초등학교 영어 읽기 부진 집단의 판별요인 분석

Examining what distinguishes poor readers from average readers in elementary school English

This study examined what distinguishes poor readers from average readers in elementary school English. Participants were 134 4th and 5th graders from three different elementary schools, and they were divided into two groups based on their scores on a reading comprehension test. Measures of letter naming, phonemic awareness, decoding, sight word, oral vocabulary, and listening comprehension were also used to identify their reading profiles. Data analysis comprised of descriptive statistics and one-way discriminant function analysis. The findings indicated that the poor readers performed significantly less well on all measures than the average readers. It also appeared that individual differences within the poor group became larger in grade five. The discriminant function analysis revealed that all measures contributed significantly to the distinction between the poor and the average readers. Among the component variables, the participants’ ability to read high-frequency words (sight word) played the most discriminating function. The next discriminating variables were letter naming in grade four and listening comprehension in grade five. The study concluded with theoretical and pedagogical implications concerning the development of L2 reading skills and prevention of reading difficulties among elementary school learners of English.