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some experts. Ponkshe (2013) explains that the students with better ability of reading
comprehension are expected to perform well in academics. Bastug (2014) adds that
success in first year B. SC. Nursing Course in India. IOSR Journal of Nursing and Health
at different levels of sophistication and referred to. For example, as literal, inferential,
and critical.
considering there is a serious mismatch between the students’ own knowledge of word
meanings (expensive and listening vocabulary) and the words used in the text. The
students may be able to read a word correctly on the page but not know its meaning. For
example, in the sentence “The farmer inspected his crops growing in the next field.” The
child who has never encountered the word “crop” before may think it is particular type of
before a text is read in order to enhance comprehension. There is also a need to devote
necessary for students to properly comprehend the words or the vocabulary of a written
passage in order to be able to decode the message, thus comprehend it. ( Shehu, 2015)
academic success in first year B.S Nursing course in India. The sample used was seventy
six fresh second year nursing students. It showed positive correlation between English
reading comprehension ability and academic achievement obtained r values range from
0.48 to 0.65 are significantly greater than p-value .30 at 1% level of significance of a
student implying that students with better ability of English reading comprehension are
of English education study program students UIN Raden Fatah Palembang. Santi
Anggraini (2017) English Education Study Program. Tarbiyah Dan Keguruan Faculty of
language students, case study: Albania, Croatia. Journal of interdisciplinary studies, 4(1),
91-96
Westwood, P. (2008). What teachers need to know about reading and writing
able to extract information that is explicitly stated in a passage (Carnine et al., 2010).
their ability to accurately identify individual words and understand the meaning created
teaching English. It is reading comprehension that enables students to pursue their studies
and to meet their interests in all fields of knowledge. Thus, reading comprehension
should receive more emphasis throughout the teaching process. (Hussein 2012)
First Year Students at the Department of English Language and Literature at Al-
Zaytoonah Private University of Jordan Basel Al-Sheikh Hussein Assistant Professor,
http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ass.v8n4p237
The questions which are directed to the students in the classroom should
concentrate not only on practising those skills which belong to the literal level, but also
Finally, taking into account their English reading comprehension level, students said that
they better understand a text when the information is written in the text (explicit
information) than when they have to talk about aspects that the text does not mention
(implicit information), students argued that in the last one they have difficulties; with
this, it is possible to say that students cannot extract the inferential information as well as
they are not able to give implicit information from the text. In conclusion, ninth graders
are in the literal reading comprehension level and it is necessary to take them to the
inferential level taking into account the aspects that the English curriculum of the school
asks them as it was mentioned before. In brief, the research problem is defined as the
Tantillo says that “we must recognize words and decipher unfamiliar vocabulary” (2013,
p. 12), words constitute vocabulary, in which; words are the single unit of language,
knowledge that enables comprehension” (Tantillo, 2013, p. 12), indeed, reader is exposed
Wiley Imprint.
Educational researchers have found that there is a strong correlation between reading and
academic success (Igwe 2011; Morris & Cobb 2004; Zunshine 2013). Duncan (2010)
points out that people who read a lot possess stronger literacy skills and they also have
straightforward meaning ‘or what is actually stated’ in the in the text (Day 2005;
Hammond 2010). This could include facts and dates. Questions of literal comprehension
can be answered directly from the text without the need to read between the lines. It is
the type of comprehension that tests the basic meaning of a text. For example, if a text
says ‘Jane looked at her new broom with admiration, she took it and swept the living
room clean’, the literal meaning here is that Jane has a new broom. Learners can get
this clearly stated meaning without scratching their heads. However, it is necessary for
learners to mature beyond this level if they are to get a deeper meaning of what they read
Studies, 5: 3-9.
2.1.2.2 Inferential level This is a level of text comprehension where learners go beyond a
on what is not clearly stated in the text’. This level of comprehension is associated with
reading between the lines. At this level the learner builds understanding of what is read
by using the facts presented to read between the lines to get a true meaning of what was
meant for understanding (Lin 2010). For example, that Jane liked her new broom is an
inference that can be made from ‘Jane looked at her new broom with admiration’.
that are not explicitly stated. This level requires making use of background knowledge of
what is read (together with the literal information) to aid comprehension. The following
sentences show how inferential comprehension works: 1. The floor was wet; the girl
walked cautiously. 2. The girl walked cautiously because the floor was wet and she did
not want to slip and fall. 31 To understand the first sentence involves drawing a
conclusion about the relationship between a wet surface and walking carefully, which in
turn relies on background knowledge about the world. The second sentence involves low
level inferencing because the conjunctive ‘because’ explicitly signals the causal relation.
