2. Factors that Influenced Readability
There are many factors can influence readability of a written text. The term readability refers to all factors that affect success in reading and
understanding a text. These factors include: 1.
Interest and motivation 2.
The legibility of the print and of any illustration 3.
The complexity of words and sentences in relation to the reading ability of the reader.
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According to Gray and Leary, ease of reading readability is the result of the interaction between the text and the reader. In the reader, those features
affecting readability are: 1 prior knowledge; 2 reading skill; and 3 motivation. In the text, those features are: 1 content; 2 style; 3 design; 4
and structure.
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Moreover, according to Day there are several factors that influence a text’s readability those are:
a. Lexical Knowledge
Lexical knowledge and background knowledge are the two most important elements that determine a text’s readability. It is clear that as the
number of unknown lexical items in a reading passage increases; the more difficult it is for students to read it with comprehension.
b. Knowledge of the World
Along with lexical knowledge, background or world knowledge is very important in the readability of a text. The more readers know about a
particular topic, the more quickly and accurately they can read it. Since the background knowledge of English as a Foreign Language
EFL readers plays a critical role in their comprehension of the passage,
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Keith Johnson, “Readability”, http:www.timetabler.comreading.html
, retrieved on Monday, March 8, 2010.
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“In Reading, Writing and Typography”, Httpen.wikipedia.orgwikiReadability, retrieved on Thursday, February 18, 2010
teacher should make sure that the passage is on a topic that is known of familiar to their students.
c. Syntactic Appropriateness
Syntactic constructions in a passage affect its readability. If a passage contains grammatical constructions that the learners do not know, they
might have a hard time reading it.
d. Organization
Organization refers to both the rhetorical organization of the text and the clarity of the organization. The English as a Foreign Language EFL
reading teacher should carefully examine a text to see how it is organized. A passage that is not well organized might present problems for English as
a Foreign Language EFL students, especially at the beginning stages.
e. Discourse Phenomena
Textual phenomena at the level of discourse include the arrangement of topics and comments in a reading passage, and considerations of
cohesiveness and coherence.
f. Length Passage
The final factor of readability concerns the length of the potential reading passage. The most common mistake of inexperienced teachers or
teachers who are not able to judge the reading abilities of their students is to select a passage that is too long. If students are unable to finish the
reading passage, the lesson is not successful. Then would be learner become frustrated and often blame themselves, feeling that they are poor
readers.
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Hence, it can be seen that the factors which influence the readability can be divided into two categories. The first is the internal factors that are
the factors from the reader itself such as, motivation, background knowledge, reading skill, etc. While the second is the external factors that
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Day, “Selecting a Passage for EFL Reading Class”…, retrieved on Monday, March 1, 2010.
are the factors from the text such as, design, style, structure, length of passage, etc.
C. Approaches of Measuring Readability
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