`HIGH-PERFORMING ESL READERS‟ RESPONSEText difficulty measures of 2010 MUET reading tests...
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`HIGH-PERFORMING ESL READERS‟ RESPONSE TO LOADING COGNITIVE STRESS IN READING COMPREHENSION PERFORMANCE MOHAMAD FADHILI BIN YAHAYA UNIVERSITI SAINS MALAYSIA 2014
Transcript of `HIGH-PERFORMING ESL READERS‟ RESPONSEText difficulty measures of 2010 MUET reading tests...
`HIGH-PERFORMING ESL READERS‟ RESPONSE
TO LOADING COGNITIVE STRESS IN READING
COMPREHENSION PERFORMANCE
MOHAMAD FADHILI BIN YAHAYA
UNIVERSITI SAINS MALAYSIA
2014
HIGH-PERFORMING ESL READERS’
RESPONSE TO LOADING COGNITIVE STRESS
IN READING COMPREHENSION
PERFORMANCE
by
MOHAMAD FADHILI BIN YAHAYA
Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the
requirements for the degree
of Doctor of Philosophy
DECEMBER 2014
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
With the mercy of Allah, HE has granted me the opportunity to have known
significant people who have been instrumental in the completion of my dissertation.
First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my main
advisor Prof Dato‟ Dr Abdul Rashid bin Mohamed, who has been very patience with
me for taking such a long time to complete my PhD journey. It was with his wisdom,
passion and guidance that I was able to structure my thoughts and channel my
interest in the area that I have become in love with. If it was not for him, I might
have been lost. I am also grateful to him for appointing my two co-advisors, Dr
Yusof Ede Petras and Dr Shaik Abdul Malik Mohamed Ismail. They have been very
persistent in ensuring that I would be on track with my work. Though Dr Yusof
became part of this project only toward the end of my study, his contribution was
significant especially in the completion of my analysis, the discussion and the
presentations of my dissertation.
My gratitude is also extended to Associate Prof Dr Amran Awang, from
UiTM Perlis and the Statistical Consulting Unit, School of Quantatitive Science of
Universiti Utara Malaysia for the pointers on the analysis of variance. To Azaharee
who had done excellent work in the auditing of my translations and my qualitative
data and has given me words of encouragement, I thank him for being a very good
friend.
To my parents, my late father, Yahaya bin Abdullah and my mother, Habsah
binti Ariffin, nothing that I could do can ever repay all the sacrifices, the love, the
prayers, the guidance and the teaching they have given me and my siblings. To my
sister, Mahani and brother-in-law Yusof (who has been like the actual brother), my
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brothers Arif, Redzuwan, Shahidi, Fauzi and their spouses, I thank them for being
very supportive throughout my life.
I am also blessed for having a very loving wife and girlfriend, Wan Noor
Ashikin binti Abdul Aziz. She has been there with me through thick and thin. She
has been very supportive of me and she has never doubted me. May our love and
relationship continue until Jannah. I am also blessed for Allah has granted me three
princesses Nur Farihin Najihah, Nur Fasihah and Nur Fahimah as well as two princes
Ahmad Ihsan and Ahmad Iman. They are the apples of my eyes. May Allah grant
them all the good things in life.
Lastly, my special thanks to everyone who has contributed significantly to the
completion of my thesis. My sincere thanks should also be extended to my
colleagues from the Academy of Language Studies of Universiti Teknologi Mara
Perlis who have assisted me in data collection.
Mohamad Fadhili Yahaya
December 2014
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgement
Table of content
List of tables
List of figures
List of abbreviations
List of publication
Abstrak
Abstract
Page
ii
iv
x
xiii
xv
xviii
xix
xxi
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Background of the study
1.2 The statement of the problem
1.3 Aim and objectives of the study
1.4 Research questions
1.5 Rationale of the study
1.6 Significance of the study
1.7 Limitations and delimitations of the study
1.8 Operational definitions
1.9 Conclusion
1
1
3
5
5
6
9
11
13
15
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Cognition
17
17
2.1.1 The cognitive constructs 17
2.1.1.(a) Metacognition
2.1.1.(b) Prior knowledge
18
20
2.1.1.(b)(i) Schema theory 22
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2.1.1.(c) Working memory 23
2.1.1.(c)(i) Cognitive load theory 25
2.1.2 Relevant studies on cognition 27
2.2 Stress 30
2.2.1 Types of stress 33
2.2.1.(a) Eustress
2.2.1.(b) Distress
33
34
2.2.2 Models of stress 34
2.2.2.(a) Transactional model of stress
2.2.2.(b) Maximal adaptability model
2.2.2.(c) Compensatory control model
2.2.2.(d) Traits theory of stress
35
37
40
42
2.2.2.(d)(i) Neuroticism
2.2.2.(d)(ii) Extraversion
2.2.2.(d)(iii) Openness
2.2.2.(d)(iv) Agreeableness
2.2.2.(d)(v) Conscientiousness
42
43
44
44
45
2.2.3 The effects of stress 46
2.2.3.(a) The Appraisal system
2.2.3.(b) Coping strategies
2.2.3.(c) The effects of stress on performance
2.2.3.(d) Stress threshold
46
47
50
52
2.2.4 Relevant studies on stress 53
2.3 Reading 57
2.3.1 Reading process and models 58
2.3.1.(a) Capacity constrained reader (CC Reader)
Model
2.3.1.(b) Interactive compensatory model
2.3.1.(c) Verbal efficiency model
2.3.1.(d) Compensatory-encoding model
2.3.1.(e) Psycholinguistic guessing game
59
60
60
61
62
2.3.2 Factors that influence second language (L2) reading 62
2.3.2.(a) The readers 63
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2.3.2.(a)(i) Gender of the readers 66
2.3.2.(b) The text 67
2.3.2.(b)(i) Text difficulty and readability level 68
2.3.2.(c) The context 72
2.3.3 Relevant studies on reading 74
2.4 Conceptual framework of the study 79
2.4.1 The transactional theory of stress 79
2.4.1.(a) The stressor 80
2.4.1.(a)(i) Text difficulty
2.4.1.(a)(ii) Time on task
82
83
2.4.1.(b) The appraisal 83
2.4.1.(b)(i) The personality traits
2.4.1.(b)(ii) Gender factor
2.4.1.(b)(iii) Fields of study
84
85
86
2.4.1.(c) Response, coping strategies and performance 86
2.5 Conclusion 89
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Subjects of the study
91
91
3.1.1 The population of the study
3.1.2 The participants
93
94
3.2 Research design
3.3 Pilot testing
97
101
3.3.1 Reliability of the instrument
3.3.2 Validity of the instrument
102
103
3.4 Instrumentation 105
3.4.1 Proficiency test
3.4.2 Reading comprehension tests (The stress tests)
3.4.3 Personality test
3.4.4 Participants‟ reflective journal
105
110
117
119
3.5 Procedures of the study 119
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3.5.1 Pretesting
3.5.2 The interventions
120
121
3.6 Analysis of data 121
3.6.1 Identifying high-performing ESL readers 122
3.6.1.(a) Frequency score
3.6.1.(b) Mean
3.6.1.(c) Standard deviation
122
123
123
3.6.2 Influence of loading cognitive stress 123
3.6.2.(a) Pearson correlation
3.6.2.(b) Fundamental arithmetic
3.6.2.(c) Analysis of variance
3.6.2.(d) Eta coefficients
124
124
125
127
