representation, 1. G. Mattingly stresses the differences between the two modalities. Listening is seen as an easier way to perceive language than reading. Language comprehension is seen as a part of the maturational process of language acquisition. Mattingly suggests that an innate capability for perceiving speech may exist. Reading differs in that, generally, most children must deliberately be taught to read and write. Mattingly also discusses the varied efficiency of the two modalities by stating that it has been reported that proficient 2'Franklin W. Cooper, "How 15 Language Conveyed by Speech?" Language by Ear and by Eye, ed. by J. F. Kavanaugh and I. G. Mattingly (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1972), p. 43. 22 readers may have comprehension rates over 2000 words per minute when the maximum possible rate for speech and listening is 400 words per minute. One explanation of this phenomena is the possibility that high-speed readers may be able to directly comprehend the deep level, or implied meaning of language, without the intermediate stages of processing which involve memory, cue recognition, and integration with previous knowledge which is necessary to other readers and to all listeners. The form in which information is presented by reading and by listening differs, also. In listening, the speech cues must be "demodulated" by the listener; that is, he must separate the cues from the irrelevant detail to ascertain units of meaning. This is a complex task, unmastered by any machine, which must separate cues that are not discrete events but which are blended together into a continuous flow of acoustic production. In reading, demodulation is easily ascertained; the symbols are discrete units. Mattingly recognizes another difference in the linguistic content of the information. Speech cues contain information about the phonetic level of language, involving the articulatory gestures or more specifically, the motor commands leading to these gestures. Written text corresponds to a morphophonemic transcription, based on combinations of sounds that carry a single meaning, for example, base words, prefixes, and suffices. Writing is a phonological representation of the sounds produced in speech. The phonological 23 level is related but distinct from the phonetic level of language. Mattingly refutes tue idea supported by Gibson and others that listening and reading are parallel processes; he believes that this idea was based on the premise that both speech and reading are phonemic. Mattingly proposes that the different way in which linguistic content and its representation of information are presented also disputes the notion that written and spoken language are parallel processes. Speech is viewed as a complex code resulting from the complexity of the physiology and acoustics of the vocal tract. Speech is a highly redundant code. In comparison, writing is a simplified code, consisting of an economical mapping of units of phonological representation. Because of the differences between written and spoken language, reading is not considered by Mattingly to be a primary linguistic activity that is analgous to listening. Reading is seen as a language-based skill requiring an additional analysis skill to obtain phonological information before proceeding to synthesis. In this manner, reading is regarded as a deliberately acquired, language-based skill, dependent upon the speaker's and the hearer's awareness of certain aspects of primary linguistic activity during speaking and listening.22 22Ignatius G. Mattingly, "Reading, The Linguistic Process, and Linguistic Awareness," Language by Ear and by Eye, ed. by J. F. Kavanaugh and I. G. Mattingly (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1972), pp. 133-145. 24 R. Conrad approaches the relationship between speech and reading from a different perspective. He raises the questions: "Does reading involve speech, and does reading aloud merely add sound?" These questions are partially answered when it is recognized that reading with comprehension must include much more than producing a speech sound for each word. Comprehension requires cognition. The evidence for silent speech is not conclusive but Conrad believes that the existence of silent articulation of speech during reading is substantiated by electromyography (EMG) and other related techniques which show that reading is accompanied by electrical activity in muscles required in the production of speech sounds even though this movement is not visible to the eye. It is assumed that this silent articulation is relevant to the materials being read at that time.23 In summary of these findings which have sought to specify the relationship between listening and reading, the majority of the researchers agree that listening and reading are similar processes, even though a variety of differences do occur. In both listening and reading, the receiver utilizes a receptive communication skill in order to construe meaning from a message. A further similarity occurs in that both functions involve cognition as part of receiving the message. 23R. Conrad, "Speech and Reading," Language by Ear and by E12; ed. by J. F. Kavanaugh and I. G. MattinglyICambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1972), pp. 205-210. 25 Models of Reading The history of the English language has accented the close but varying relationship between the spoken language and the written language of English-speaking people. This relationship has been further studied by researchers, as previously discussed, to deter- mine and clarify this association in connection with listening and reading and to develop theories about language. Others have utilized this information to develop models of reading. Especially relevant to this study are the definitions of the efficient reader and of reading comprehension within models of reading. In Robert Ruddell's systems of communications model, speaking, listening, reading, and writing are considered to be surface structure forms of language. To gain meaning from these surface structure symbols, language units are processed through structural and semantic dimensions, leading to the interpretation of these symbols in the deep structure, or implied meaning, of language. It is hypothesized that in the deep structure, the syntactic and semantic components of language are stored in memory and are integrated for language interpretation. Ruddell considers the high level reader to be self directed and highly motivated in attaining communicative objectives which are meaningful to the reader. In support of the concept that comprehension ability and language production are closely related, Ruddell stresses the effect of written patterns of language on reading comprehension. 26 Reading comprehension was found to be greater with high frequency patterns of language structure; thus, degree of comprehension seems to be increased when language patterns are ones commonly used by the reader.24 Stauffer agrees that language production and reading are closely related. Reading is seen as the natural extension of language acquisition beyond speaking and symbolic concept formation. Like concept development, reading is viewed as a form of problem solving. Concept formation, problem solving, and reading are considered active cognitive processes which seek relationships, differentiations, and reconciliations with existing ideas. Stauffer's approach to reading instruction proceeds on the assumption that language which is spoken can be written; and language which is written can be read. Reading, thus, becomes a logical step in language learning which requires the individual to extend his comprehension of experiences and concepts to comprehension of the same experiences and concepts when they are put into written form. The efficient reader then becomes the one who can utilize his own vocabulary to read with understanding.25 In contrast to viewing reading as a global form of communi- cation ability, Jack A. Holmes believes reading to be an "audio-visual 24Robert B. Ruddell, "Language Acquisition and the Reading Process," Theoretical Models and Processes of Reading, lst ed., ed. H. Singer and R. B. Ruddell (Newark, Delaware: IRA, 1970), pp. 1-19. 25Russell G. Stauffer, "Reading as Cognitive Functioning," Theoretical Models and Processes of Reading, lst ed., ed. H. Singer and R. B. Ruddell (Newark, Delaware: IRA, 1970), pp. 124-141. 27 verbal processing skill of symbolic reasoning sustained by the interfacilitations of an intricate hierarchy of substrata factors."26 Holmes' substrata factors are explained as neurological subsystems of the brain which can bring into simultaneous awareness, various subsets of information which have been learned and stored at different times. Symbols on a printed page, trigger the substrata factors, and with increased interfacilitation between substrata factors, reading efficiency increases. Reading efficiency is the product of the variables which he considers to be significant contributors to the speed and/or power of reading. Variables which influence the speed with which a reader reads include: word sense, word discrimination, intelligence, spelling, knowledge of phonetics, contextual vocabulary, and span of recognition. Of these, intelligence and contextual vocabulary play a dual role and also contribute to power of reading. Other contri- butors to power in reading include: general information, perception of verbal relations, and knowledge of prefixes and suffixes. Reading, then, according to Holmes is the product of the influence of these crucial variables and the efficient interfacilitation between substrata factors.27 26Jack A. Holmes, "The Substrata-Factor Theory of Reading: Some Experimental Evidence," Theoretical Models and Processes of Reading, lst ed., ed. H. Singer and R. B.'Ruddell”(Newark, Delaware: IRA, 1970), pp. 187-188. 271b1d.. pp. 187-197. 