Examining the predictive role of derivatives of morphological knowledge to reading comprehension

Abstract

Morphological knowledge has been established as a critical sub-skill in the learning of bilingual reading and a strong predictor of spelling, word reading, and reading comprehension skills. The goal of this study was to investigate the prediction of morphological knowledge to reading comprehension in 185 university-level English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students, using the four primary derivatives of morphological knowledge (i.e. adverb, adjective, verb, and noun). The current study, which took a quantitative method, used multiple regression analysis to analyse two English competence tests, i.e. a reading comprehension test and a morphological knowledge test. The findings indicated that verb derivative form statistically and significantly predicted the reading comprehension most. Additionally, the verb word class affected greatly in elucidating the dependent variable, namely reading comprehension, followed by the adverbial derivative form, the adjective word class, and the noun derivative form of morphological knowledge. Further consequences of the current study's findings will be felt by English language teachers, curriculum designers, and academics.