3.6.3 The strategies 127
3.6.3.(a) Analysing and coding of the strategies 127
3.6.3.(a)(i) Frequency counts
3.6.3.(a)(ii) Percentage
3.6.3.(a)(iii) Mean
3.6.3.(a)(iv) Pearson correlation
130
130
130
130
3.7 Conclusion 131
CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Identifying high-performing ESL readers
136
136
4.1.1 Features of the high-performing ESL readers
4.1.2 The personality traits of the high-performing ESL
readers
4.1.3 Overall findings
137
141
142
4.2 The influence of loading cognitive stress 143
4.2.1 Internal consistencies of the performance
4.2.2 The effects of stress on the performance of the high-
performing ESL readers
143
144
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4.2.2.(a) The effects of stress on the performance of the
high-performing ESL readers: A descriptive analysis
144
4.2.2.(a)(i) The threshold level 150
4.2.2.(b) The effects of stress on the performance of the
high-performing ESL readers: An inferential analysis
151
4.2.2.(b)(i) The threshold level 155
4.2.2.(c) Relationship between gender and stress
4.2.2.(d) Relationship between fields of study and stress
4.2.2.(e) Relationship between personality traits and stress
157
158
159
4.2.3 Overall findings 161
4.3 The high-performing ESL readers‟ strategies 162
4.3.1 The reading strategies
4.3.2 The coping strategies
162
168
4.3.2.(a) The threshold level 175
4.3.3 Coping strategies and performance 177
4.3.4 Overall findings 179
4.4 Conclusion 181
CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION
5.0 Introduction
5.1 Discussions of the findings
182
182
5.1.1 Identifying high-performing ESL readers
5.1.2 Influence of loading cognitive stress
5.1.3 High-performing ESL readers‟ strategies
183
186
190
5.2 Implications 193
5.2.1 Implications to the policymakers
5.2.2 Implications to language teachers
194
195
5.3 Recommendations for further research
5.4 Conclusion
197
198
REFERENCE 202
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APPENDICES
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Appendix D
Appendix E
Appendix F
Appendix G
Appendix H
Appendix I
Appendix J
Appendix K
Appendix L
The research schedule
Flesch reading ease score and Flesch Kincaid
readability grade level
Reading proficiency test and answer keys
Demographic information and personality trait test
Reading comprehension tests (stress tests) and
answer keys
Reflective journal questionnaire
Text difficulty measures of 2010 MUET reading tests
Difficulty measures of stress tests
Sample of high-performing ESL readers‟ reflective
journal
List of participants
List of fields of study in Universiti
Teknologi Mara Perlis
Permission to use the subjects of the study
228
230
233
250
257
315
318
332
351
356
358
360
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1
Table 3.1
Table 3.2
Table 3.3
Table 3.4
Table 3.5
Table 3.6
Table 3.7
Table 3.8
Table 3.9
Table 3.10
Table 3.11
Table 3.12
Table 3.13
Table 3.14
Table 3.15
Table 3.16
Table 3.17
Table 4.1
Descriptions of readability formulas and test items
Gender distribution of the population
The distribution of the population based on the field of study
The distribution of the population‟s score in the reading
proficiency test
Factorial design of the study
The number of students involved in pilot testing
Reliability measures of the instruments
The construct validity of the reading passages used in the
comprehension tests
Comparison of description of MUET reading component and
Universiti Teknologi Mara Intermediate English course for
diploma students
Comparison of the reading skills tested in MUET reading
component and Intermediate English Course
General descriptions of the test used in reading
comprehension tests
Analysis of text difficulty for Mid-year, Year-end and the
combined difficulty for 2010 MUET reading tests
Description of difficulty levels of the texts used in the reading
comprehension tests
The descriptions of the test batteries
The stress variables and the subscales of the stress variables
Reading strategies and examples of the activities as according
to Mokhtari and Sheorey (2002)
The coping strategies, examples of general coping activities
and cited coping activities of the high-performing ESL readers
Research matrix
Gender distribution of the selected high-performing ESL
readers and the mean score of the reading proficiency test
71
93
94
95
100
101
103
104
107
109
112
113
114
116
116
128
129
132
137
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Table 4.2
Table 4.3
Table 4.4
Table 4.5
Table 4.6
Table 4.7
Table 4.8
Table 4.9
Table 4.10
Table 4.11
Table 4.12
Table 4.13
Table 4.14
Table 4.15
Table 4.16
Table 4.17
Table 4.18
Table 4.19
Table 4.20
Eta association between gender and reading proficiency
Distribution of the high-performing ESL readers based on the
fields of study
Eta association between field of study as independent variable
and reading proficiency as dependent variable
The performance of the high-performing ESL readers (HPR)
in the proficiency test based on the field of study and gender
Eta association between reading proficiency as dependent
variable and personality traits as independent variable
Correlations of the stress tests and the proficiency score
Descriptive statistics of the nine stress tests
Descriptive statistics of the performance based on the stress
factors
The variations and the degree of the differences between
stress factors
Validating the repeated measure analysis of variance using the
Mauchly‟s test of sphericity
Test of within-subjects effect on text difficulty, time on task
and interaction between text difficulty and time on task using
Huynd-Feldt Epsilon
The mean scores of high-performing ESL readers‟
performance for the three levels of text difficulty
The mean scores of the high-performing ESL readers‟
performance for time on task
Pair wise comparison of text difficulty using Bonferroni test
on text difficulty levels
Pairwise comparison of time on task using Bonferroni test
Associations between stress factors and gender
Associations between stress factors and field of study
Relationships between scores against stress factors and
personality traits
The reading activities and reading strategies used with the
stress factors
137
138
139
140
141
143
145
147
149
152
153
154
154
156
157
158
159
160
163
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Table 4.21
Table 4.22
Table 4.23
Table 4.24
Table 4.25
Table 4.26
The reading strategies employed with the stress factors
Coping activities and coping strategies used in percentage
Coping strategies of the high-performing ESL readers
The relationships between the comprehension scores (stress
scores) and the number of coping strategies
The relationships between the comprehension scores (stress
scores) and the coping strategies
The mean scores of the high-performing ESL readers in the
comprehension (stress) tests based on the coping strategies
164
169
170
177
178
179
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.1
Figure 2.2
Figure 2.3
Figure 2.4
Figure 2.5
