Gavin BROOKS    Department   Kyoto University of Foreign Studies  Department of British and American Studies, Faculty of Foreign Studies    Position   Associate Professor
Date	2019/08/29
Presentation Theme	Investigating EAL learner performance influences: The importance of vocabulary for reading comprehension
Conference	EuroSLA 29
Promoters	European Second Language Association (EuroSLA)
Conference Type	International
Presentation Type	Poster
Contribution Type	Collaborative
Country	Sweden
Venue	Lund University
Holding period	2019/08/29～2019/08/31
Publisher and common publisher	Gavin Brooks,Jon Clenton
Details	This study measured 32 EAL learners' vocabulary knowledge (VLT), word decoding ability (SWRT), reading fluency, general academic ability (C-test), and reading comprehension (YARC). Rasch analysis and Cronbach's Alpha were used to examine the construct validity and person and item reliability of each assessment. Multiple regression analysis was then used to examine the extent to which each assessment could predict variance in reading comprehension. Results showed that both vocabulary (r=0.001) and reading comprehension (r=0.004) were statistically significant predictors of reading comprehension. However, when EAL students were examined separately from L1 students, only VLT remained as a statistically significant predictor (r=0.018).