Effects of Subskills and Text Types on Korean Efl Reading Scores

Recent research has shown that the subskills and text types affect reader performance considerably (Lumley, 1993, Dennis, 1982). Despite the fact that most reading tests consist of a variety of subskills and text types at the same time, the studies about the relative effects of both subskills and text types on readers’ performance are rare. In that vein, this article reports the relative effects of subskills and text types on reader performance simultaneously. A reading test was designed to provide equal numbers of items and texts representing four different subskills (Inference, Skimming, Scanning, and Coherence) and three text types (Narrative, Expository, and Argumentative). The participants in this study were 157 Korean male 12 graders attending Changwon Nam High School in Korea. For the analysis of these data, a Generalizability study (G-study) and a Decision study (D-study) (Brennen, 1983) were applied. Results show the effects of having various numbers of text types and subskills on the reliability of scores on this reading test.