Figure 2.6
Figure 2.7
Figure 2.8
Figure 2.9
Figure 2.10
Figure 2.11
Figure 2.12
Figure 2.13
Figure 2.14
Figure 2.15
Figure 2.16
Figure 3.1
Figure 3.2
Figure 3.3
Figure 4.1
Figure 4.2
Figure 4.3
Figure 4.4
Flavell‟s model of metacognitive components (Garner, 1988)
Cognitive load theory (Moreno & park, 2010,p.18)
Early stress theory
Lazarus (1999) revised model of stress
Lazarus & Folkman‟s (1984) transactional theory of stress
Monroe and Kelley‟s (1997) version of Transactional model
Maximal Adaptability Model (Hancock & Szalma, 2008, p.8)
Hockey‟s (1997, p.79) compensatory control model
The transactional theory of stress (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984)
Capacity Constrained Reader Model (Just & Carpenter,
1992)
Components of the stressors in the study
The appraisal system
The influence of the five factor model on the appraisal
system
The interaction between the coping strategies and the
appraisal system
Nuttal‟s (1996) Virtuous cycle of good reader
Visual Representation of the Conceptual Framework of the
study
The distribution of the participants‟ performance in the
proficiency test
Path of the study
Process used in developing the reading comprehension tests
The mean scores of the high-performing ESL readers in the
nine stress tests
The mean scores of the high-performing ESL readers‟
performance over the six stress factors
Box-plot on the variations between stress factors
The proportion of high-performing ESL readers and the
number of reading strategies used in the stress factors
19
27
30
32
36
36
38
41
80
81
82
84
85
87
88
89
96
98
111
146
148
151
167
xiv
Figure 4.5
Figure 4.6
Figure 4.7
The proportion of high-performing ESL readers and the
number of coping strategies used at different stress factors
The proportion of the high-performing ESL readers with no-
stated strategy by stress tests
The proportion of the high-performing ESL readers with no-
stated strategy by stress factors
174
175
177
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
APB
AC110
AC120
ANOVA
AP120
AP121
AP122
AS113
AS115
AS120
AT110
BM111
BM112
BM114
CC Reader Model
CS110
CS113
D1
D2
D3
DF
EAP
Akademi Pengajian Bahasa (Academy of Language Studies)
Diploma in Accountancy
Diploma in Accounting Information System
Analysis of variance
Diploma in Geomatic Science
Diploma in Geomatic Science (Geographical Information
System)
Diploma in Geomatic Science (Natural Resources)
Diploma in Polymer Technology
Diploma in Industrial Chemistry
Diploma in Science
Diploma in Planting Industry Management
Diploma in Business Studies
Diploma in Banking
Diploma in Investment Analysis
Capacity Constrained Reader Model
Diploma in Computer Science
Diploma in Quantitative Science
Text difficulty level1
Text difficulty level 2
Text difficulty level 3
Degree of freedom
English for academic purposes
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EFL
ESL
Glob
HPR
IPIP
KR20
L2
MCQ
MOE
MS-Word
MUET
Prob
Sig
SMOG
Sup
SR113
Std Error
T1
T2
T3
Ti
Tii
Tiii
Tiv
Tv
English as a foreign language
English as second language
Global reading strategy
High-performing ESL readers
International Personality Item Pool
Kuder-Richardson Formula 20
Second Language
Multiple choice questions
Ministry of Education
Microsoft word
Malaysian University English Test
Problem-solving reading strategy
Significant
Simple measure of Gobbledygook
Support reading strategy
Diploma in Sport Studies
Standard error
Time on Task Level 1
Time on Task Level 2
Time on Task Level 3
Stress test 1
Stress test 2
Stress test 3
Stress test 4
Stress test 5
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Tvi
Tvii
Tviii
Tix
TOEFL
TOEFL ® iBT
UiTM
UiTM Perlis
Stress test 6
Stress test 7
Stress test 8
Stress test 9
Test of English as a foreign language
Test of English as a foreign language internet based test
Universiti Teknlogi Mara
Universiti Teknologi Mara Perlis Campus
xviii
LIST OF PUBLICATION
1. Mohamad Fadhili Yahaya, Abdul Rashid Mohamed & Syaik Abdul Malik
Mohamed Ismail (2012). The relationship between personality traits and
reading proficiency. Behavioral, Cognitive & Psychological Sciences III, 53,
36-40.
2. Mohamad Fadhili Yahaya, Abdul Rashid Mohamed, Syaik Abdul Malik
Mohamed Ismail & Yusof Ede Petras. (2014). Moving beyond the stress
threshold: The coping strategies of high-performing ESL readers. Paper
presented at the 3rd
International Conference on Leadership & Learning in the
Asian Century (ELLTA 2014). 17-19 November 2014.
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RESPONS PEMBACA ESL BERPRESTASI TINGGI TERHADAP BEBAN
TEKANAN KOGNITIF DALAM PRESTASI PEMAHAMAN BACAAN
ABSTRAK
Tujuan utama kajian tentang respons pembaca Bahasa Inggeris sebagai bahasa kedua
(ESL) yang berprestasi tinggi terhadap beban tekanan kognitif dalam prestasi
pemahaman bacaan adalah bagi mengetahui tahap sebenar pembaca yang baik.
Kajian ini berasaskan teori transaksi tekanan Lazarus dan Folkman. Oleh itu, kajian
ini memberi tumpuan kepada mengenalpasti pembaca ESL berprestasi tinggi,
menyelidik kesan tekanan kognitif masa untuk bacaan dan kesukaran teks, serta
menghuraikan strategi yang digunakan. Memandangkan subjek utama kajian adalah
pembaca ESL berprestasi tinggi, kajian ini bermula dengan mengenalpasti pembaca
ESL berprestasi tinggi dari satu populasi tertentu (pelajar diploma semester ketiga
Universiti Teknologi Mara Perlis) berdasarkan pencapaian dalam satu ujian
kebolehan membaca. Mereka juga diminta untuk memberi respons ke atas soalselidik
ujian personaliti. Mereka yang berada pada aras 5% ke atas dari segi kebolehan
membaca atau bersamaan 57 orang peserta telah dikenalpasti sebagai pembaca ESL
berprestasi tinggi (HPR). Mereka dikehendaki menjalani sembilan ujian tekanan
secara berasingan. Mereka juga diperlukan untuk membuat catatan refleksi tentang
bagaimana mereka menghadapi ujian tekanan tersebut. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan
HPR boleh dikenalpasti berdasarkan bidang pengajian mereka dan ciri personaliti
yang positif. Kajian ini juga menunjukkan pencapaian pembaca ESL berprestasi
tinggi mengalami kesan negatif hasil daripada kedua-dua faktor tekanan namun
faktor tekanan kesukaran teks memberi kesan tekanan yang lebih berbanding faktor
tekanan masa untuk bacaan. Tambahan lagi, tahap ambang toleransi terhadap
tekanan hanya boleh dikenalpasti pada faktor tekanan kesukaran teks dan bukannya
pada faktor tekanan masa untuk bacaan. Walaupun prestasi mereka pada umumnya
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merosot apabila tekanan ditambah, mereka telah didapati menggunakan pelbagai
strategi membaca dan strategi menangani tekanan. Strategi-strategi tersebut tidak
menghentikan kemerosotan prestasi tetapi penggunan strategi-strategi tersebut
menampakkan ciri pembaca yang baik. Dapatan kajian ini amat berguna bagi guru
dalam membantu meningkatkan prestasi bacaan pelajar mereka dan sebagai panduan
kepada pembaca ESL berprestasi rendah dalam pengunaan strategi dalam menangani
tekanan dalam bacaan.
