The Analysis of Miscue Patterns and Reading Process of College Students Who Have Reading Difficulties

In miscue analysis, the reading process is viewed quite differently from word-bound, phonics-based, or input-oriented concept of reading. The underlying reading process inside readers is considered to be meaningful because of the interaction between language and thought, so called ‘psycholinguistic game’(Goodman, 1973). In this analysis, learners read aloud the given text. Their oral texts are not evaluated, and instead they are observed and examined in a new perspective to investigate the deep process of reading: readers’ use of graphic, syntactic, and semantic cues are analyzed and retrospective session such as reading interview, retelling story, and discussion of their own miscues was implemented, providing insightful information about their reading proficiency by revaluing them as readers. Several studies emphasized the values of miscue analysis in understanding reading process and helping at-risk readers. For example, it is insisted that miscue analysis can be used as a way of gaining insight into the underlying cognitive process associated with the reading aloud the text (Ferguson et.al). Reading aloud is a complex process, with an interplay of production factors, such as performance anxiety and the application of both top-down and bottom-up processes at work. Goodman in his article (1997) emphasized the role of researchers because this analysis gives researchers valuable information about how readers use various cues in the text to make inferences and predictions about the given text. Allington(1998) also highlighted the roles of miscues by mentioning that it will help identifying real needs of learners who have difficulty in reading. In this regard, the main purposes of this study is to examine the miscue patterns and characteristics of the two low-proficiency level adult readers in ‘A’ community college and their attitudes toward ‘reading process’. Another purpose is to suggest more appropriate and effective ways to help EFL adult readers who have reading difficulties. To do this, the study will answer the following three research questions: 1) What are the miscue patterns and characteristics of the two low-proficiency readers in ‘A’ community college in Korea? 2) What are their attitudes toward reading and self-conceptions as readers? 3) What do the miscue analysis results indicate about how to approach the EFL adult readers who need help in reading? What would be suitable reading instruction toward them?