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Lower-order or Higher-order? - A Study of Reading Comprehension Questions in Swedish Upper Secondary EFL Textbooks

Tiihonen, Caroline LU (2022) ÄEND14 20212
English Studies
Abstract
This study examines two Swedish EFL textbooks, Viewpoints 2 and Blueprint B, aimed at the English 6 course in Swedish upper secondary school. The aim of the study was to investigate the cognitive levels of reading comprehension questions accompanying literary excerpts in the two examined textbooks. This was done by categorising the reading comprehension questions into the cognitive levels of the revised version of Bloom’s taxonomy: remember, understand, apply, analyse, evaluate and create, to observe to what extent the cognitive levels occur and how this affects students’ learning opportunities. The textbooks were analysed by performing a qualitative content analysis to categorise all reading comprehension questions into the cognitive... (More)
This study examines two Swedish EFL textbooks, Viewpoints 2 and Blueprint B, aimed at the English 6 course in Swedish upper secondary school. The aim of the study was to investigate the cognitive levels of reading comprehension questions accompanying literary excerpts in the two examined textbooks. This was done by categorising the reading comprehension questions into the cognitive levels of the revised version of Bloom’s taxonomy: remember, understand, apply, analyse, evaluate and create, to observe to what extent the cognitive levels occur and how this affects students’ learning opportunities. The textbooks were analysed by performing a qualitative content analysis to categorise all reading comprehension questions into the cognitive levels of the taxonomy and to find patterns in how the reading comprehension questions were phrased and what they require of the students.
The study found that both textbooks had a tendency towards including more lower-order reading comprehension questions than higher-order. A majority of the examined questions, between 70 and 71%, respectively, were categorised as lower-order. The most frequently occurring cognitive levels in the textbooks were remember and understand, respectively. A concluding recommendation is for teachers using or choosing textbooks for school to examine the frequency of lower-order and higher-order reading comprehension questions and to complement with extra questions if necessary. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Tiihonen, Caroline LU
supervisor
organization
course
ÄEND14 20212
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
EFL Textbooks, Bloom's Taxonomy, Reading Comprehension, Reading Comprehension Questions
language
English
id
9073924
date added to LUP
2022-04-11 11:16:00
date last changed
2022-04-11 11:16:00
@misc{9073924,
  abstract     = {{This study examines two Swedish EFL textbooks, Viewpoints 2 and Blueprint B, aimed at the English 6 course in Swedish upper secondary school. The aim of the study was to investigate the cognitive levels of reading comprehension questions accompanying literary excerpts in the two examined textbooks. This was done by categorising the reading comprehension questions into the cognitive levels of the revised version of Bloom’s taxonomy: remember, understand, apply, analyse, evaluate and create, to observe to what extent the cognitive levels occur and how this affects students’ learning opportunities. The textbooks were analysed by performing a qualitative content analysis to categorise all reading comprehension questions into the cognitive levels of the taxonomy and to find patterns in how the reading comprehension questions were phrased and what they require of the students. 
The study found that both textbooks had a tendency towards including more lower-order reading comprehension questions than higher-order. A majority of the examined questions, between 70 and 71%, respectively, were categorised as lower-order. The most frequently occurring cognitive levels in the textbooks were remember and understand, respectively. A concluding recommendation is for teachers using or choosing textbooks for school to examine the frequency of lower-order and higher-order reading comprehension questions and to complement with extra questions if necessary.}},
  author       = {{Tiihonen, Caroline}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Lower-order or Higher-order? - A Study of Reading Comprehension Questions in Swedish Upper Secondary EFL Textbooks}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}