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HIGH-PERFORMING ESL READERS’ RESPONSE TO LOADING
COGNITIVE STRESS IN READING COMPREHENSION PERFORMANCE
ABSTRACT
This study on high-performing ESL readers‟ response to loading cognitive stress in
reading comprehension performance was developed on the basis of Lazarus and
Folkman‟s transactional theory of stress, mainly to know how good, good readers
are. In doing so, the study focused on identifying high-performing ESL readers,
investigating the influence of loading cognitive stress of time-on-task and text
difficulty, and describing the strategies employed. Since the subject of this study was
on high-performing ESL readers, the study began with identifying the high-
performing readers from a specific population (third semester diploma students of
Universiti Teknologi Mara Perlis) based on the performance in a reading proficiency
test. Aside from the test, these students were also asked to respond to a personality
test questionnaire. The top 5% of the population, i.e. 57 participants were then
identified as high-performing ESL readers (HPR). They were made to sit for nine
separate stress tests. These HPRs were asked to provide reflective journal entries on
how they deal with the stress tests. The study found that the fields of study and the
personality traits are good predictors of HPRs. Subsequently, the study found that the
performance of the HPRs was negatively affected by both stress factors, but the
stress factor of text difficulty was found to be the more strenuous. Furthermore, the
threshold of the stress tolerance can be traced to text difficulty stress factor but not
the time on task. Although the performance of the HPRs generally dropped as the
stressors were intensified, they were found to be using a number of reading and
coping strategies. The strategy used by the HPRs did not arrest the dropping
performance but in itself showed these readers have good reader traits. The
xxii
information obtained from this study should be useful in assisting teachers in
improving the reading performance of their students and also to guide the low-
performing ESL readers to use specific strategies to cope with the reading stressors.
1
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This first chapter previews what could be expected in the next few chapters.
Hence, the first chapter presents the problems that led to the study, objectives of the
study, research questions, rationale for the study, significance of the study,
limitations of the study and the definitions of terms used throughout the study.
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Among the four language skills, reading is deemed to be the most important
skill of a language especially to English as Second Language (ESL) readers (Grabe,
2009). As a person begins to read, he may be exposed to different structures of the
language, diverse usage of the words as well as distinct grammatical styles. With
some proper exposures of these elements, reading can help to improve a person‟s
language.
Most linguists generally agree that reading can be defined in terms of the
processes involved (Downing, 1982; Grabe, 2009; Hyde & Bizar, 1989; Smith, 1982;
Wallace, 1992). Hence, some would conclude that reading occurs when a reader tries
to make sense of the text that is by interpreting and assigning meaning to the written
code of the writers.
A person‟s ability to interpret and assign meaning of the written code in a
written text, like learning, varies from one person to another. Researchers have found
that despite reading the same materials, not all readers would be able to extract the
2
same amount of information or in the same manner (Danhua, 2009; Guthrie et al.,
2004; Horiba, 1996; Johnson, 2007). The variations in their reading processes can be
attributed to, among others, their language proficiency, the difficulty of the texts as
well as the time on task (Kotani, Yoshimi & Isahara, 2010; Yamashita & Icikawa,
2010).
Readers who have strong control of the language will feel at ease in reading
compared to those who are not. They are able to read “smoothly, without hesitation
and with comprehension” (Harris & Hodges, 1995, p.85). This will enable them to
read fast. Nevertheless, there would be occasions when these readers might
experience some difficulties or stress with the text. These readers should view the
difficulty or stress as a challenge rather than a threat (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984).
Such attitude would enable readers to devise suitable strategies to enable them to
read fast and with better comprehension. This is consistent with Nuttal‟s (1996)
virtuous circle of good readers. Good readers are supposed to understand what they
read better leading them to enjoy their reading. Because of the joy that they
experience, they are expected to spend less time in reading texts which eventually
encourages them to read more texts. For that reason, good readers are likely to obtain
higher grades in any reading proficiency test. As a result of this, this group of readers
can be classified as high-performing ESL readers because of their ability to achieve
high grades in reading proficiency tests. Reading should proceed smoothly among
these supposedly high-performing ESL readers. They are supposed to have acquired
strong foundation of the target language and should also have gained control of the
skills needed to enable them to easily and almost perfectly complete any reading
comprehension task given to them.
3
In the context of stress in reading, high-performing ESL readers are expected
to appraise and respond positively to any form of stress of reading. Studies have
found that time on task and text difficulty, as stress factors of reading, may influence
the appraisal and the response of the readers (Beatty & Care, 2009; Benjamin &
Schwanenflugel, 2010; Pichette, 2005; Scott, 2009; Towse, Cowan, Horton &
Whytock, 2008; Treptow, Burns & Mc Comas, 2007; Zeschel, 2008). If more time is
given for the task, readers may appraise the texts positively and develop proper
coping strategies for the task. Otherwise, they may not have enough time to devise
proper strategies. Similarly, if the difficulty level of the texts is low, readers can
quickly make sense of the text. However, if the level is high, readers may not have
the ability to cope with such difficulty. The levels of stress depend on the individual
abilities of the person which can be reflected in the appraisal and the response of the
individuals to stress (Roth & Cohen, 1986).
1.2 THE STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
High-performing ESL readers are supposed to be good in reading. How good
they are was the overall concern of this study. In accordance to the virtuous circle of
good readers, good readers are supposed to read fast, read more, understand better
and enjoy reading more than the less proficient readers (Nuttall, 1996). Nevertheless,
this might not always be the case. The high-performing ESL readers could reach a
threshold level where they might not be able to continue the momentum of the good
readers as they would be forced to read slowly and understand little. On this
occasion, the performance of the good readers would begin to display some form of
regression. At what point their performance began to regress was not known.