28 Opposing the idea that reading comprehension is the product of precise identification as is implied in many of the models of reading previously discussed, Goodman believes that in effective reading, comprehension occurs after the reader has selected the fewest and most productive cues necessary to correctly guess the intended meaning. Because meaning is the constant goal of the proficient reader, reading as delineated in the Goodman model, must be centered around comprehension. Reading instruction then has the task of aiding the reader to most effectively utilize the cues presented in written material.28 John Carroll also contends that the essential skill in reading is the apprehension of meaning from the printed page. Carroll, in contrast to Goodman, holds that the reading compre- hension act involves the employment of eight operational skills: 1. language knowledge, 2. decoding ability, 3. letter discrimination, 4. left-to-right progression, 5. letter-sound patterns of correspondence, 6. word recognition utilizing various cues, 7. apprehension of meaning, and 8. reasoning resulting from experience. 28 Kenneth S. Goodman, "Reading: A Psycholinguistic Guessing Game," Theoretical Models and Processes of Reading, lst ed., ed, H. Singer and R. B. Ruddell (Newark, Delaware: IRA, 1970), pp. 259- 272. 29 Although the order of these components may vary according to the learning abilities and learning styles of the reader; the skills are considered necessary to the development of the mature reader.29 The reading model described by Venesky and Calfee is comprised of three components: forward scanning, integration, and comprehension. These processes relate to the flow of data from the temporary memory store to the permanent memory store. In the skilled reader, these three stages function in an independent fashion; forward scanning determines familiar words or phrases which are integrated with previously acquired knowledge, resulting in comprehension. In order to be a competent reader, reading acquisition must include numerous specific skills in the areas of preliminary (readiness) skills, aural-oral skills, letter-sound skills, and processing skills.30 Conclusion The act of listening and the act of reading have long been considered to be related. Researchers and theorists concerned with the act of listening and the act of reading have often viewed the two processes as similar forms of communication. The relationship between the two processes was evidenced by the evolution of the 29John 8. Carroll, "The Nature of the Reading Process," Theoretical Models and Processes of Reading, lst ed., ed. H. Singer and R. B. Ruddell (Newark, Delaware: IRA, 1970), pp. 292-303. 30Richard L. Venesky and Robert C. Calfee, “T e Reading Competency Model,” Theoret1cal Models and Processes o Rea 1ng, lst ed., ed. H. Singer and R. B. Ruddell (Newark, Delaware: IRA, 1970), pp. 273-291. 30 English language from Old English to Modern English, revealing that changes in spoken language are often interdependent with changes in written language. Many of the models of reading have also evolved around the concept that the act of listening and the act of reading are similar processes. Research on listening since the 19005 has established the importance of listening as a means of learning and its relationship to reading. As a result of this research, listening has gained a position of importance in school curricula. In contemporary reading instruction, listening is considered a necessary part of learning to read. Statement of The Problem In addition to the research on the relationship of listening to reading and on the development of models of reading comprehension, in depth research on reading comprehension was done by Davis and others. Davis believed that he had confirmed the independent exist- ence of these comprehension skills by his factor analytic study.31 Although some research was done to confirm the existence of listening comprehension as a general ability, little research has been done to determine if component skills within listening comprehension could be confirmed, the next question would focus on the correlation of the identified listening comprehension skills 3AFrederick B. Davis, "Psychometric Research on Comprehension in Reading," Reading Research Quarterly, 7 (Fall, 1971, Summer 1972), 629-678. 31 to the reading comprehension skills which were identified in past research. Significance of The Study In elementary school children, the listening vocabulary of a primary age child is likely to be larger than the child's reading vocabulary. Listening ability of children could be capitalized upon to introduce listening and reading related tasks.32 The potential use of listening tasks as prerequisites for improving reading comprehension could provide an instructional technique which could be outlined to produce more efficient readers. In attempting to achieve this objective, it will be important to clarify how listening comprehension capability will be used as a basis for the extension of learning. Purpose of The Study Listening comprehension and reading comprehension are both complex processes, which are dependent upon the pupil's propensity and intellectual readiness to apprehend a message that is either spoken or written. The extent to which the pupil comprehends the message is partly determined by the pupil's ability to understand the significance of the ideas presented, to evaluate these ideas, and to draw useful conclusions concerning these ideas. The capabilities required for the efficient performance of the tasks - 32Henry P. Smith and Emerald V. Dechant, Psychology in Teaching Reading (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1961), pp. 144-145. 32 involved in the two processes are developed through long periods of growth, the genesis of which occurs even before formal instruction in school begins. In the act of listening and in the act of reading, the pupil employs receptive communication skills in order to gain meaning from a message. Theorists have assimilated the components of the two processes into theories which provide plausible explanations of the mental abilities involved in the act of listening and in the act of reading. In an attempt to better understand the mental abilities involved in the reading process, skills which add to the efficiency of reading comprehension were identified. Once the operational skills which influence the reader's efficiency during the exercise of the reading comprehension act had been determined, educators often assumed that similar operational skills were called into play in the listening comprehension act. This assumption then raises the question of whether the same mental abilities are utilized in both the processes of listening compre- hension and reading comprehension. If the mental abilities employed in the two processes are identified, it seems reasonable to conclude that the act of comprehending is a single cognitive function independent of the modality of information input. This exploration into the nature of the mental abilities resulting in listening comprehension and in reading comprehension emphasizes the need to determine if one employs operational skills 33 in listening comprehension similar to the skills believed to be employed in reading comprehension. The basic focus of this dissertation was to determine if differentiated skills in listening comprehension do exist and, if so, to study the correlations between the skills employed by pupils when engaged in the act of listening and when employed in the act of reading. Hypotheses of this proposed study focused on the following: 1. Pupils will demonstrate that they employ the following skills when engaged in the listening comprehension act: Recognizing and understanding stated or implied functional details and relationships by: (l) Recognizing and understanding important facts and details (2) Recognizing and understanding implied facts and relationships (3) Deducing the meaning of words or phrases from context Discerning the purpose or main idea of a paragraph or selection by: (l) Detecting the main purpose of a paragraph or selection (2) Recognizing the main idea or topic of a paragraph or selection Organizing ideas by: (l) Recognizing common elements or parallel topics in incidents or paragraphs (2) Recognizing proper time sequence Evaluating what is read by: (l) DevelOping generalizations from a selection 34 (2) Recognizing the writer's viewpoint, attitude, or intention (3) Recognizing the mood or tone of a selection (4) Recognizing outstanding qualities of style or structure 2. Pupils will demonstrate that they use operational skills when engaged in the listening comprehension act which correspond in nature to the operational skills which pupils employ when engaged in the reading comprehension act. 3. Pupils who demonstrate superior performances in the listening act will perform successfully with types of operational skills of the listening act that pupils performing at lower levels cannot successfully perform. 