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1 | (14) |
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1.1 Rationale of the study |
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2 | (4) |
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6 | (4) |
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1.3 Usefulness of the study |
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10 | (2) |
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12 | (3) |
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15 | (66) |
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15 | (1) |
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16 | (13) |
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2.3 Text structural complexity |
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29 | (13) |
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29 | (6) |
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2.3.2 Halliday & Hasan's Model of Text Cohesion |
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35 | (7) |
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2.4 Lexicogrammatical complexity |
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42 | (20) |
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43 | (1) |
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2.4.2 Grammatical Intricacy |
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44 | (2) |
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46 | (2) |
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2.4.4 Prepositional Idea Density |
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48 | (2) |
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50 | (3) |
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53 | (4) |
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57 | (1) |
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2.4.8 Additional text variables |
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58 | (4) |
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62 | (19) |
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2.5.1 Content schemata & reading comprehension |
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62 | (4) |
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2.5.2 Formal schemata & reading comprehension |
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66 | (1) |
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2.5.3 Topic preference & reading comprehension |
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67 | (2) |
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2.5.4 Background knowledge & test bias |
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69 | (1) |
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2.5.5 Test-takers' strategies & reading comprehension |
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70 | (7) |
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2.5.6 Sex-based differences & reading comprehension |
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77 | (3) |
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2.5.7 Additional test-takers' characteristics & reading comprehension |
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80 | (1) |
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81 | (1) |
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81 | (50) |
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83 | (1) |
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3.2 The KPG English Reading Corpus |
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83 | (1) |
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3.3 Automated Text Analysis Tools |
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84 | (22) |
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3.3.1 Basic Text Information |
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91 | (1) |
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3.3.2 Text genre specification |
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92 | (1) |
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3.3.3 Word Frequency Indices |
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93 | (1) |
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3.3.4 Readability Indices |
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94 | (1) |
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3.3.5 Prepositional Idea Density Indices |
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95 | (1) |
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3.3.6 Lexical Richness Indices |
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96 | (2) |
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3.3.7 Text Abstractness Indices |
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98 | (1) |
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3.3.8 Syntactic Complexity Indices |
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99 | (1) |
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3.3.9 Cohesion & Coherence Indices |
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100 | (2) |
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3.3.10 Referential & Semantic Indices |
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102 | (3) |
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3.3.11 Psycholinguistic Processes Indices |
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105 | (1) |
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3.3.12 Idioms & Phrasal Verbs Indices |
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105 | (1) |
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3.4 The KPG National Survey for the English Language Exams |
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106 | (23) |
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109 | (1) |
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109 | (2) |
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3.4.1.2 Sample representativeness |
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111 | (1) |
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3.4.1.3 Stratified random sampling |
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112 | (1) |
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3.4.2 The KPG English Survey: Design & Application |
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113 | (1) |
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3.4.2.1 Why a questionnaire? |
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113 | (2) |
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3.4.2.2 Operationalizing the questionnaire |
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115 | (1) |
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3.4.2.3 Types of questions |
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116 | (2) |
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3.4.2.4 The rating system |
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118 | (2) |
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120 | (2) |
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3.4.2.6 Question sequencing |
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122 | (2) |
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3.4.2.7 Questionnaire layout |
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124 | (1) |
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3.4.2.8 The opening section |
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125 | (1) |
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3.4.2.9 Questionnaire length & language |
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125 | (1) |
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125 | (1) |
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3.4.3 Piloting the KPG English Survey Questionnaire |
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126 | (2) |
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3.4.4 Administering the KPG English Survey Questionnaire |
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128 | (1) |
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3.4.5 Processing the KPG English Survey Data |
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128 | (1) |
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3.5 Reading Comprehension Task Score Analysis |
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129 | (1) |
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129 | (2) |
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4 Computational Text Analysis: Findings |
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131 | (22) |
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132 | (11) |
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4.1.1 Basic Text Information |
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132 | (1) |
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4.1.2 Word Frequency Analysis |
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133 | (2) |
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4.1.3 Readability Formulas Scores |
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135 | (1) |
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4.1.4 Prepositional Idea Density & Lexical Richness Scores |
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136 | (1) |
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4.1.5 Text Abstractness Analysis |
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137 | (1) |
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4.1.6 Syntactic Complexity Analysis |
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138 | (1) |
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4.1.7 Reference & Cohesion Analysis |
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139 | (2) |
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4.1.8 Psycholinguistic Processes Analysis |
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141 | (1) |
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4.1.9 Additional Text Variables Analysis |
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142 | (1) |
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4.2 Automatic Text Classification Model |
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143 | (6) |
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4.3 Model Validation Procedure |
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149 | (4) |
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5 KPG Test-Takers' Performance & Perceptions: Research Findings |
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153 | (28) |
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5.1 KPG Reading Performance & Text Features |
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153 | (7) |
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5.1.1 Reading Performance & Text Features: An Across-Levels Analysis |
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154 | (1) |
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5.1.2 B2 Reading Performance & Text Features |
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155 | (2) |
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5.1.3 C1 Reading Performance & Text Features |
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157 | (2) |
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5.1.4 Construct-validity of the KPG language exams in English |
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159 | (1) |
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5.2 KPG Test-Takers' Perceptions |
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160 | (21) |
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5.2.1 KPG Test-Takers' Profile |
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161 | (1) |
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5.2.2 KPG test-takers' personal characteristics & reading difficulty |
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162 | (1) |
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5.2.3 KPG test-takers' perceptions of the Reading Comprehension Test Paper |
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163 | (2) |
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5.2.4 KPG test-takers' perceptions vis-a-vis text features |
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165 | (6) |
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5.2.5 KPG test-takers' strategies vis-a-vis text features |
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171 | (6) |
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5.2.6 Additional reader variables vis-a-vis text features |
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177 | (4) |
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6 Discussion & Conclusions |
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181 | (10) |
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6.1 Usefulness of the study |
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181 | (6) |
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187 | (2) |
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6.3 Suggestions for future research & for the use of the findings |
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189 | (2) |
References |
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191 | (52) |
Appendices |
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243 | |