Opportunity to Learn Data Distribution through Reading Statistics Texts Written in English as a Second Language for Indonesian Pre-Service English as a Foreign Language Teachers

Abstract

無中文摘要The ability to understand statistical information written in English is prominent given the global status of English and the importance of statistics to understand data, variation and chance which are omnipresent in modern life. Furthermore, college students might need to read and understand statistical results of research in their field of study, while English continues to be the preferred language of scientific communication in most published articles. The main purpose of this research was to investigate the issue concerning the opportunities of learning through reading statistics texts written in English as a second language for Indonesian pre-service English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers by taking two components of reading, i.e., reader and text, and the interaction between the two. Accordingly, three studies were compiled to reach the purpose. Initially, Indonesian pre-service EFL teachers’ views on statistics were explored in study one, which involved their values on the learning and conceptions of statistics. Study two concerned on statistics text, in which a framework for analyzing the accessibility of statistics text was developed and subsequently utilized to analyze two versions of college statistics textbooks. By taking the components under one of the accessibility attributes proposed in study two, i.e., the integration of verbal and visual information, six versions of statistics reading materials were designed. Subsequently, study three explored the relationships between different versions of statistics reading materials and students’ reading comprehension. Findings from study one revealed that almost all Indonesian pre-service EFL teachers in this study acknowledged the utility of statistics, yet only 60% of them had a positive intrinsic value in learning the course. Conflicting beliefs expressed by both positive and negative intrinsic value were also found on some students. Meanwhile, three types of conceptions of meanings of data were found underlying the six categories and the three factors of conceptions of statistics: data as numerical numbers, data as numbers in problem contexts; data as information for investigation. Additionally, an instrument for measuring conceptions of statistics was developed and validated in this study. Findings from study two proposed five accessibility attributes of statistics texts, which might reveal not only the strengths and weakness of statistics texts for particular readers, but also to what extent the content knowledge of statistics is presented in the textbooks. The textbooks analysis conducted using the framework revealed several different characteristics between English and Indonesian version textbooks. Indonesian textbook more likely emphasizes on a knowledge-based view of statistics, in which statistical basic knowledge and data as numerical numbers with or without contexts are presented dominantly. English version presents both knowledge based and problem solving views of statistics and more dominantly addresses data as numbers in problem contexts or data as information for investigation. Findings from study three revealed that the verbal information in form of data scales provided on boxplot hinder students reading comprehension. Moreover, providing not scaled-labeled boxplots by sequencing the boxplot before the corresponding verbal information was more favorable for reading comprehension. The implications of the findings and further research were discussed.