4. Pupils who demonstrate a superior performance when engaging in the reading comprehension act, will demonstrate a superior performance when engaging in the listening comprehension act. Organization of the Remainder of the Dissertation The review of pertinent literature is presented in Chapter II. For editorial convenience, related literature is grouped according to the following types: auditory and visual modes of learning; the relationship between listening and reading; research on reading and listening comprehension; and test construction. The design of the study as well as a description of all materials and procedures in this study appears in Chapter III. The collection, treatment, and analysis of the data is discussed in Chapter IV. 35 A summary of the study and conclusions are provided in Chapter V. Implications of this study and suggestions for further research will also be included. CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Four major bodies of research literature exist which are relevant to this study. The earliest of this research attempted to determine which modality resulted in more efficient learning-- the aural mode or the visual mode. Other studies have since sought to clarify the interrelationships of listening ability and achieve- ment in reading acquisition. Still other research has focused on identifying and measuring the operational skills employed in reading comprehension and in listening comprehension. Studies dealing with the measurement of listening ability and reading ability and the application of these measures to the issues investigated under the previously mentioned topics are reviewed at the conclusion of this chapter. Auditory and Visual Modalities of Learning Concern about the most effective way to impart information to others was a major influence in stimulating early research efforts to determine the relative effectiveness of listening and reading for learning purposes. Much of the concern stemmed from two sources: college professors who sought data for comparing the effectiveness of lectures versus reading assignments and educators 36 37 who were concerned with the demands made on pupils to listen in the classroom. Findings of these early studies are in rather sharp disagreement. Hawkins (1897)33 and Conway (1909)34 reported that for younger children, in general, material was more effectively learned by listening than by reading-~that is to say, auditory memory was more efficient than visual memory among younger children. This, it was reasoned, stemmed from the fact that younger children, were more accustomed to using the aural modality simply because they had not read much. Conflicting results were reported by Erickson and King (1917)35 who grouped a sample of children according to grade, sex, and random choice and then presented materials to the aural and visual (listening and reading) modalities, interchanging the order of aural and visual presentations to control the influences of practice effect. The data revealed that on measures of learning the individuals participating in this study retained the same rankings among pupils in their group for both aural and visual presentations. 33Chauncey J. Hawkins, "Experiments on Memory Types," The Psychological Review, 4 (May, 1897), 284-294. 34Mary J. Conway, "Development of Auditory and Visual Memogy," Archives of Psychology, II, No. 12, Thesis II (March 1909 , 4-8. 35E. I. Erickson and Irving King, "A Comparison of Visual and Oral Presentation of Lessons in the Case of Pupils from the Third to the Ninth Grades," School and Society, 6 (August 4, 1917), 146-148. 38 Research by Lumley (1933)36 and Caughran (1953),37 on the other hand, supported Hawkins' findings. These researchers reported that younger children learn more effectively from aural presentations but that the relative effectiveness of aural and visual presentations, once children have learned to read, is inversely related to chrono- logical age. Findings of these early studies were often inconclusive because influencing factors such as the nature of the content and the difficulty of the materials were not controlled. To resolve this issue, Carver (1923)38 chose undergraduates and young adults as subjects to test the influence of content and difficulty on the relative effectiveness of reading and listening for learning purposes. He concluded that easier material is more readily learned by listening, that difficult material is more effectively learned by reading, and that the data obtained from testing the effectiveness of the aural and visual modalities with materials of average difficulty were ambiguous. 36F. H. Lumley, Research in Radio Education at Ohio State University, 4th Yearbook of the Institute for Education by Radio (Columbus, Ohio: Ohio State University, 1933). 37Alex M. Caughran, "The Effect on Language Comprehension gf Three Methods of Presentation," Dissertation Abstracts, 13/06-8 1953 , 1113. 38Merton E. Carver, "Listening Versus Reading," The P5 cholo of Radio, ed. Cantril and Allport (New York: Harper Brothers, 1935), pp. 159-181. 39 Subsequent studies by Larsen and Feder (1940),39 by Goldstein (1940),40 and by Nelson (1948)41 provided evidence to support Carver's findings. They too found when investigating the effective- ness of the visual modality versus the aural modality, that the efficiency of listening comprehension decreased as the difficulty of material increased. Wherewith Goldstein concluded that, other variables being equivalent, the difficulty of the material being presented should determine the modality of presentation. After reviewing the literature concerning the effectiveness of visual and aural presentations, Witty and Sizemore (1959) con- cluded that: 1. Efficient learning can occur through either listening or reading, sometimes with equal effectiveness using both modes of presentation jointly. 2. Differences in the effectiveness of listening and reading for learning purposes may be a result of factors such as the difficulty of material, variations in individual tech- niques, and experience and interest of the group. 3. Emphasis should be placed on joint visual and aural approaches to learning rather than on attempts to ascertain the superiority of one specific modality of presentation. 2 39Robert P. Larsen and D. D. Feder, "Common and Differential Factors in Reading and Hearing Comprehension," Journal of Educational Psychology, 21 (April, 1940), 241-52. 4OHarry Goldstein, "Reading and Listening Comprehension at Various Controlled Rates," Contributions to Education, No. 821 (New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1940). 41Harold E. Nelson, "The Effect of Variations of' Rate on the Recall by Radio Listeners of 'Straight' Newscasts," Speech Monographs, 15, No. 2 (1948), 173-180. 42 Witty and Sizemore, gp, git., pp. 130-140. 40 The latter gained support from a previous study by Witty and Fitzwater (1953) in which they had found that second grade children using a combined visual and aural approach to learning made great improvement in vocabulary growth and interpretation skins.43 In a more recent study, to determine the effect upon level of comprehension when reading silently, when reading orally, and when listening, James E. Swalm (1971) tested children at second, third and fourth grade placement using materials with a readability level equal to the grade placement of the subjects. The cloze technique was employed to measure comprehension. His findings suggested that: 1. Students whose level of achievement in reading acquisition exceeded that difficulty level of the selection comprehended best by reading. 2. Students whose level of achievement in reading acquisition approximated the difficulty level of the selection, compre- hended equally well by all three methods. 3. Children whose level of reading acquisition falls below usage for their grade placement comprehended most effectively when reading silently.44 In summarizing the research on the relative effectiveness of listening and reading for learning purposes Bond and Tinker conclude that: 43Paul Witty and James Fitzwater, "An Experiment with Films, Film Readers, and the Magnetic Sound Track," Elementary English, 30 (April, 1953), 232-241. 44James E. Swalm, "Comparison of Oral Reading, Silent Reading, and Listening Comprehension," Education, 92 (September- May, 1971-72), 111-115. 41 1. In the lower grades, listening comprehension is equally or more effective than reading comprehension. 2. When pupils have become more skilled in reading, reading comprehension is equal or more effective than listening comprehension. 3. In general, more difficult material is comprehended more effectively by reading, while easy material is comprehended more effectively by listening.45 The Relationship Between Listening and Reading The belief that listening and reading are closely related stems from the view that because both are receptive communication processes, they involve common skills. A number of investigations had attempted to clarify that relationship through: (1) correlated studies to determine if there exists a meaningful relationship between listening and reading; and (2) research to determine if the teaching of listening skills facilitates the acquisition of reading skills. From among an annotated bibliography of 880 items on listening which he had compiled in 1964 Duker found twenty-three major studies which reported coefficients of correlation between measures of reading ability and measures of listening ability which ranged from .45 to .70. Although there is a wide scatter among the range of findings, he felt that the results of these studies verified the existence of a strong meaningful relationship between listening and reading. 45Guy L. Bond and Miles A. Tinker, Reading Difficulties: Their Diagnosis and Correction, 3rd ed. (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1973), p. 362. 42 The results of studies describing the effect of teaching listening skills upon reading performance were less in agreement than the findings of correlational studies. From an examination of nineteen such studies, Duker concluded that instruction in listening skills similar in nature to reading skills may facilitate the acquisition of reading ability. However, Duker warned against assuming an automatic transfer of learning.46 Figure 2 provides a conspectus on the findings of more recent studies examining the effect of instruction in listening skills upon reading performance. As can be seen in the twelve research studies given in Figure 2, the results of instruction in listening skills on reading performance varied. However, more studies showed significant gains in reading performance after listening training than studies which did not show significant gain. Part of the discrepancy may result from the variety of instructional materials which were used to teach listening skills. Research on Reading and Listening Comprehension The reading comprehension act has been the subject of numerous analyses ranging from purely subjective descriptions of reading to multivariate analysis of the component tasks that are employed in the apprehensions of meaning from connected text. One of the earliest attempts to describe the nature of reading compre- hension is attributed to W. S. Gray (1919) who listed the following as skills requirements to reading comprehension. 