Al-Rufai, Maida Abdull-Hussain; (1969) A study of the reading abilities and habits, in English and Arabic, of Baghdad University Students. Doctoral thesis , Institute of Education, University of London.

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Abstract

The present investigation is concerned with the relationships between reading abilities in a foreign language and reading abilities in a mother tongue. A group of 574 students at Baghdad University was taken as an example. In Part One, Chapters 1,11 and III of this thesis, the nature of reading abilities, as defined by authorities in the field, is described; previous studies in the field are reviewed, and the importance, purpose, and scope of the present investigation are presented. To answer the hypothesis of this study, four reading tests are constructed. In Part Two, Chapter N, a description of the tests and the sampling procedure of the colleges and the students is given. Chapter V provides an account of the tests' standardizations. In Chapter VI the administration of the test to four groups - one first-year and three fourth year - of Baghdad University students is reported. Part Three gives a detailed analysis and explanation of the results of the four reading tests. Statistical methods, such as means, and their tests of significance, standard deviations, frequency distribution, percentages, correlations and component analysis are applied. In all the four component analyses, a general component and some specific components are identified. Speed-recognition tests are separated from the comprehension tests. The specific components are very clear in tie rotated components. The main findings are: 1) Strong relationships between the Arabic general and comprehension abilities and the English general and comprehension abilities, especially among able students. 2) An absence of relationship between speed of reading English and speed of reading Arabic. 3) The recognition ability of the able students in both languages is related. 4) The difficult and easy items in one language show the some tendency in the other languages The additional findings are.: 1) Iraqi students are slow readers and word-by-word readers in both English and Arabic# 2) They are efficient in answering straight forward questions and inefficient in answering questions requiring inferential answers.

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