Readability of comprehension passages in Junior High School (JHS) English textbooks in Ghana

Understanding what is read is essential to academic success in general and literacy development in particular. The aim of any textbook, especially English language textbooks for second language learners is to help readers improve their English language competence. This aim is defeated when students cannot read texts intended for them. One factor which makes a reading material unreadable is the complexity of the language used in relation to the reading ability of the reader. Research has shown that most materials meant for second language learners are difficult for the intended readers. It is therefore crucial to determine the readability of comprehension passages in Junior High School (JHS) English language textbooks used in Ghana and also to examine what can be done to improve L2 text writing in Ghana to make materials readable. This paper, therefore used The Gunning FOG Readability test, Flesch Reading Ease Formula, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, SMOG Index, Coleman-Liau and Automated Readability Index readability formulas to determine the readability of 48 comprehension passages purposively selected from four different sets of JHS 1-3 English language textbooks. It was found that most of the passages were above the age of learners and were therefore difficult for them to read and comprehend. The study through interviews examined ways that writing of JHS English textbooks can be improved to enhance readability.Key Words: readability formulas, comprehension passages, Junior High School, textboo

Living with negative attitudes towards the study of L1 in Ghanaian Senior High Schools (SHS)

The study and use of indigenous African languages in education have been viewed unfavourably by many, including African scholars. This has resulted in fewer educated Africans studying their indigenous languages in school. Africans who study their languages in school beyond Junior High School are seen as “academically weak”. Sometimes, a student’s poor performance in English and other subjects is attributed to his/her constant use of the indigenous language (Andoh-Kumi1997). In 1994, the study of Ghanaian languages as a core subject in the Senior High School (SHS) was abolished because it was erroneously conceived as a contributing factor to the abysmal performance of students in English, in particular, and other academic subjects, in general. Since then, the study of a Ghanaian language at the Senior High School has suffered a serious setback culminating in considerably reduced enrolment of students who study Ghanaian languages. Students offered a Ghanaian language as part of their SHS programs accept it reluctantly. It is therefore important to investigate this phenomenon in the SHS. This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews and observations as data collection strategies to investigate the negative attitude of Ghanaians towards the study of L1 in the SHS, and how SHS students studying their L1 are coping with the negative attitude. The study also examines ways that the negative attitude towards the study of L1 in SHS can be changed

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Impact of Sentence length on the Readability of Web for Screen Reader Users

Readability of text is generally believed to be connected to sentence length. Most studies on readability are based on visual reading. Less is known about text readability for users relying on screen readers, such as users who are blind. This study therefore set out to investigate the effect of sentence length on the readability of web texts accessed using screen readers. A controlled within-subjects experiment was performed with twenty-one participants. Participants used a screen reader to read five texts with different sentence lengths. The par-ticipants’ comprehension and perceived workload were measured. The findings reveal that there is a significant effect of sentence length and most participants exhibit the highest comprehension and lowest workload with sentences compris-ing 16-20 words. Implications of these results are that web content providers should strive for sentence length of 16-20 words to maximize readability