Volume 16, Issue 3 December 2020, pp. 147–166 
Regular Papers
The effects of digital scaffolding on adolescent English reading in Japan: An experimental study on visual-syntactic text formatting
Sachiko Ozaki 
1, Isao Ueda2
1 Osaka University, Japan 
2 Osaka University and Nagoya University of Foreign Studies, Japan
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29140/jaltcall.v16n3.287
Abstract
This experimental study examined how VSTF (Visual-Syntactic Text Formatting)-based text benefits reading speed, reading comprehension, reading efficiency and retention for middle and high school students. Prospective within-subjects tests were conducted in Japan on a total of 132 students: 76 high school students from 12th grade and 56 middle school students from eighth grade. Students read both block-formatted text and VSTF-based text and answered quizzes and subjective questionnaires related to what they read. Objectively, although middle school students did not show a significant difference between using block-formatted text and VSTF-based text, low proficiency students in high school showed a significant increase in reading speed, reading comprehension, reading efficiency and retention, while high proficiency students in high school showed a significant increase in reading speed and retention. Regarding subjective questionnaires, most students among all of the grades felt reading VSTF-based text was more effective than reading block-formatted text. Based on these results, future long-term studies with multiple texts should be considered.
Copyright
© Sachiko Ozaki, Isao Ueda
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Suggested citation
Ozaki, S., & Ueda, I. (2020). The effects of digital scaffolding on adolescent English reading in Japan: An experimental study on visual-syntactic text formatting. The JALT CALL Journal, 16(3), 147–166. https://doi.org/10.29140/jaltcall.v16n3.287
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