The Effect Of Lexical Modification On Reading Comprehension Regarding Language Proficiency

This study investigates the relative effects of two types of lexical modification (i.e., lexical simplification and elaboration) of text type passages on Iranian EFL students' reading comprehension with reference to language proficiency. To this end six English reading text type passages in one of three forms(a) baseline, (b) lexically simplified, or ( c )lexically elaborated; were presented to 250 students, who were divided into two proficiency levels (i.e., advanced and intermediate ) on the basis of their scores 111 TOEFL test. Comprehension was assessed by a 30-item multiple-choice test, which included items for assessmg (a) general, (b) specific and (c) inferential comprehension. In order to probe the hypotheses formulated in the study, the data gathered were analyzed by a two way ANOV A and Sheffe test that was used in post hoc analyses. The obtained results support the suggestion that lexical modification had a significant effect on students' reading comprehension. There was also a significant interaction between learners' proficiency and modification type. Considering their proficiency level, the advanced students in reading lexically elaborated passages performed significantly better than lexically simplified passages and intermediate students who read lexically simplified passages outperformed readers of lexically elaborated and baseline passages.