The implication is that walking cautiously helps prevent one slipping and falling on a wet
floor, and the added part of the sentence makes the reasons explicit.
To process meaning at the inferential level, learners need to use a situation-based model.
Kintsch (1998) explains that the situation-based model consists of what the text is
integrate prior knowledge with text based information. Unlike the text-based model, the
situation-model does not normally retain the verbatim text information but supports a
more flexible knowledge structure that can enable the integration of both visual and
verbal representations (Snow 2002; Stull & Mayer 2007). Woolley (2011) opines that in
constructing a situation-model, the reader needs to infer meanings that are often implied
by drawing from their existing background knowledge. The assumption is that the main
Reference: Lin, N. 2010. Vocabulary studies. Reading for studying. Language Matters, 2:
1-8.
at a deeper level in comparison to literal and inferential comprehension. Lin (2010, 154)
points out that ‘evaluative comprehension involves critical reading where information
and ideas are evaluated’. Evaluative comprehension also includes integration of chunks
of information across texts to get a bigger picture. It occurs when readers use critical
thinking to make judgment about what was read in a text and at this level, learners
compare what they read with their background knowledge and values (Seiyod 2009). It is
the type of comprehension that seeks a reader’s opinion. For example, to achieve
evaluative understanding while reading a text, a reader asks questions such as ‘Why? Do
I agree with it?’ While inferential comprehension is associated with reading between the
lines, evaluative comprehension involves reading beyond the lines. Seiyod (2009) posits
that evaluative comprehension occurs when readers compare information with their own
background knowledge and values. At the evaluative level students may use their opinion
as it relates to the subject matter. The level of understanding at the evaluative level is
measured by the learners’ ability to translate meaning of a text to their own experiences.
comprehension. It requires a personal response to a text and the reader responds to the
text or story based on personal reaction and reflection. At this level the reader also
responds to the author’s purpose (Araujo & Costa 2012). According to Chia (1996),
‘appreciative comprehension occurs when readers engage with a text and get an
emotional response from the text’. This suggests that the appreciative level involves the
students’ feelings towards the material read and it is considered more abstract than any
of the other levels because a readers’ personality and likes or dislikes can affect
comprehension at this level. Lin (2010) suggests that reading or comprehending at the
passage. This kind of reading is especially important when reading literature or poetry,
for example, learners may give their feelings and personal responses in the Macbeth’s
merciless killing of their visitor, King Duncan in the play ‘Macbeth’. It is important for
learners to go through all four levels of comprehension if they are to read with total
In conclusion, high school reading, which is the focus of this study, needs highly
developed decoding and comprehension skills. In addition, texts at high school level use
academic words or low frequency words (Corson 1997) which are semantically opaque,
(to be discussed in more detail in § 2.2.3). Many learners from various cultural
backgrounds do not always get exposed to these words at school or outside school. As a
result, it becomes difficult for them to understand texts with this academic language.
Contrary to the early stages of learning to read where children learn the alphabetic
principle and letter sound relationships, from about Grade 4 onwards reading should be
well enough developed that it is fast and accurate and can become a tool for learning
(Pretorius 2012). From Grade 4 onwards learners start being exposed to texts with
unfamiliar content and low frequency words. By the time learners enter high school they
need to develop critical reading and thinking skills to be able to read and appreciate
literature and to engage critically with any text they read. To understand texts at high
school level, learners need to be able to process information at the evaluative and
appreciative level as these levels are important for developing critical skills in today’s
world. This study assessed comprehension at the literal, inferential and evaluative levels.
This is because the Cambridge reading test used did not assess comprehension at the
appreciative level.
Reference: Pretorius, E.J. 2002. Reading and applied linguistics –a deafening silence?
Araujo, L. & Costa, P. 2012. Education and evaluation. Journal of Theory and Practice,
21: 5-6.