46Sam Duker, "Listening and Reading," Elementary School Journal, 65 (March, 1965), 321-329. Grade Level Sample Statistically Investigator of Students Size Time Period Significant Fawcett (1963) 4, 5, 6 638 California Test of Mental 14 weeks Yes Maturity, Iowa Test of Basic Skills, STEP--Listening Hollingsworth 291 STEP--Listening No (1964) Kellogg (1967) l 33 Wright Listening Compre- 40 lessons Yes classes hension Test Stanford Reading Reeves (1965) 4 228 STEP--Listening Metropolitan 30 lessons Yes Reading Achievement Test Steen (1969) Kindergarten 125 Listening Response Test, 20 lessons Yes Metropolitan Readiness Ballenger (1970) l 117 Lee-Clark Readiness, Science 22 weeks Yes Research Associates Reading Achievement Test Groom (1970) 5, 6 120 STEP--Listening 30 lessons No 0. Kennedy (1970) 3 80 Cloze, Durrell 4 sessions No Listening-Reading Series Allison (1979) 5 267 California Reading Test 36 lessons Yes California Test of Mental Maturity, STEP--Listening Dewar (1972) 3 73 Stanford Achievement Test Yes Hall's Listening Skills Test, Wide Range Achievement Test L. Kenney (1972) 6 280 11 weeks No Kranyik (1972) l 155 Otis Lennon Mental Ability 4 Yes Test, Durrell Listening- Reading Series Figure 2.--The relationship between listening and reading. 44 1. To read for the purpose of reproducing a selection; To determine the central idea of a selection; To select related points and their supporting details; #0)“) To secure information for problem-solving or for answering questions; 5. To gain comprehension of the essential conditions of a problem; 6. To discover new problems regarding a topic; 7. To determine the lines of argument used to support the point of view of the author; 8. To determine the validity of statements.47 In a more global approach, Thorndike (1917) described "reading as seasoning" after analyzing the errors made by children when answering questions about a paragraph. Thorndike viewed reading as a reasoning process involving a weighing of each word in a sentence. The word must then be organized in relation to other words in the sentence before selecting the correct connotations of the word. Because of this reasoning process, Thorndike found relational words, such as pronouns, conjunctions, and prepositions, which have meanings of many degrees of exactitude, often hindered students comprehension in linking ideas together in the correct relationship. Thorndike's description of mental abilities which children demonstrate when engaged in the reading comprehension act, 47W. S. Gray, "Principles of Method in Teaching Reading as Derived from Scientific Investigation," National Society for the Study of Education, Eighteenth Yearbook, Part II (Bloomington, Illinois: Public School Publishing Company, 1919). 45 stimulated further study in the identification of operational skills of the reading comprehension act.48 Utilizing multiple-regression analysis, Holmes (1954) was the first to make a large-scale study designed to measure the independent variances of comprehension scores involving the utili- zation of a number of reading comprehension variables. Holmes' two criterion variables were the power of reading, which he defined as the ability to comprehend and apply textbook information, and the speed of reading, which he defined as the rate of comprehension. Independent variables were then tested for their influence on the two criterion variables in an attempt to account for individual differences in reading ability. Holmes found the best predictors of speed of comprehension to be word discrimination, word sense, span of recognition, and power of reading. The best predictors of power in reading were vocabulary in context, Intelligence Quotient, perception of verbal relations, and number of fixations per 100 words of connected text.49 A decade later Singer (1965) replicated the design of Holmes' study but substituted different variables and used a larger sample. Results showed that the reading skills which contribute to independent variance shift as children proceed through 48Robert L. Thorndike, "Reading as Reasoning," A Study of Mistakes in Paragraph Reading," Journal of Educational Psychology, 8 (1917), 323-332. 49Jack A. Holmes, "Factors Underlying Major Reading Difficulties at the College Level," Genetic Psychology Monogrpphs, 49 (1954), 3-95. 46 school. For example, he noted a shift from predominantly visual- perception abilities among children at the third grade placement to a more equal balance of visual-perceptual abilities and of knowledge of word meanings at sixth grade placement.50 In a third study reported jointly by Holmes and Singer (1966), the following were found to be the major contributors to the variance among scores children earned on measures of speed of comprehension: 1. knowledge of word meanings, 2. visual memory of word forms, 3. reasoning ability, 4. general information, and 5. interest in literary activities. The variance in pupil performance on measures of level of compre- hension was accounted for by these components: 1. knowledge of word meanings, 2. reasoning facility, 3. general information, and 5. interest in literary activities.5] 50Harry Singer, "A Developmental Model of Speed of Reading in Grades 3 Through 6," Reading Research Quarterly, 1 (1965), 29-45. 51Jack A. Holmes and Harry Singer, Speed and Power of Reading in High School, Cooperative Research Monograph, No. 14 (Washington, D.C.: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1966). 47 Davis (1941) in his doctoral dissertation used factor analysis to determine the relationship between operational skills employed when engaged in the reading act. These operational skills were tested: l. Remembering word meanings, 2. Selecting appropriate word meanings in the light of the context; 3. Following the organization of a passage as in identifying antecedents and references; 4. Identifying the main thought of a passage; 5. Answering questions for which explicit answers are given; 6. Weaving together the ideas in a passage; 7. Drawing inferences about the content of a passage; 8. Recognizing literary devices and identifying the author's tone and mood; 9. Drawing inferences about the author's purpose and point of view. Reliability Factor Coefficient Variance N Knowledge of word meanings .94 192.37 100 Verbal reasoning .48 22.85 100 Sensitivity to implications .28 8.64 100 Following the structure of the passage .33 2.34 100 Recognizing the writer's literary techniques .29 1.96 100 Figure 3.--Variances in the Davis Stud!- 52pam's, 9p. _Cl_t_., pp. 629-678. 48 As shown in Figure 3, five factors were identified. The stability of these factors was exceedingly high, which means that in similar analyses made of scores drawn from the same population it is highly likely that the factors would appear in the same order. The results of Davis' factor analysis suggest that the reading comprehension act is not a unitary mental ability but is largely dependent on knowledge of word meanings and on ability to reason using verbal terms. In an effort to verify Davis' findings, Lyman C. Hunt (1957) used multiple-choice items from the Cooperative Reading Comprehension Tests by F. B. Davis to make a differential item analysis. The test items were classified according to six of the nine categories specified by Davis in his 1941 study. Point-biserial coefficients were obtained between each individual item score and each of the six skill scores. Hunt concluded that the only items which were measuring a significantly different comprehension skill were the vocabulary items. Hunt reported that his findings implied that reading comprehension involved two skills: word knowledge and paragraph comprehension. These implications supported Davis' conclusions that word knowledge and reasoning in reading were responsible for a major portion of the variance among the components comprehension.53 53Lyman C. Hunt, "Can We Measure Specific Factors Associated With Reading Comprehension?" Journal of Educational Measurement, 51 (1957), 161-171. ' 49 More recently, Davis (1968) further refined reading comprehension research in an effort to establish the uniqueness among reading comprehension skills. Eight skills were measured: 1. reading word meanings, 2. drawing inferences about the meaning of a word from context, 3. finding answers to questions answered explicitly or in paraphrase, weaving together ideas in the content, drawing inferences from the content, 01014:- recognizing a writer's purpose, attitude, tone and mood, 7. identifying a writer's techniques, 8. following the structure of a passage. Skill 1 among the above was found to have the largest percentage of unique variance (32%) while Skill 5 had the second largest percentage of unique variance (20%). These data are in harmony with the earlier findings of Davis and Hunt. Skill 3, Skill 6, and Skill 8 also were found to have appreciable percentages of unique variance. Davis concluded that the reading comprehension act, when employed by readers, is not a global or unitary mental skill, but that it, instead, involves the exercise of independent skills or operations which have been identified.54 Using maximum likelihood factor analysis techniques, Spearritt (1972) found that the operational skills word knowledge, 54Davis, 9p. 91., pp. 629-678. 