A Comparative Study On English Hypertext Reading And Traditional Text Reading

Reading is the major way for human beings to acquire knowledge and information. Hypertext reading is increasingly involved in modern learning and life. Students could take advantage of hyperlinks to help them in hypertext reading. Unfortunately, few empirical investigations have been conducted concerning the effectiveness of hypertext, and some empirical research has produced mixed results.The thesis presents a study of Chinese EFL learners’hyperlinks in hypertext reading. This study explores the cognitive processes of hypertext reading and the effect of hyperlinks. The purpose of this study is to compare hypertext English reading and traditional text reading among Chinese EFL learners. It is specifically designed to address the following three questions:The first one is to compare the scores of hypertext English reading and traditional text reading; the second one deals with the effect of different numbers of links in hypertext; the third one is to compare the effect of difficult words or phrases and cultural background knowledge.On the basis of the relevant schematic theories and empirical evidence concerning background knowledge, the author develops three hypotheses:1) It is assumed there is a significant difference in hypertext reading and traditional text reading in the case that other factors are controlled;2) It is assumed there is a significant difference in different link groups;3) It is assumed cultural background knowledge plays a more important role in hypertext English reading than the explanation of difficult words or phrases.In order to test these hypotheses, the experiment was designed to examine the effect of hyperlinks, concentrating on the hypertext reading. The experiment was implemented on computers among100first-year college student with the similar English reading proficiency at Yuncheng University of China. The eight testing material was about humanity science, chosen from CET-4with high reliability and validity. First, the author designed some hyperlinks in the testing material, and divided the subjects into two groups:Hypertext Group (HG) and Traditional text Group (TG). Compare the score difference of the two groups. Second, divide HG into three groups: Link Group1(click numbers from1to5), Link Group2(6-10) and Link Group3(11-16). Compare the difference of different link groups. Third, collect the click ratio of difficult words or phrases and cultural background knowledge respectively. The reading comprehension test software was designed by using Visual Basic6.0and the time of the test, the click numbers and the scores were calculated automatically by the computers as soon as the students finished the test. The test data was analyzed by SPSS11.5package.The results of the experiment were:firstly, there was a significant difference in comprehension test scores between HG and TG. Hyperlinks facilitate Chinese students’English reading comprehension compared with traditional text reading. Secondly, there was a significant difference among the scores of different link numbers. Students with appropriate link numbers (6-10) got the highest scores. Thirdly, cultural background knowledge plays a more important role in hypertext English reading than difficult words or phrases. The interview after the experiment showed that students preferred to employ hyperlinks in hypertext reading because hyperlinks provided the background knowledge.On the whole, the results of the experiment are consistent with earlier findings in hypertext reading. They confirm the assumption about the important effect of hyperlinks in hypertext reading, thus supporting the hypothesis that there was also a significant difference among the scores of different link groups (Zhu,1999).The results of the present study give much enlightenment to the application of hyperlinks in English hypertext reading under EFL context although it still has some limitations in terms of the reading material and the subjects. A more consistent, coherent and generalized conclusion will be achieved in the future research on hypertext reading.