4
On the other hand, it is assumed that each and every reader would want to
become high-performing ESL readers as they would want to read with better
understanding just like the good readers. In fact, there are some readers who would
claim themselves to be in the group but they are actually not. They are just ordinary
readers who would prefer to be associated as good readers. Studies have found that
learners tend to overestimate their ability unless their actual proficiency is revealed
(Sandman-Hurley, 2010). Therefore, relying on the readers‟ claim of their reading
proficiency level would not be adequate to categorise them as high or low
performing readers. Instead a more systematic and reliable proficiency test is
required.
Despite the classification of the readers as being good, average and poor,
different individuals would appraise and respond to stress factors differently. As a
result, it would be difficult to accurately pre-determine how the readers would
respond to a stress factor (de Janasz & Behson, 2007; Goff & Smith, 2005). The
expectation would definitely be that these high-performing ESL readers would
respond positively to stress, (as suggested in Nuttal‟s (1996) virtuous cycle of
reading). Nevertheless, theoretically, the more stress is loaded, the more negative the
response would be but whether this would also be applied to the high-performing
ESL readers was not known. On that account, how far the cognitive stress factors of
time and text difficulty influenced the reading comprehension performance of high-
performing ESL readers was also not certain.
Aside from that, high-performing ESL readers are supposed to be good in
coping with stress in reading. They are expected to be able to formulate suitable
strategies to not just successfully manage stress but also to enable them to read text
with better understanding (Nuttal, 1996). These high-performing ESL readers might
5
have used different but successful coping strategies which other readers might not be
aware of (Brozo, 1990; Vik & Fellenius, 2007). Such strategies can be useful to the
other readers if they are described.
1.3 AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The aim of the study is to determine how good, good readers are.
Specifically, the objectives of the study are:
i. To identify high-performing ESL readers from a population of third semester
diploma students using a reading proficiency test
ii. To investigate the influence of loading cognitive stress of time on task and
text difficulty on reading comprehension performance of high-performing
ESL readers of third semester diploma students
iii. To describe the strategies employed by the high-performing ESL readers
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
i. Who are the high-performing ESL readers?
a. What are the features of the high-performing ESL readers?
b. What are the personality traits of the high-performing ESL readers?
ii. What is the influence of loading cognitive stress on reading comprehension
performance?
a. To what extent is the performance of the participants against stress
consistent with the proficiency of the participants?
b. What are the effects of the stress factors of time and text difficulty on
reading comprehension performance?
6
c. What is the threshold level of the high-performing ESL readers based
on the performance against stress?
d. What is the relationship between gender and stressed performance?
e. What is the relationship between fields of study and stressed
performance?
f. What is the relationship between personality traits and stressed
performance?
iii. What are the strategies used by high-performing ESL readers?
a. What are the reading strategies used by the high-performing ESL
readers?
b. What are the coping strategies used by the high-performing ESL
readers?
c. What is the threshold level of the high-performing ESL readers based
on the number of coping strategies?
d. What is the association between coping strategies and performance?
1.5 RATIONALE OF THE STUDY
First of all, the purpose of identifying high-performing ESL readers using a
proficiency test rather than relying on the readers‟ claims of their status was to
enable the researcher to obtain accurate, objective and reliable results of the readers‟
proficiency level. Their claim is made based on what they perceive to have. A claim
that is made without proof of their actual proficiency is not reliable enough as some
participants may be too modest to admit their high proficiency while some may even
be too proud to confess their low proficiency. Therefore, in order to identify the
readers‟ proficiency, relying on the readers‟ claims or perception may not be
7
adequate. Studies have found there was only some weak relationship between
readers‟ perceived proficiency and the actual reading proficiency (Alverman & Van
Arnam, 1984; Choi, 2006). This showed that the readers‟ claim or perception was not
reliable enough. Therefore, proper testing of reading proficiency was essential in
order to classify high-performing ESL readers.
Secondly, the study investigated the influence of loading cognitive stress
factors of time on task and text difficulty. This enabled the researcher to investigate
how the readers responded to stress. Good readers are expected to have the tendency
to read faster, read more, understand and enjoy their reading better than the less
proficient readers while the less proficient readers read less, understand less, read
slower and enjoy their reading less than the more proficient readers (Nuttal, 1996).
An increase in the stress factors of time on task and text difficulty should not hinder
the high-performing ESL readers‟ comprehension of the text. Instead the increase
should be a challenge to these readers to further improve their reading (Lazarus &
Folkman, 1984). How far this can be expected from the readers was the concern of
this study. Hence, the study ascertained how good these high-performing ESL
readers were by investigating the influence of loading cognitive stress on reading
comprehension performance of high-performing ESL readers.
Thirdly, in order to know how good the high-performing ESL readers are, the
threshold levels of the high-performing ESL readers in terms of their stress tolerance
have to be identified. The study could identify the threshold, i.e., the point in which
the loading of the stress was too much for the readers based on the participants‟
inability to cope with the stress. On the other hand, the ability to resist stress in all
the nine tests reflected how good the high-performing ESL readers were.
8
Furthermore, it is a false notion when everything should suit the person‟s
pace and abilities. Though this should be the ideal situation, in most occasions, to
work fast and to work on more difficult task is the common expectations. In other
words, the stresses that may or may not have been intentional have to be embraced
and coped. It was expected that high-performing ESL readers would be able to cope
stress in reading. If they failed in their attempt to cope with the stress, then perhaps
they might simply be not good enough despite being classified as high-performing
ESL readers or they might have reached their threshold level in terms of stress
tolerance. Such performances also indicated their limitations. For that reason, it was
important to know how good these high-performing ESL readers were. This could be
done by identifying the influence of loading cognitive stress on the comprehension
performance of high-performing ESL readers. Such information would be useful to
further improve the high-performing ESL readers.
Finally, the study was also meant to describe the coping strategies of the
high-performing ESL readers. Being high-performing ESL readers, they were
expected to devise workable and successful coping strategies to enable them to read
the text faster and with better comprehension (Nuttall, 1996). Despite being high-
performing ESL readers, some of them might not be able to produce workable and
successful coping strategies as expected from them. Hence, by describing the coping
strategies used by the high-performing ESL readers, the researcher could present the
successful strategies, as well as the failed strategies from those who were not able to
cope with the loading of cognitive stress. This could be useful to other readers who
would experience text with loaded stress.
9
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The study was built on the foundation of bridging the knowledge gap that
existed in the study of stress and the teaching of reading.