50 drawing inferences, recognizing a writer's purpose, and following the structure of a passage were separately distinguishable. The results of Spearritt's study confirmed the conclusions Davis drew from his uniqueness-analysis of reading comprehension with one exception, namely, the skill of finding answers to questions answered explicitly or in paraphrase. In his conclusions, Spearritt stressed that vocabulary was the best differentiated skill in reading comprehension, and therefore, could not be subsumed under one general factor with the other three skills.55 Another recent endeavor to identify the components of the reading comprehension act was reported by Schreiner, Hieronymus, and Forsyth (1969). In order to determine the interdependence of operational skills believed to be employed in the reading compre- hension act, a reading test battery of eight subtests was constructed to measure achievement in each of the following: 1. Speed of Noting Details, 2. Listening Comprehension, 3. Paragraph Meaning, 4. Speed of Reading, 5. Cause and Effect, 6. Reading for Inference, 7. Selecting Main Ideas, 8. Verbal Reasoning. 55 Donald Spearritt, "Identification of Subskills of Reading Comprehension by Maximum Likelihood Factor Analysis," Reading Research Quarterly, 8 (Fall, 1972), 92-111. 51 Data obtained from a sample of pupils at fifth grade placement showed speed of reading, listening comprehension, verbal reasoning, and speed of noting details to be relatively independent components of the reading comprehension act.56 In an investigation of a specific listening skill, Sara W. Lundsteen (1966) attempted to identify, define, teach, and test abilities in critical listening. The abilities investigated were detection of the speaker's purpose, analysis and judgment of propaganda, and analysis and judgment of arguments. An experimental group of fifth and sixth grade pupils, in eighteen lessons of forty minutes each, received instruction in the skills believed to be employed by individuals engaged in critical listening. Pupil performance on measures of critical listening ability revealed a significant (.01 level) difference between the experimental group and the control group. Lundsteen concluded that the data supported the theory that critical listening abilities and a critical listening process do exist.57 The late 1960's and early 1970's, marked the beginning of investigations of linguistic aspects relevant to the reading process. These inquiries concentrated on syntactical relationships and semantic a5pects of both written and spoken language. 56Robert L. Schreiner, A. N. Hieronymus, and Robert Forsyth, "Differential Measurement of Reading Abilities at the Elementary School Level," Reading Research Quarterly, 1 (Fall, 1969), 85-99. 57Sara W. Lundsteen, "Critical Listening: An Experiment," The Elementary School Journal (Marcy, 1966), 311-315. 52 Using the linguistic perspective as a basis for theorizing about difficulties encountered by pupils when employed in the reading comprehension act, Cromer (1970) developed the Difference Model in which he suggested that reading difficulties result from one of the following four factors: 1. a ggfggt_consisting of some nonfunction or ability, 2. a deficit or an absence of some function or ability, 3. a disruption which would be a function that is con- sidered a typical but which is present and interfering, and 4. a difference caused by a mismatch between the person's typical mode of responding and the pattern of responding assumed necessary for efficient reading. Cromer's research findings supported the idea that at least two groups of poor readers (a difference group and a deficit group) can be identified, each having its own characteristic pattern of reading. The Difference group consisted of individuals having adequate intelligence, language skills, and vocabulary skills but who have difficulty comprehending reading material. The deficit group consisted of poor readers having adequate intelligence and language skills but who were deficient in vocabulary skills (word meanings). Cromer's findings also supported the hypothesis that individuals in the Difference group, do not organize reading input into meaningful word groups bur read word-by-word. The individuals 53 in this group, when encouraged to organize or group their reading material in a meaningful way, were able to comprehend as well as good readers of comparable I.Q. and vocabulary skills. Thus, during the act of reading the individual changes his patterns of responding so that it is consistent with that of the reading material and, therefore, results in more efficient reading.58 Oakan, Wiener, and Cromer (1971) used the Difference Model to examine the relationship of word-identification skill, organi- zation, and reading comprehension. The comprehension ability of children classified as good readers and poor readers in the fifth grade was compared when material was presented both visually and aurally with variations in organizational format and instruction in word identification. The conclusions drawn from this study agreed with earlier findings concerned with the Difference Model, namely, that difficulties in reading comprehension may be attributed to the manner in which the poor reader organizes reading input. Oakan, t 1., emphasized that patterns of meanings, rather than single words are most significant in contributing to comprehension.59 More recently, Jackson and Miller (1976) also used children who comprehended poorly but had adequate word recognition skills to 58Ward Cromer, "The Difference Model: A New Explanation for Some Reading Difficulties," Journalwof Educational P§ycholpgy, 61 (1970), 471-483. 59Robert Oakan, Morton Wiener, and Ward Cromer, "Identifi- cation, Organization, and Reading Comprehension for Good and Poor Readers," Journal of Educational Psycholpgy, 62 (1971), 71-78. 54 determine whether children who comprehend poorly show a lack of sensitivity to the syntactic and semantic cues in sentences. To measure sensitivity to sentence structure, the syntactic and semantic agreement between the main verb and other key parts of the sentence was manipulated. The effect of the manipulation was determined by the resulting disruptive effect, which was the degree to which the probability of the occurrence of oral reading errors was increased. Resultant findings indicated that children who were good reading comprehenders were sensitive to language constraints in sentences while the reading errors committed by children who were poor comprehenders were not affected by semantic and syntactical violations.60 In another approach to reading comprehension difficulties, Kintsch and Kozminsky (1977) investigated the comprehension processes to determine if many reading difficulties are, in fact, reading problems or general comprehension problems. The method required individuals to summarize stories of four to five pages in length after the material was presented either in written or aural form. Summaries were viewed as directly revealing the organizational processes employed by individuals engaged in the comprehension act. Differences between children's performances when reading or listening were found to be surprisingly small with an overall pattern of 60Richard L. Isakson and John W. Miller, "Sensitivity to Syntactic and Semantic Cues in Good and Poor Comprehenders," Journal of Educational Psychology, 68 (1976), 787-792. 55 results that were similar with both modalities. Since no signifi- cant differences were found, the authors supported the concept of a single process for comprehension by stating ". . . one can argue that these processes, too, are general components of comprehension, rather than reading specific."61 Although the conclusions are restricted to college-student subjects and relatively easy texts due to the nature of the experiment, the findings of this study lend support to the theory that reading and listening involve either identical comprehension skills or an identical comprehension process. Test Construction Listening comprehension tests first gained acceptance as indications of capacity for reading in the 19305. The rationale for using listening tests as measures of potential for reading acquisition, according to Helen B. Sullivan, 1938, is based on the assumption that individuals capable of responding to aural symbols of a certain complexity should be able to comprehend visual symbols at a comparable level of complexity. In developing the Durrell-Sullivan Reading Capacity Test, Sullivan employed the use of pictures to build a measure of the comprehension of spoken language.62 6'Walter Kintsch and Ely Kozminsky, "Summarizing Stories After Reading and Listening," Journal of Educational Psychology, 69 (1977), 491-499. 62Helen Blair Sullivan, "A New Method of Determining Capacity for Reading," Education, 59 (September, 1938), 39-45. 56 In describing another capacity test, the Auditory Compre- hension subtest of the Triggs Diagnostic Test, George Spache (1953) stressed the avoidance of comprehension questions which were influenced by chance and by informational background. He warned that certain questions could sometimes be answered on the basis of intelligence or on the basis of previously acquired background knowledge. These types of questions are to be eliminated if a test is to measure an individual's ability to comprehend specific materials which are presented in the test.63 Much later, Donald D. Durrell (1969), a colleague of Sullivan, described procedures for developing (refining) equated forms of reading and listening tests (refining) which could estimate language learning potential. Durrell explained that dependable comparisons between reading and listening rely upon similar measures and similar testing conditions. Tests must be similar in format, directions, mode of response, and testing time. By designing equivalent forms of listening and reading tests, Durrell believed it possible to make comparisons of raw scores on tests in order to gain information about capacity for reading.64 Instead of designing a listening test to measure language comprehension, Marie G. Hackett (1968) constructed a test to 63George Spache, "The Construction and Validation of a Work-Type Auditory Comprehension Test," Education and Psychological Measurement, 10 (Summer, 1953), 249-253. 64Donald D. Durrell, "Listening Comprehension Versus Reading Comprehension," Journal of Reading, 12 (Marcy, 1969), 455-460. 