2.2.1 Knowing words Research shows that word knowledge is more complex than the
seemingly simple question what does it mean to know words? Nation (2010, 47) defines
word knowledge as ‘the ability to recognize the spoken and written form of a word as
well as its meaning’. However, some scholars have argued that this definition of word
knowledge is insufficient as it implies that form and meaning are separate aspects of
vocabulary. As stated earlier, word knowledge involves more than just the link between
meaning and form (Laufer, Elder, Hill & Congdon 2004). Pignot-Shahov (2012, 37)
highlights that ‘knowing a word is being able to recognize it and it has to do with the
comprehension involving understanding those facts and descriptions that are explicitly
stated, not alluded to or inferred in the text. Students need to develop this comprehension
skill because it creates a grasp of literal information and establishes a foundation for the
assimilation of more complex reading skills. To support this view, Goff (2010) asserts
that literal comprehension is a process that involves reading to understand the surface
passage (reading for exact meaning at the word and sentence level), read for information.
Literal comprehension deals with and does not go beyond facts and details. Tests
items used to assess literal comprehension include the ‘wh’ questions like ‘what’, ‘when’,
and ‘where’ (Huggins 2009). Thus mastering this component of reading development
students’ attainment in reading for exact meaning, reading for information and reading
for gist in a text is significant. Based on research question one, the scores of students
between reading for exact meaning and reading for information is significant by 2.8991.
Whereas, in research question 2, the difference in mean attainment scores in reading for
exact meaning and reading for gist is highly significant at 3.1009. This is an indication
that students’ attainment scores from questions designed for reading for exact meaning
was higher than those questions designed for reading for information.. Also, the
attainment of reading for exact meaning was higher than attainment in reading for gist.
However, the poor rate of mean difference in score reading for gist and exact meaning is
significantly higher. This reveals that students scored too low on questions for reading for
gist than question which reading for information and reading for exact meaning.
Consequently, the SS 2 students are bound to perform poorly in most academic subjects
because they have poor literal reading comprehension level which does not match the
primary school so that as students approach senior secondary school they must have
developed the inferential and evaluative reading comprehension levels. Reading materials
used should be such that would consciously develop students’ literal reading
Reference: Goff, S. (2010). What are the causes and effects of literal
from http://www.informit.comarticles/aspx?p=
in Nigeria: A Means for Growing a New Generation African Scholars Wisdom I. Jude
Nsit, P.M.B. 1019, Etinan, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria 2. Department of General Studies,
wisppa@yahoo.com
The literal (L) comprehension refers to the memorization of facts in the reading
texts. Students were required to identify and memorize the subject which was discussed
by the writer explicitly in the text and in the excerpt. In other words, the literal
comprehension involved students’ ability to obtain the overt information from the texts.
The literal comprehension needed the low level of thinking which would be the basic for
conclusion and a prediction. The inferential comprehension needs to use the overt
information together with the intuition and experience (Ismail, Salmah dan Elly, 1992).
Apart from that, the inferential comprehension needs the high level thinking as the
questions involve answers which are not explicitly stated in the text.
overall evaluation towards a certain information or idea which is read, make a conclusion
about the precision or suitability of the given information or idea, apply the information,
and emphasize the production of a new idea. The critical-creative comprehension needs a
divergent thinking, which is the thinking skill outside the literal and inferential
comprehension (Rubin, 1991), which depends on the knowledge and personal experience
of the students.
Reference: www.sciencedirect.com
Year 4 to 6 Students in Primary School Yahya Che Laha , Nor Hashimah Hashim (2014).
Ruddell (2008) asserts that students activate three categorical level of thinking
skills to actively engage with the text: (1) literal level or read the lines which belongs to
low order thinking and classified as remembering and understanding cognitive process,
(2) interpretative level or read between the lines which belongs to high order thinking
determined as applying and analyzing cognitive process and (3) applied level or read
beyond the lines considered as high order thinking as synthesizing and evaluating
cognitive process.
