HAO, Qiang (Program of Master of Science in Information Technology in Education of The University of Hong Kong) SIU, Felix L.C. (Division of Information and Technology Studies) http://citers2012.cite.hku.hk/en/paper_534.htm

1. Effects of Computerized Graphic Organizers on
English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Students'
Expository Reading
Neo Qiang Hao, Student from MSc Program in IT in Education
Faculty of Education
The University of Hong Kong
Dr Felix Siu, Teaching Consultant
Division of Information and Technology Studies
The University of Hong Kong

2. Effects of Computerized Graphic Organizers on
English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Students'
Expository Reading
• Purpose
• Background
• Relevant knowledge
• Methodology
• Finding and discussion
• Conclusion
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3. Purpose
• This study aims at comparing facilitative effects of
two types of Graphic Organizers (GOs) in EFL
expository reading, and investigate relevant training’s
influence on students’ reading strategy.
• The two types of GOs are:
– Concept Maps
– Graphic Organizers representing text structure
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4. Backgrounds
• Reading is one of the important learning activities in
modern world for it is the main approach of
information input (Pretorius, 2006). For any learners,
the essential process of learning is information input.
Thus, reading ability is therefore considered as one
of the most significant skills that determine students’
academic success.
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5. Backgrounds
• As learning proceeds, learners will gradually be
exposed to expository texts rather than narrative
texts (Pretorius, 2006).
• Expository texts reading is also considered much
more challenging (Oliver, 2009)
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6. Backgrounds
• First language learners regularly face problems in
expository reading. (Berkowitz, 1986);
• Foreign language learners are generally expected to
meet bigger problems in expository reading due to
– limited language ability;
– insufficient background knowledge;
– unfamiliarity with logical relations
(Lin, & Chen, 2007; Pretorius, 2006).
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7. Backgrounds
Expository Foreign
reading language
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8. Backgrounds
Expository Foreign
reading language
Scaffolding
strategy
Graphic
Organizers
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9. Relevant Knowledge
Graphic Organizers
Concept Map
representing text
structure
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10. Relevant Knowledge
Graphic Organizers
Concept Map
representing text
structure
Freedom Restriction
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11. Relevant Knowledge
Graphic Organizers
Concept Map
representing text
structure
Freedom Restriction
Whether to follow the
structure of the passage
Whether to refer to
limited patterns of GOs
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12. Relevant Knowledge
Graphic Organizers
Concept Map
representing text
structure
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13. Relevant Knowledge
Graphic Organizers
Concept Map
representing text
structure
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14. Relevant Knowledge
Kintsch’s (1994) model:
1) the surface structure
2) the textbase Classification of
3) the situation model reading test questions
according to different
comprehension levels
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15. Methodology
• The methodology used for the study is a
mixed method of experimental approach and
quantitative technique.
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16. Methodology
Experiment
115 high school Chinese
students from Beijing,
Mainland China
Experiment Experiment Control group
group 1 group 2
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17. Methodology
Training of GO
representing
Experiment text structure
group 1
Pre-training Training of Post- training test
test concept and
Experiment mapping questionnaire
group 2 filling
Outlining &
summary
training
Control group
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18. Methodology
• Pre- & Post- Experiment Test
• -collect learners’ pre- & post- experiment performance
• -explore whether there exists difference among the three
groups
• Questionnaire
• -collect learners’ opinions about EFL reading facilitative
strategies
• -explore whether there exists any difference among the
three groups
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19. Finding and discussion
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20. Finding and discussion
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21. Finding and discussion
• Limitations:
• The training time in the study is limited.
• The study only focused on paper reading; reading
on computers is the trend worth further
exploration.
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22. Conclusion
• The pilot experiment:
• Trainings of CM and GOs representing text
structure showed overall positive effects in
learners’ reading.
• No significant difference is found between the two
types of Graphic Organizers.
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23. Thanks for your attention!
Neo Qiang Hao: qianghao@hku.hk
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24. Reference
Pretorius, E. J. (2006).The comprehension of logical relations in expository
texts by students who study through the medium of ESL. System: An
International Journal of Educational Technology and Applied
Linguistics, v34, 432-450.
Oliver, K. M. (2009). An investigation of concept mapping to improve the
reading comprehension of science texts. Journal of Science Education
and Technology, 18(5), 402-414.
Berkowitz, S. (1986). Effects of instruction in text organization on sixth-grade
students’ memory for expository reading. Reading Research Quarterly,
21, 161–178.
Lin, H., Chen, T. (2007). Reading authentic EFL text using visualization and
advance organizers in a multimedia learning environment. Language
learning technology, v11, n3, 83-106.
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