57 measure a hierarchy of listening and reading comprehension skills. An assumption of the test was the transfer of learning within the hierarchy. Eleven language skills were arranged in hierarchical order: —-I 0 identifying the stated main idea, providing examples by detail, sequencing of ideas, inferring the main idea, identifying mood, applying standards to judge persuasion, predicting sequence of thought, inferring connotative word meaning, identifying sentence ambiguities, OGQNO‘U‘T-fiWN —J inferring the speaker's or writer's purpose, 11. judging logical validity. Hackett concluded that the predictability of higher-level skills from the attainment of lower-level ones was statistically significant.65 In his description of test construction to measure the reading comprehension act, Frederick B. Davis (1968) cited the work of Derrick (1953). Davis utilized Derrick's finding that three reading comprehension skills were measured equally well by short 65Marie Gannon Hackett, "A Hierarchy of Skills in Listening Comprehension and Reading Comprehension," Dissertation Abstracts, 30/O3-A (1968), 1019 (University of California, Berkeley). 58 passages as with long passages. This finding implied that perform- ance on short passages used to measure the reading comprehension act may be generalized to the reading of long passages or stories. This concept was employed in the development of the Davis Reading Test.66 ml: Earliest research in the areas of listening and reading comprehension focused on determining the effectiveness of the visual modality versus the aural modality for learning purposes. In general, a summary of these studies concludes that both modali- ties can contribute to successful learning and that learning effectiveness may be a result of difficulty of the content, manner of presentation, and experience or interest of the learners. Research which examined the relationship between listening ability and reading ability demonstrated a strong positive rela- tionship between the two modes of presentation. Findings have been less in agreement concerning the effect of instruction in listening on the acquisition of ability in the reading comprehension act. An automatic transfer of learning from listening to reading should not be assumed. With the development and refinement of the computer more recent research has centered on the identification of operational skills in reading comprehension. F. B. Davis (1960) utilized 66Frederick B. Davis, "Research in Comprehension in Reading," Readinngesearch Quarterly, 6 (Summer, 1968), 499-545. 59 uniqueness analysis to support his observations that the reading comprehension act involves one or more of eight operational skills. Using maximum likelihood factor analysis, Spearritt (1972) examined and confirmed Davis' conclusions, with one exception. In the area of listening comprehension, Lundsteen concluded that a critical listening process does exist and that critical listening abilities or skills can be identified. Many theorists have listed skills believed to be employed as operational skills in listening comprehension, although little formal research has been reported. Since listening is considered a valuable component in the school curriculum, especially for reading instruction, there is considerable need for research to provide an impartial tool for planning instruction. One of the factors which has hindered research, designed to identify component skills employed in listening is the limited availability of listening tests developed for this purpose. The majority of available listening tests have been designed to measure a general listening comprehension ability instead of specified listening skills. Then, too, in comparisons of listening abilities and of reading abilities, equated test forms should be used. The two problems have increased the difficulty of demonstrating the existence of listening comprehension skills. CHAPTER III PROCEDURES The design of this study and the measurement instruments which were used are described in this chapter. The selection subjects which were used and the collection of data are also described. This chapter closes with a statement about the statisti- cal procedures which were applied and the manner in which data was treated. Design The study was designed to identify the operational skills which pupils employ when engaged in the reading comprehension act and in the listening comprehension act. The study also investigated the pupils' use of operational skills in the listening act whose identity corresponded in nature to the operational skills employed by pupils engaged in the reading act. Factor analysis was used to establish the existence of operational skills for the listening comprehension act. It was originally hoped that correlations between operational skills used in listening comprehension and the ones used in reading comprehension could be computed, however, it could not be determined as a result of low loadings on the factor analysis. 60 61 Using the top and the bottom twenty-fifth percentile as a designation of poor readers and of good readers, an item by item comparison determined if differences in pupil performance existed between those pupils scoring in various ranges on the test. Subjects The subjects in this study were fifth grade students in Boone County Public Schools, West Virginia. The 405 pupils included 210 females and 195 males, ranging from 10.0 years old to 13.4 years old. The population was comprised of all the fifth grade classes in the nineteen elementary schools in Boone County. Boone County is located in southern West Virginia. The county is a rural area with coal-mining communities. The socio- economic level of these communities ranges from low to upper middle- class. Eleven of the nineteen elementary schools qualified for federal funds under ESEA Title I. Description of Tests The Iowa Test of Basic Skills was used to measure reading comprehension skills and listening comprehension skills. This test consists of eleven separate tests, designed to measure a wide range of skills and abilities. The design of the test is multi- level, with different but overlapping batteries for each of the grade levels--Grade 3 through Grade 8. To best serve its purpose as an achievement test, the raw scores on the test are designed to range from near zero to the highest possible score. However, the 62 majority of items are of medium difficulty. Average pupils succeed on approximately half of the test items, while less able pupils may succeed on a small fraction of the items. This test character- istic results in a lower percentage of correct answers for pupils than is usually encountered. Grade 5 pupils were administered level 11 of the Reading Comprehension subtest. The items which comprise the Reading Comprehension subtest are grouped according to these skill areas: D (Details)--To recognize and Understand Stated or implied Factual Details and Relationships D—l To recognize and understand important facts and details D-2 To recognize and understand implied facts and relationships D-3 To deduce the meaning of words or phrases from context P (Purpose)--To Develop Skill in Discerning the Purpose or Main Idea of 8 Paragraph or Selection P-l To detect the main purpose of a paragraph or selection P-2 To recognize the main idea or topic of a paragraph or selection 0 (Organization)--To Develop Ability to Organize Ideas O-l To recognize common elements or parallel topics in incidents or paragraphs 0-2 To recognize proper time sequence E (Evaluation)--To Develop Skill in Evaluating What is Read E-l To develop generalizations from a selection E-2 To recognize the writer's viewpoint, attitude or intention 63 E-3 To recognize the mood or tone of a selection E-4 To recognize outstanding qualities of style or structure Two equivalent forms of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills were used. These two forms are the most recent editions. Form 5 was administered as a listening test. Form 6 was administered as a reading test. The directions given to pupils were identical to those given in the Teacher's Guide for Administration, Interpreta- tion, and Use. To standardize the administration of the listening test the test passages and questions were tape recorded giving each listening selection followed by the questions and choice of answers for that selection. Four variations were utilized in the administration of the listening test to adapt the test to the listening modality: 1. Question 43 (What is the purpose of paragraph 1) was read following the first paragraph of the selection instead of following the complete selection because the question referred to that specific paragraph. 2. Question 44 (Which is pgt_told in paragraph 2) was read immediately following paragraph 2 of the selection instead of after the complete selection because the question referred directly to paragraph 2. 3. Question 51 (How long did it take to carve the heads 3) involved two dates which were written on the chalkboard in this manner. 