Firstly, it was essential that the influence of time on task and text difficulty
were investigated. Studies have discovered that those elements contributed to the
success of reading performance (Alvermen & Van Arnam, 1984; Benjamin &
Schwannenflugel, 2010; Donne, 2011; Hiebert & Fisher, 2007; O‟Connor, Bell,
Harty, Kappel & Sackor, 2000). Nevertheless, not one of the studies has investigated
on the influence of time on task and text difficulty on high proficient readers. This
has led to the need to investigate the effects of the factors on high-performing ESL
readers. Furthermore, most researches were found to focus on only one of the
variables either time on task or text difficulty. In fact, only Veenman and Beishuizen
(2004) identified text difficulty and time constraint as the moderating variables.
However, their study focused on novice readers rather than good readers. Moreover,
the extent of the effects on the performance of the readers between the two variables
was also not determined. This led to the research gap of the two stress variables.
Secondly, focusing the study on high-performing ESL readers was important
as research on reading have given more attention on struggling readers or readers
with reading difficulties rather than readers who could perform well (Aini Akmar,
2008; Edmonds et al., 2009; Hall, 2009; Norazlina Ros, 2009; Steinbrink & Klatte,
2008; Subbiah & Singh, 2004). Furthermore, studies of reading in Malaysia also
focused on low-performing readers instead of the high-performing ESL readers (Aini
Akmar, 2008; Subbiah & Singh, 2004). On that note, the study would thrive for
discoveries in the teaching of reading as well as the concept of stress in reading
among high performing ESL readers. Griffith (2008) feels that a study on good
10
learners can also benefit other learners as they can be used as models on how to
become good learners. For that reason, the study on high-performing ESL readers
was very significant.
Thirdly, according to the virtuous circle of good readers, good readers are
supposed to read the text faster, understand better, read more and enjoy their reading
better than the less proficient readers (Nuttall, 1996). Consequently, it was expected
that good readers would be able to overcome any form of cognitive stress in reading.
Nevertheless, it was also expected that by being human, the high-performing ESL
readers‟ performance in reading would not continuously be high. There would be a
certain threshold level in which the high-performing ESL readers could fail to
portray their true potential that would force them to exhibit a weakened reading
performance. Due to this, it would be significant to note whether the threshold level
of readers‟ performance could be detected from the stressors. Currently, no study on
good readers was found to identify this threshold level.
Fourthly, from time to time, a person may experience some levels of stress.
The person may be forced to face and cope with stress. Due to this, the question that
most would ask is not on what type of stress but on how to deal or cope with stress.
What strategies would the high-performing ESL readers prefer to use was the gap
that this study intended to fill. Currently, very few studies look into the coping
strategies of highly proficient students (Mofield, 2008). There has been no study
found to look at the coping strategies of high-performing ESL readers in Malaysia.
This has made the study to be very significant.
Finally, there has been a lot of research done on stress. However most of
these studies in Malaysia focus on work and occupational related stress (Abdin,
2008; Azizi, Noordin, Kamariah, Jasmi & Saani, 2009; Md Ali, 1992; Mahmood
11
Nazar, & Sabitha, 1999; Thi & Lim, 2003;). There were very few studies on
cognitive stress. There were even fewer studies on the influence of cognitive stress
on reading. The existing research in Malaysia on time constraint as an element of
cognitive stress as considered in this study was in the context of essay writing
performance (Chan, 2007). However, Chan (2007) did not consider the time
constraint as an element of cognitive stress. Due to the lack of research on the
influence of cognitive stress on reading, this study was designed to bridge this
knowledge gap of reading and cognitive stress.
1.7 LIMITATIONS AND DELIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
This study was not without its limitations. Nevertheless, these limitations
would not undermine the significance of the study. Among the limitations identified
were the scope of the study, the participants involved in this study and the
unavailability of specific instruments.
First, in terms of the scope of the study, the study focused only on cognitive
stress and how it influenced reading comprehension. Since stress is a general
concept, to identify all the stresses involved when a person undertook an activity
would be too exhaustive. Consequently, it might also be highly impractical due to the
limitation of the resources as well as the ability to attend to the entire task. Hence, in
ensuring that the research was manageable, this study only focused on cognitive
stress. Moreover, since reading involved some cognitive processing, cognitive stress
instead of other types of stress would be the most appropriate.
Secondly, the study was also limited to just the influence of cognitive stress
factors of time on task and text difficulty on reading comprehension. However, the
factors influencing reading comprehension are not limited to just the two stress
12
factors. Other factors like readers‟ background knowledge, reading styles, reading
strategies, intelligence, the text as well as the environment might also contribute to
reading comprehension. However, it would be impossible for any one study to
address on all the factors at one time. Therefore, in order to manage the study better,
confining this study on the influence of the two cognitive stress factors on reading
comprehension was appropriate.
Third, one of the independent variables of this study was text difficulty. In
this study, the term text difficulty only referred to the structural difficulty of the texts
rather than content difficulty of the texts. Though content difficulty is also part of
text difficulty, the measure of content difficulty would be very difficult as it would
involve both content and cultural schemata (Kreishen & Saidat, 2011). Aside from
content difficulty, organizational difficulty may also be an issue. Text genre was
found to also influence comprehension (Cervetti, Bravo, Heibert, Pearson & Jaynes,
2009). Text genre would also be traced in the participants‟ schema which would also
be difficult to monitor (Pardo, 2004). Since the other factors of text difficulty involve
the roles of the schema (Pardo, 2004), these factors would not be the criteria as they
are difficult to be monitored. For these reasons, structural difficulty was the better
option.
Fourth, the study also concentrated only on seemingly high-performing ESL
readers as it was not meant to study other groups of readers. Generally, we can
categorise readers into three categories: the low, the intermediate and the high-
performing readers. A close-up was made only on the high-performing ESL readers
ignoring the other two categories of readers. Only high-performing ESL readers
would be most able to cope with the stress at the highest levels. If the study found
that they could not cope, it was only obvious that the less proficient readers would
13
also not be able to cope. This was because the reading tests were structured in a way
that the stress levels for each reading test was gradually increased. This was achieved
by making the text to be gradually more difficult and the time on task to be gradually
reduced. Thus, if high-performing ESL readers were not able to perform well, the
less proficient readers would also not be performing well.
Lastly, unlike physical stress, the measure of cognitive stress was without
specific tools or instrument. In measuring physical stress, a number of specific and
reliable tools could be used to measure different forms of physical stress including
the blood pressure, the heartbeat, the pulse and the temperature. Cognitive stress,
however, was without such types of tools. Instead in determining whether the reader
was experiencing cognitive stress, the researcher had to rely on reported feedback of
the participants which was rather subjective. This was a challenge for the researcher
as he had to produce a more valid and reliable test instrument to measure the
influence of cognitive stress on reading comprehension performance.
1.8 OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS
Activity
Activity refers to work that is done to achieve certain objective (Cambridge Advance
Learner‟s Dictionary, 2005). Hence, a reading activity refers to the work that is done
while reading whereas a coping activity refers to the work that is done while coping
with the stress.
