Analysis of the content of English language text books for the first year of high school based on Fog's readability formula

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Educational Sciences, Farhangiyan University, Iran, Tehran

2 BA student, Elementary Education, Farhangian University, Arak, Iran.

3 BA student, Elementary Education, Farhangian University, Arak, Iran

Abstract

Background and Objectives: The current research was carried out to examine the English language books of the first secondary school based on Fog's readability formula in the academic year 1402-1403. Methods: Quantitative content analysis was used for this purpose. The statistical population of this research was English language textbooks of the first secondary level, and the entire population was investigated. The research tool also includes the list of content analyses based on Fog's reading method, which was divided into three sections: the number of sentences, words, and polysyllabic words in each book. The unit of analysis was placed in texts, reading comprehension, and words. Findings: The findings showed that the degree of difficulty of the texts and understanding in the third grade is 4.89, 7.09 for the 8th grade, and 8.95 for the 9th grade, respectively, which indicates that the 7th-grade book has a lower level of difficulty than Desirable and the eighth and ninth grades have an ideal and moderate degree of difficulty for beginners. Also, the results show that the highest number of words is in the seventh grade, with 39.36%; the ninth grade, with 31.79%; and the eighth grade, with 28.85%. There is a percentage. Conclusion: One factor contributing to students' weakness and inability to read and understand texts at higher levels is the excessive simplicity of the materials in the first secondary school.

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References

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