64 1927 1941 4. Question 70 was followed by a short break in which pupils could stand and stretch before completing the test. Statistical Procedures The distinctive characteristic of factor analysis is its capability for data reduction. Accordingly, factor-analytic techniques provide information about the existence of underlying patterns of relationships. In this manner, data can be rearranged or reduced to a set of factors or components that are the variables accountable for the observed interrelations in the data. To analyze the testing data, the standard SPSS program available for computer use which computes principal factoring with iterations, using varimax rotation, was employed. This method transforms a set of variables into a set of composite variables that are orthogonal or uncorrelated to each other. No assumptions about the underlying structure of the variables are necessary. The method determines the linear combination of variables that account for more of the variance in the data than any other linear combination of variables. CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS OF RESULTS The Iowa Test of Basic Skills was chosen for the test instrument because of its treatment of operational skills employed in the reading comprehension act. Each test item of the Reading Comprehension subtest is classified according to the type of operational skill being measured. This information permits item analysis of test performance data. Although the descriptive names of operational skills may vary from descriptive names of operational skills used in previous investigations, similarities among the operational skills can be easily discerned. The availability and quality of the test instrument was also considered. Buros' Seventh Yearbook of Mental Measurements attests to the quality of the test. Since the Iowa Test of Basic Skills is often used for state testing purposes and is accessible, practical considerations suggested its choice as the test instrument. Hypothesis 1 is derived from the taxonomy of reading comprehension skills listed in the manual of directions for the Reading Comprehension subtest of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. To facilitate item by item comparisons, the code from the Iowa Test of Basic Skills for identifying various operational skills for the Reading Comprehension subtest has been matched to the operational skills listed in Hypothesis 1. 65 66 Hypothesis 1: Pupils will demonstrate that they employ the following skills when engaged in the listening comprehension act: Recognizing and understanding stated or implied factual details and relationships by: (l) Recognizing and understanding important facts and details (D-l) (2) Recognizing and understanding implied facts and rela- tionships (D-2) (3) Deduging the meaning of words or phrases from context D-3 Discerning the purpose or main idea of a paragraph or selection by: (1) Detegting the main purpose of a paragraph or selection P-l (2) Recognizing the main idea or topic of a paragraph or selection (P-2) Organizing ideas by: (1) Recognizing common elements or parallel topics in incidents or paragraphs (0-1) (2) Recognizing proper time sequence (0-2) Evaluating what is read by: (1) Developing generalizations from a selection (E-l) (2) Recognizin the writer's viewpoint, attitude, or intention IE-Z) (3) Recognizing the mood or tone of a selection (E-3) (4) Recognizing outstanding qualities of style or structure E-4 The factor analysis of the test data shows three factors. Factor 1 is by definition the best linear summary of variance within the data and accounted for 70 percent of the variance. 67 Factor 2 and Factor 3 accounted for 16 percent and 12 percent of the variance respectively. As may be seen in Table 1, only fifteen of the test items showed moderate loadings (.3 to .6) on Factor 1. Ten of the fifteen items were operational skills involving details (D-1 and D-2); therefore, the ten items on detail accounted for the majority of the variance found in the test data. It may be significant that the items which accounted for the greatest variance are located at the beginning of the test and as a result are the test items written at a lower readability level. Because of the low loadings of test items on Factor 2 and Factor 3, the significance of the test items showing even moderate loadings is negligible. The overall low loadings are indicative of a generalized listening comprehension ability composed of a variety of interdependent Operational skills rather than independent operational skills for the listening comprehension act. Independent listening comprehension skills were not identified for the population. Hypothesis 2: Pupils will demonstrate that they use operational skills when engaged in the listening comprehension act which corresponds in nature to the operational skills which pupils employ when engaged in the reading comprehension act. Operational skills employed during the listening compre- hension act were not identified by factor analysis; therefore, the correlation of skills demonstrated by pupils engaged in the listening comprehension act to the skills demonstrated by pupils engaged in the reading comprehension act was not determined. TABLE 1.--Varimax Rotated Factor Matrix. 68 ‘ a Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 AITEM25 D-l .38634 .02003 .14770 AITEM26 E-l .11296 .09393 .14491 AITEM27 E-l .31819 .14987 .26102 AITEM28 D-l .40015 .18139 .02857 AITEM29 D-l .45323 .19292 .12499 AITEM3O D-2 .54462 .06513 .17833 AITEM31 D-2 .31381 .17007 -.O4624 AITEM32 D-2 .49535 .19073 -.O6527 AITEM33 E-l .46604 .01727 .17161 AITEM34 .26736 .13988 .03709 AITEM35 D-l .31184 .21121 .18562 AITEM36 D-2 .46225 -.01222 .01661 AITEM37 .16607 .05112 .07772 AITEM38 .04699 .16755 .09675 AITEM39 D-l .48756 .10747 .19920 AITEM4O .29735 .24161 .27061 AITEM41 .28746 .29466 .22433 AITEH42 .16617 .14749 .05233 AITEM43 .08435 .15599 .06074 AITEM44 -.14459 .00335 -.02091 AITEM45 D-2 .34200 .11837 .12352 AITEM46 -.05652 .06475 .05440 AITEM47 -.OOl6O .28473 .26382 AITEM48 P-l .36024 .04791 .10412 AITEM49 .16248 -.11604 .38538 D-2 AITEM50 .26060 .02706 .17559 AITEM51 .21382 .02181 .32584 0-2 AITEM52 .16147 .03099 .36626 D-l AITEM53 .25287 .11147 .23016 AITEM54 .16462 .12257 .17445 AITEMSS P-2 .31054 -.Oll43 .06385 AITEM56 .04973 .09783 .35442 D-3 AITEM57 .02152 .09896 .20579 AITEM58 .21500 .25068 .06687 AITEM59 .17918 .15718 .35910 E 1 AITEM6O .08765 .25625 .30448 E 4 AITEM61 .18157 .28656 .15508 AITEM62 .05913 -.O7882 -.16033 AITEM63 -.01854 -.01009 -.O7769 AITEM64 .07358 .04797 .21072 AITEM65 .07087 .34239 P-l .13382 AITEM66 -.Ol717 .12351 -.O7427 TABLE l.--Continued. 69 Factor 2 Factor 1 Factor 3 AITEM67 -.01473 .19253 01097 AITEM68 -.10200 .05244 09168 AITEM69 -.09609 .20215 12129 AITEM70 .15817 -.l3229 - 09056 AITEM71 .09231 .04854 23386 AITEM72 .08868 .13668 04888 AITEM73 .11766 .25579 - 06511 AITEM74 P-2 .35348 .05253 15739 AITEM75 .08378 .28632 - 02549 AITEM76 .13713 .31013 E-l 07080 AITEM77 .29205 .09281 24464 AITEM78 .07078 .05402 - 18554 AITEM79 .19244 .14193 - 03019 AITEMBO .08973 .36922 D-3 - 01635 AITEM81 .06132 .15711 - 05417 AITEM82 .09787 .15849 .04641 AITEM83 -.O3108 .35384 P-2 .04083 AITEM84 -.07852 .20134 .08665 AITEM85 .11437 -.02712 .26357 AITEM86 .08893 .02754 .09313 AITEM87 -.02299 .19541 .11314 AITEMBB .10513 .29383 .05165 AITEM89 .15236 .13580 .14894 AITEM90 -.03685 .21011 .20296 AITEM91 .07752 .15437 .07289 AITEM92 .15541 .16063 .02818 AITEM93 .04799 .22168 .21797 AITEM94 .18299 .03769 .31652 D-l AITEM95 .13728 .29306 .09347 AITEM96 .12970 .15519 .09034 AITEM97 .16777 .10246 .16011 AITEM98 .17494 .24409 .16694 7O (Hypothesis 3: Pupils who demonstrate superior performances in the listening act will perform successfully with types of operational skills of the listening act that pupils per- forming at lower levels cannot successfully perform. Using the top and bottom twenty—fifth percentile to divide students into three performance levels, item comparisons provided further information on student performance concerning both the reading comprehension test and the listening comprehension test. 0n the Reading Comprehension subtest, the majority of the D-1 (Details) questions were answered correctly by the good readers and the average readers except at the highest levels of reading difficulty. Inconsistent performance by the poor readers made it difficult to distinguish patterns in their answers to D-l questions. The good readers continued to answer correctly the majority of the 0-2 and the D-3 questions. The performance of the average readers became inconsistent on the D-2 and the D-3 questions. The poor readers gave a majority of incorrect answers to D-2 and D-3 questions. An analysis of P (Purpose) questions and 0 (Organizational) questions indicated that good readers performed well on these types of questions. Average readers also did well except at the highest levels of reading difficulty. Poor readers were unable to perform successfully except at the lowest reading levels. Only the good readers performed consistently well on the E (Evaluation) questions. The poor readers were unable to perform well on evaluation questions at any reading level. 71 An analysis of the results of the listening test indicated that the pupils scoring in the top twenty-fifth percentile performed consistently well except on the 0 (Organization) questions. The scores of pupils in the middle percentiles are consistent; however, it appears that these pupils performed better with questions occurring at the lowest levels of reading difficulty. Performances of pupils ranging in the bottom twenty-fifth percentile did not indicate any areas of strength (see Tables 2-11). Hypothesis 4: Pupils who demonstrate a superior performance in the act of reading comprehension will demonstrate a superior performance in the listening act. A comparison of test performances by good readers indicates that the majority of the good readers failed to perform in the top twenty-fifth percentiles on the listening test (see Table 12). In analyzing the test performances of good readers and poor readers, a comparison of the individual scores in these two categories showed a difference in whether the reading comprehension score or the listening comprehension score was highest. For good readers, the reading comprehension score tended to be higher than the listening comprehension score. For poor readers, the listening comprehension score tended to be higher than the reading compre- hension score (see Table 13). CHAPTER V SUMMARY Listening has been considered an important facet of pupil learning and of reading achievement, both in the past and in the present. Research focusing on the relationship of listening to learning and to reading has established the value of listening as a part of school curricula. As a result of this research, theories and models of reading were developed to further explain the rela- tionship of listening to the reading process. Many of these theorists considered reading and listening to be similar forms of communication. The history of the evolution of the English language also supported the idea that a relationship does exist between listening and reading. As research studies sought to clarify the interrelationships of reading achievement and listening ability, Operational skills in reading comprehension and in listening comprehension were theorized. Davis' (1941) factor analytic studies concluded that nine independent operational skills employed in the reading comprehension act did exist. Using maximum likelihood factor analysis, Spearritt (1972) confirmed Davis' conclusions with one exception. 