Cognitive stress
Cognitive stress refers to the relationships between the environment or stress factor
and a person‟s cognition when he or she cognitively appraises the environment and
employs coping strategies to deal with the change in the environment.
14
Feature
Feature refers to part of something that is considered significant and interesting
(Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, 2005). In this study, they refer
specifically to gender and fields of study.
High-performing ESL readers
In this study, high-performing ESL readers refer to readers who may be able to
respond to most if not all of the comprehension questions correctly. These types of
readers may attain the highest score in reading tests. They are also classified as good
or excellent readers as they are expected to read fast, read more, understand and
enjoy their reading better (Nuttal, 1996). For the purpose of this study, high-
performing ESL readers refer to the top rank readers based on the reading score that
they obtained from the reading proficiency test.
Strategy
According to Oxford Advanced Learner Dictionary (2010), strategy refers to a plan
of doing something so that the objectives would be achieved. Therefore, reading
strategies are the plan used to read and understand the texts prior to identifying the
stressful elements of the texts. These reading strategies include global reading
strategy, problem-solving reading strategy and support reading strategy (Mokhtari &
Sheorey, 2002). Meanwhile, the coping strategy refers to the plan or approach to
cope with the increase of the stress. This would include confrontive, socisl support,
self-control, distancing, accepting responsibility, escape-avoidance, problem-solving
and positive reappraisal (Folkman & Lazarus, 1988).
Stress
Psychologically, stress, refers to the relationships between the environment or
situation in which the person appraise and the available coping resources (Lazarus &
15
Folkman, 1984). The person will assess the environment to ascertain the significance
of the situation to him. Then, the available coping resources are studied. If the
problem exceeds the available coping resources, the person experiences stress.
Nevertheless, the study extended the definition of stress to both what could or could
not be overcome.
Text difficulty
Text difficulty refers to the difficulty level of the text. Such difficulty level depends
to a certain extent on the language used in the text which includes the structure, the
familiarity of the words and the length of the sentence (Ward, 2008). In the context
of this study, text difficulty was defined within the scope of structural difficulty.
Hence, in measuring the difficulty level of the texts used in the study, the study used
the word count, the percentage of passive sentences, Flesch Reading Ease score and
Flesch-Kincaid Readability Grade.
Time on task
Time on task is the amount of time spent to complete a reading task. How fast a
reader can work on a reading task is different from one person to another. Good
readers have the tendency to spend less time on a text but with better comprehension
level than the less proficient readers (Nuttall, 1996).
1.9 CONCLUSION
This chapter has established an overview of the study on high-performing
ESL readers‟ response to loading cognitive stress in reading comprehension
performance. It has achieved this feat by providing some background information
and the platform for the issues on cognitive. The chapter has presented the problems,
the objectives, the research questions, the rationale, the significance, the limitation
16
and the definition of terms of the study. With these deliberations, the foundations for
the study are established. The subsequent chapter which discusses the theoretical
issues would further stress not only on the problems but also the significance as well
as the relevancies of the study.
17
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.0 INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this chapter is to concentrate on the existing theories and
research conducted which would be relevant to the study. This would further
reinforce the objectives, the rationale and the significance of the study. For these
reasons, the chapter addresses and discusses three main areas of interest relevant to
the study namely: cognition, stress and reading. The chapter ends by synthesizing the
theories and relevant previous research in the form of the conceptual framework of
the study.
2.1 COGNITION
As a lot of mental processes are involved in reading, a study on reading has to
also discuss the cognition or the mental processes (Garner, 1988; Jefferson et al.,
2011). On that note, the discussion on cognition in relation to reading comprehension
and stress should begin with the cognitive constructs.
2.1.1 THE COGNITIVE CONSTRUCTS
As cognition is a very complex element, the constructs that make up the
cognition is also complex. Among the cognitive constructs relevant to this study
include metacognition, prior knowledge and working memory.
18
2.1.1.(a) METACOGNITION
According to Flavell (1976), metacognition is an active ongoing monitoring
of the cognitive process. When the individuals are aware of the cognitive process,
metacognition is actually doing its work. On that note, Larkin (2010) classifies
metacognition as higher thinking order in which the individuals become aware of
what they are doing when the strategies are devised. For this to happen, Flavell
(1981) believes that all the components of metacognition have to be at work. These
components involve the cognitive goals, metacognitive knowledge, metacognitive
experience as well the cognitive strategies employed. These components, despite
their different names, are somewhat connected to one another as they complement
each other.
The cognitive goal determines the outcome that is expected from the
metacognitive process (Garner, 1988; Vrugt & Oort, 2008). This cognitive goal
provides a preliminary input on the metacognitive knowledge that should be
retrieved. The individuals will search within their memory for such knowledge. Once
it is found, the metacognitive knowledge will access the information which may
involve the subject matter, the task as well as the strategies to be employed. The
information will be confirmed by the metacognitive experience of the individuals.
They may, in the past, have encountered something similar to what they experience.
Hence, by going through the metacognitive experience, cognitive strategies to
undertake the task can be proposed.
However, as these metacognitive processes are interrelated, each of the
components can dictate each other (Flavell, 1981). The cognitive goal can determine
straight away the strategy to be employed without first referring to the metacognitive
knowledge and metacognitive experience. Similarly, metacognitive knowledge can
19
prompt the strategy to be used without the “consultation” with the experience he has.
(See Figure 2.1 below for illustrations).
Figure 2.1 Flavell‟s model of metacognitive components (Garner, 1988)
Studies have found that metacognition stimulates self-regulation, individual
awareness and responses (Dinsmore, Alexander & Loughlin, 2008). In this matter,
metacognition assists individuals to take control of their learning.
In the context of reading comprehension, readers, being “active agents” of
their own reading (Anderson, 1970, p. 349), apply metacognitive process in their
reading. They predetermine their cognitive goals of making sense of the text. They
will retrieve the metacognitive knowledge and metacognitive experience and decide
on the reading strategies that they need to employ. In doing so, they have to monitor
their comprehension. Unlike the less proficient readers who may lack knowledge and
experience, ESL skilled readers or high-performing ESL readers may be able to
access their existing knowledge in order to monitor their comprehension and at the
same time, formulate better strategies (Ehrlich, 1996; Grabe, 2009; Perfetti, Marron
& Foltz, 1996).
However, in metacognitive processing, the individuals would do a lot more
than just monitoring comprehension. They are also involved in self-regulating their
own reading (Byrnes, 2001; Dillon, 1986; Griffith & Ruan, 2005; Westen, 1999).
They decide, on their own, the goals of reading. They self-assess, self-strategize as
Cognitive goals metacognitive experience
Metacognitive knowledge Strategy use
20
well as self-adjust reading strategies and performance. All of these are done without
the assistance from anybody. Hence, in the context of reading, metacognition plays a
vital part of getting the readers to comprehend the text.