Their performance was not only poor in the reading test but also in the vocabulary
test. For example, after 12 years of schooling, only urban Schools B and D achieved
mastery of the high frequency words, i.e. the 2000-word level, learners in all the four
schools did not attain mastery of the rest of the word levels. This suggested that they had
weak vocabulary knowledge. The learners should have known the high frequency words
by the end of primary school. The learners also had low knowledge of academic words-
the kinds of words they need to know to understand their content subject’s textbooks.
we can examine this role, it is important to clarify what vocabulary knowledge entails,
specifically in relation to second language vocabulary. In this section I unpack this notion
in terms of what it means to know words, the difference between receptive and
productive vocabulary, the relation between reading and vocabulary knowledge as well as
with the contexts in which words occur, their receptive knowledge gradually moves
The students’ performance (academic achievement) plays an important role in producing the
best quality graduates who will become great leader and manpower for the country thus
responsible for the country’s economic and social development (Ali et al, 2013). Academic
measured in final examination (Form Four National Examination), whereby success is measured
by academic performance or how well students meet standards set out by the National
Examination Council (NECTA) and the institute itself. Students’ performance at the level of
secondary has the strong impact on other levels of higher and tertiary education.
Reference: Ali1, S. Haider, Z., Munir1, F. Khan, H. & Ahmed, A. (2013). Factors Contributing to
the Students’ Academic Performance. A case study of Islamia University, Sub-Campus. Science
Academic performance is one of the facets of student‟s effectiveness. It is the basis of teacher‟s
evaluation and grading and a sort of information on student‟s weaknesses and strengths- the
It is widely accepted that student‟s academic success is influenced primarily by their cognitive
abilities. That is, students with great intellectual potential will often succeed at a higher level of
than will students with lower ability. However, given that correlation between I.Q. and
achievement is typically only in the moderate range. Students may experience pressure and
stressful situation in their study. In their level of cognition, they may sometimes think they
cannot function well or can not do well on a certain assignment, task or requisite in their study.
And when they experienced failure, they may turn out and lose their capability and troubled to
regain in a certain task or job which is considered flaw in their academic performance.
Yet, these situations of high school students in regards to their academic performance may turn
to positive outcomes, when people in their environment give them support, encourage and
persuade them that they can function and do well in a specific task in their performance.
Angelo Dullas
Central Luzon State University (CLSU)
Academic achievement represents performance outcomes that indicate the extent to which a person has
accomplished specific goals that were the focus of activities in instructional environments, specifically in
school, college, and university. School systems mostly define cognitive goals that either apply across
multiple subject areas (e.g., critical thinking) or include the acquisition of knowledge and understanding in a
specific intellectual domain (e.g., numeracy, literacy, science, history). Therefore, academic achievement
should be considered to be a multifaceted construct that comprises different domains of learning. Because
the field of academic achievement is very wide-ranging and covers a broad variety of educational outcomes,
the definition of academic achievement depends on the indicators used to measure it. Among the many
criteria that indicate academic achievement, there are very general indicators such as procedural and
declarative knowledge acquired in an educational system, more curricular-based criteria such as grades or
performance on an educational achievement test, and cumulative indicators of academic achievement such
as educational degrees and certificates. All criteria have in common that they represent intellectual
endeavors and thus, more or less, mirror the intellectual capacity of a person. In developed societies,
academic achievement plays an important role in every person’s life. Academic achievement as measured
by the GPA (grade point average) or by standardized assessments designed for selection purpose such as
the SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test) determines whether a student will have the opportunity to continue
his or her education (e.g., to attend a university). Therefore, academic achievement defines whether one
can take part in higher education, and based on the educational degrees one attains, influences one’s
vocational career after education. Besides the relevance for an individual, academic achievement is of
utmost importance for the wealth of a nation and its prosperity. The strong association between a society’s
level of academic achievement and positive socioeconomic development is one reason for conducting
international studies on academic achievement, such as PISA (Programme for International Student
Assessment), administered by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). The
results of these studies provide information about different indicators of a nation’s academic achievement;
such information is used to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of a nation’s educational system and to
guide educational policy decisions. Given the individual and societal importance of academic achievement, it
is not surprising that academic achievement is the research focus of many scientists; for example, in
psychology or educational disciplines. This article focuses on the explanation, determination, enhancement,
DOI: 10.1093/OBO/9780199756810-0108
http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199756810/obo-
9780199756810-0108.xml