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mnucowmcmsmgaeou m:_=wNmN4--.NN MANNN 83 TABLE 12.--Comparison of Good Reader Performance in Reading and Listening. Number of superior readers Number of superior readers demonstrating superior not demonstrating superior listening performance listening performance 14 28 TABLE l3.--Comparison of Good Readers and Poor Readers. Good Readers Poor Readers Reading score was highest 36 17 Reading and listening within 3 points 3 17 Listening score was highest 3 151 Totals 42 185 84 existence of operational skills for the listening comprehension act. Sara Lundsteen (1966) investigated skills of critical listen- ing and concluded that her data supported the theory that critical listening abilities and a critical listening process do exist. One factor hindering research in this area is the unavailability of listening tests designed to measure specified listening skills and designed to equate scores with those of tests measuring the reading comprehension act. This study investigated the existence of operational skills employed by pupils engaged in the listening comprehension act and the reading comprehension act. Two alternate forms of the lgwa Test of Basic Skills--Reading Comprehension subtest were administered to 405 fifth grade students. One form of the test was recorded on tape for use as a test of listening comprehension while the other form was administered as a test of reading comprehension. Principle components analysis was used to factor analyze the data. Independent operational skills employed in the listening comprehension act were not identified for the population used in this study. Since operational skills employed in the listening comprehension act were not identified correlations between Operational skills employed in the reading comprehension act and in the listening comprehension act were unobtainable. An item by item comparison which used the top and the bottom twenty-fifth percentile to divide the population into three groups, suggested differences in performance for pupils who could be classified 85 as good readers, average readers, or poor readers. 0n the Reading Comprehension subtest, good readers and average readers performed well on questions involving details, purpose, and organization. The good readers also performed consistently well on evaluation questions. Poor readers demonstrated inconsistent performance on all types of reading comprehension questions. An analysis of the results of the listening test indicated that pupils scoring in the t0p twenty-fifth percentile performed consistently well except on organization questions. Performances of pupils scoring in the average range were best with questions occurring at the lowest levels of reading difficulty. Performances of pupils scoring in the bottom twenty-fifth percentile did not indicate any specific areas of strength. Conclusions Independent operational skills employed by pupils engaged in the listening comprehension act were not identified for the p0pulation of this study. However, pupil performances on both the reading and the listening tests indicated that differences in performance were distinguishable on various types of comprehension questions by differing ability groups of pupils. After comparing pupil performances in three ability ranges, a hierarchy of compre- hension skills was indicated, suggesting that detail questions were low on the hierarchy and that organization and evaluation questions were high on the hierarchy. 86 Discussion The inability to establish the identity of operational skills employed by pupils engaged in the listening comprehension act tended to support the idea that listening comprehension is a global ability. The interdependence, between various operational skills employed in the listening comprehension act contributed to the inability to identify independent comprehension skills for the act of listening. The readability level of the material also seemed to influence pupil comprehension when engaged in the listening comprehension act. The item by item comparison supported the idea that a rela- tionship between listening and reading does exist. The findings supported earlier research by Lumley and Caughran (1933) who found that the aural modality becomes less superior at higher age levels when visual learning becomes more effective; this was demon- strated by the performance of good readers when compared to their own performances on the listening test. In contrast, poor readers usually compensated by performing better on the listening test than on the reading test. Another concept supported by the findings of this study was that of an hierarchy of comprehension skills. The performance of good readers when compared to the performance of average or poor readers indicated differences in the types of questions which were answered correctly by the ability groups. Less efficient readers were able to perform best with detail types of questions. Average 87 readers were able to perform well on detail, purpose, and organi- zation types of questions. Better readers were able to perform well on all the previously mentioned types of questions as well as on evaluation questions. In this way, reading comprehension skills would focus on detail questions at the lowest levels of compre- hension, progressing upward to purpose and organization questions with evaluation questions at the top of the comprehension hierarchy. The hierarchy concept was not maintained in the pupil performances on the listening test. Ability groups tended to be distinguished by the level of difficulty of the questions rather than by the type of questions. These findings supported Carver's (1935) conclusion that the easier the material difficulty, the more likely that the aural modality will be effective. The comparison of pupil performances on the reading test and on the listening test agrees with Caffrey‘s proposed rules governing the relationship between listening and reading: 1. When auding ability is low, reading ability tends more often to be low. 2. When auding ability is high, reading ability is not predictable. 3. When reading ability is low, auding ability is not predictable. 4. When reading ability is high, auding ability is to a very small extent predictable, likely to be high.57 67John Caffrey, "The Establishment of Auding-Age Norms," School and Society, 70 (November 12, 1949), 310-312. 88 Implications for Further Research Research concerning the listening comprehension act and the reading comprehension act has been hindered by the inability to determine which aspects of a task are specifically reading- related and which tasks involve comprehension processes that are more general in nature. Often educators and theorists emphasize either the similarities or the differences between different forms of communication; however, the majority of these theories are based upon the assumption that the listening comprehension act and the reading comprehension act are independent comprehending processes. If research provided more data suggesting that a single comprehension process functions regardless of the communication form of input, the approach to classroom instructional procedures could be affected. At the present time operational skills for the listening comprehension act were assumed to exist and to contribute to the efficiency of the listening comprehension act. Further research is needed involving different age levels of pupils in order to determine if independent operational skills for listening compre- hension can be identified and to determine if varying factors such as age, intelligence, and reading efficiency influence operational skills identified for listening comprehension. Another important area to be investigated further is the correlation of identified operational skills employed in the listening comprehension act to those operational skills already identified for the reading conprehension act. 89 While it seems logical to assume that listening skills have much in common with reading skills, the assumption of transfer of learning is one to be avoided until data is available to sub- stantiate this practice. As demonstrated by previous research in this area, findings are inconsistent when determining if instruction in listening skills does have a direct and positive effect on reading efficiency and specified reading skills. Before many of these questions can be investigated, the priority seems to be the development of listening comprehension tests suitable for this purpose. To allow the determination of a more exact description of the relationship between the act of listening comprehension and the act of reading comprehension, listening comprehension tests must be constructed in a manner that encourages the measurement of operational skills in a format that can be equated to the pupil performance achieved on reading comprehension tests. These listening comprehension tests need to be validated for age levels at the elementary school and middle school levels since many of the assumptions about listening and its relationship to reading comprehension are most commonly used for instruction at these grade levels. Data on the topic of operational skills for the listening comprehension act and concerned with comprehension processes seem to be more frequent concerns in contemporary research studies. However, these are areas involving complex communication capabilities which modern technology and knowledge often do not know how to 90 measure. 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