In fact, high-performing ESL readers can be expected to effectively use
metacognitive skills in their reading (Joseph, 2010). They should be able to regulate
and strategize their reading as well as assess and monitor their comprehension better.
According to Laskey and Hetzel (2010), students with low reading proficiency use
low metacognitive skills.
2.1.1.(b) PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
Aside from metacognition, another component of the cognitive constructs is
the prior knowledge. As mentioned earlier, metacognitive knowledge and experience
which play important roles in reading require prior or background knowledge
(Grabe, 2009). In fact, the metacognitive knowledge and experience continue to
evolve from the new knowledge and experience that the individuals are exposed to.
In the metacognitive concept of reading, prior knowledge is significant in
constructing a mental picture of the text (Griffith & Ruan, 2005). Readers tend to
make connections between prior knowledge and the current text in order to visualize
what is read. Without this prior knowledge, the construction of the mental image of
the texts might be difficult. Readers who have established prior knowledge of the
subject matter have less difficulty in developing the mental images. In other words,
the prior knowledge or background knowledge enable readers to understand a text
better (Grabe, 2009; Koda, 2005; Rapp, van den Broek, McMaster, Kendeou &
Espin, 2007). In fact, prior knowledge was also found to facilitate readers in
21
answering multiple choice questions among upper intermediate level students
(Gorjian, 2013).
However, problems may arise when the prior knowledge deviates from the
new found information (van den Broek & Kendeou, 2008). The conflicting
information could lead to the formation of new concepts. Nevertheless, for the new
concepts to be formed, readers may need to reject the existing prior knowledge. For
this to happen, readers may need to feel the need to change their concepts (van den
Broek & Kendeou, 2008). This would involve a longer process.
However, to weaker readers, the use of prior knowledge may lead to negative
results as they may recall wrong information and make wrong inferences (Rapp et al.
2007). Nonetheless, studies have found that the impact of prior knowledge is
minimal when the text is non-specialised in nature (Alderson & Urquhart, 1984;
Long , Seely, Oppy & Golding, 1996). Comprehending texts with content specific or
cultural specific knowledge requires some prior knowledge whereas texts of general
nature may not require prior knowledge.
In the context of cognitive stress, readers‟ prior knowledge enables them to
tap into their existing resources. By doing so, the readers may be able to appraise the
reading texts more positively and apply more adaptive coping resources (Hancock &
Szalma, 2008). On the other hand, without the prior knowledge, readers may not
appraise the reading texts positively and may also apply maladaptive coping
resources.
22
2.1.1.(b)(i) SCHEMA THEORY
To better understand the concept of prior knowledge, a component of the
prior knowledge in the form of schema theory needs to be discussed as well. Perfetti
and Curtis (1986) define schema as the knowledge readers have about the meaning,
concept, events and actions. This knowledge comes to existence as a result of the
readers‟ experience in life and reading. Readers may be able to provide or utilize
such knowledge in a new setting. The knowledge which is stored in the long term
memory enables readers to solve problems with the texts (Sweller, 2010). This
knowledge is structured in the form of schemata (Byrnes, 2001).
According to Byrnes (2001), schemata come in two basic forms namely
object and event schemata. These forms enable readers to recall appropriate
knowledge and experience to assist them in comprehending texts. A fully established
categories and concepts in the schemata can influence readers when inferences and
interpretations are made (Ellis, 2005; Kintsch, 1988; Radvansky & Zack, 1997).
Compared to high-performing ESL readers, weaker readers often recall wrong
information and draw wrong inferences as the knowledge structure may be partially
developed or even nonexistent (Rapp et al., 2007). On the other hand, having more
information of the text leads to different but probably efficient reading (Grabe,
2009). The schema of the information will enable the readers to recall relevant
schemata to assist them in their reading.
The schema theory assumes that readers have stored within them a substantial
amount of information that can be activated through concept recognition from words
or passages read (Grabe, 2009). In other words, proponents of schema theory believe
that prior knowledge is structured, organized and stored in a long-term memory.
23
Such mode will cause readers to behave in a stereotypical way due to their already
established and structured thinking.
However, Kintsch (1988) feels that schema is unstable, tentative and
continuously in the process of developing. New information will continue to be
integrated to existing knowledge in order to stabilize the schema (Kalyuga, 2010).
When the schema is stabilized and developed, automatic processing of the
information would be possible. Nevertheless, such a thing will never happen as
knowledge seems to be endlessly growing and developing and the schema will
remain to be unstable and tentative. However, if the schema is stabilized, the
cognitive demand of the working memory will be minimized (Moreno & Park,
2010).
The concept of schema theory is even extended to gender where certain
gender is expected to behave in a certain manner. This is classified as gender schema
theory. According to the theory, a stereotypical behaviour based on gender can be
traced among male and female (Bem, 1981). Such behaviour is instilled in the
individuals by the society and the behaviour reflects the expectations of the society
on certain genders. In other words, the performances of the individuals are based on
certain destined scripts (Grabill et al., 2005).
2.1.1.(c) WORKING MEMORY
Cognitive construct is not limited to metacognition and prior knowledge only,
it also includes the working memory. Working memory is the structure that is used to
temporarily hold information (Sweller, 1999). The information is placed in the
memory when readers are consciously processing the information. When new
information is given some thought, older information will no longer be in the
24
working memory since the working memory has limited capacity. The fact is in
every single minute, readers may be consciously thinking of a number of things. For
that reason, if a lot of information has to be processed, readers will experience
information overload. Nevertheless, if the information is transferred to the long-term
memory structure, the load in the working memory can be minimized and, at the
same time, make the information last longer. Then, the required information can be
retrieved from the long-term memory and transferred to the working memory once
there is a need to do so. This indicated that when schema is developed, the strain on
the working memory can be reduced (Moreno & Park, 2010).
Similarly, working memory will respond to stress by thinking about the
solution to the stress (Baddeley, 1986; Richardson, Engle, Harsher & Logie, 1996).
When a certain task or stress is given to readers, the existing information that is
required to process the task is transferred to the working memory for processing. The
working memory will respond to the stress and devise solutions from the available
information. If, however, the information is not available, the appraisal system of the
readers will register negative responses. These readers, then, try to identify other
available information that can be used to cope with the existing tasks or stressor. This
is in-line with the Baddeley-Hitch model of working memory. The Baddeley-Hitch
model identifies three components of working memory, the central executive,
visuospatial sketchpad and the phonological loop (Baddeley, 2002). These
components enable the information to be processed by retrieving resources,
converting it into image, providing phonological representation and rehearsing
naturally (Baddeley, 2002). Hence, it allows them to react to demands, devise the
way out and ultimately meet its target.
