Abstracts
Résumé
La technique de vérification de phrases (TVP) (Royer, Hastings et Hook, 1979) est utilisée par des enseignants pour vérifier la lisibilité de textes destinés à leurs étudiants. Après la lecture de courts textes, les participants doivent indiquer si le sens d’énoncés qui leur sont présentés correspond à ce qu’ils ont lu. Ces énoncés consistent en des modifications de phrases du texte (paraphrase, changement de sens), en des phrases intactes ou en l’ajout de leurres. Cet article présente la mise sur pied d’un premier test TVP pour mesurer l’habileté en compréhension en lecture de l’anglais langue seconde. Quatre textes sur des sujets distincts d’intérêt général, de 12 phrases chacun, ont été soumis à deux échelles de lisibilité. À la lumière de recherches antérieures, l’article présente les étapes de l’élaboration de cet instrument, suivi de la mise à l’essai auprès de plus de 200 universitaires francophones apprenant l’anglais comme langue seconde. Pour les chercheurs, les tests standardisés actuels ne sont pas en accès libre ce qui, de ce fait, occasionne des coûts; par ailleurs, ils sont longs à compléter. Compte tenu des résultats de cette mise à l’essai, notre instrument semble être une alternative prometteuse à des tests standardisés pour mesurer l’habileté de compréhension en lecture de l’anglais L2.
Mots-clés :
- technique de vérification de phrases,
- compréhension en lecture,
- test de lecture,
- lisibilité,
- langue seconde
Abstract
The Sentence Verification Technique (SVT) (Royer Hastings and Hook, 1979) has been used by teachers to assess the readability of texts intended for their students. After reading short texts, participants indicate whether or not isolated sentences presented to them correspond to what they just read. These sentences are modifications of sentences from the text (paraphrases, meaning changes), intact sentences, or added distracters. This paper reports on the creation of the first SVT test developed for measuring reading comprehension ability in English as a second language. Four English texts of general interest with 12 sentences each were submitted to two readability scales. Readers are guided through the various steps in the creation of this instrument, in light of previous research, followed by the testing of the instrument with more than 200 French-speaking university students learning English as a second language. For researchers, current standardized tests are not open access, involve costs, and take time to complete. Results from this experiment suggest that our instrument is a promising alternative to standardized tests for measuring reading comprehension ability in English as a second language.
Keywords:
- sentence verification technique,
- reading comprehension,
- reading test,
- readability,
- second language
Resumen
La técnica de verificación de frases (TVF) (Royer, Hastings y Hook, 1979) es empleada por los docentes para verificar la legibilidad de los textos que son utilizados con sus estudiantes. Tras la lectura de textos cortos, los participantes tienen que indicar si el sentido de los enunciados que se les presentan corresponde a lo que leyeron. Estos enunciados consisten en modificaciones de algunas frases del texto (paráfrasis, cambio de significación), frases que no presentan alteraciones o en la incorporación de distractores en las frases. Este artículo presenta la puesta en marcha de una primera prueba TVF para medir la habilidad de comprensión de lectura del inglés como segunda lengua. Cuatro textos sobre diferentes temas de interés general, de 12 frases cada uno, fueron sometidos a dos escalas de legibilidad. A la luz de investigaciones anteriores, el artículo presenta las etapas de la elaboración de este instrumento, y la aplicación, a modo de prueba, realizada a más de 200 universitarios francófonos que estudian el inglés como segunda lengua. Para los investigadores, las pruebas estandarizadas vigentes no son de libre acceso, lo que, de hecho, ocasiona costos adicionales, además de tomar mucho tiempo para ser contestadas. Tomando en cuenta los resultados de esta primera aplicación, nuestro instrumento parece ser una alternativa prometedora frente a las pruebas estandarizadas que se utilizan para medir la habilidad lectora del inglés como segunda lengua.
Palabras clave:
- técnica de verificación de frases,
- comprensión de lectura,
- prueba de lectura,
- legibilidad,
- segunda lengua
Appendices
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