دانشگاه گیلان زبان فارسی و گویش‌های ایرانی 2476-6585 10 2 2026 02 20 Linguistic Aspects of Written Text Comprehension in Secondary School Students: Evidence from Inference-Making Process جنبه های زبان شناختی درک متن نوشتاری در دانش آموزان دورۀ متوسطه: شواهدی از فرایند استنباط سازی 197 226 9402 10.22124/plid.2026.32495.1739 FA پردیس نداف فهمیده دانش آموختۀ کارشناسی ارشد زبان‌شناسی، دانشگاه گیلان، رشت، ایران مریم دانای طوس دانشیار زبان‌شناسی، دانشکدۀ ادبیات و علوم انسانی، دانشگاه گیلان، رشت، ایران منصور شعبانی دانشیار زبان‌شناسی، دانشکدۀ ادبیات و علوم انسانی، دانشگاه گیلان، رشت، ایران Journal Article 2025 12 09 Reading constitutes a fundamental skill, with text comprehension as its ultimate goal. Among the critical components underlying reading comprehension is the ability to make inferences. This quantitative study, employing a quasi-experimental design, aimed to investigate potential differences in inference-making skill between the strong and weak 1st and 2nd cycle secondary school students. To this end, a sample of 80 male students in 4 groups (20 in each group, weak and strong groups at 1st & 2nd cycle secondary school levels) from public schools in Some'esarā city (in Guilān province) was selected using convenience sampling. The criterion for being weak or strong was their score on a test to determine their level of written text comprehension. All four groups completed an inference-making test, and their ability in terms of coherence and elaborative inferences was analyzed with two inferential tests: independent t-test and Mann-Whitney U. The results indicated that strong readers, in both levels, significantly outperformed their weak counterparts in both types of inferences. Additionally, strong 2nd cycle students demonstrated significantly higher proficiency in elaborative inference-making, compared to strong 1st cycle students, whereas no statistically significant difference was observed between these two groups in terms of coherence inference-making. Moreover, weak 2nd cycle students significantly outperformed the weak 1st cycle counterparts in terms of coherence inference-making, although no significant difference was found between the two weak groups in terms of elaborative inference-making. These findings contribute to the growing body of research on reading comprehension development and offer practical implications for educators, curriculum designers, and policymakers. Extended Abstract 1.Introduction Reading comprehension, the ultimate goal of reading, is a dynamic process that involves not only decoding words and sentences but also constructing a coherent mental model of the text. A critical component of this model-building is inference-making, the cognitive process of connecting explicit textual information with prior knowledge to fill in implicit gaps (Butterfuss et al., 2020; Kispal, 2008). Proficient readers continuously generate inferences to achieve deep understanding. However, significant individual differences exist in this ability. While international research extensively explores inference-making, a notable gap exists in the Iranian national context, particularly concerning secondary school students. The consistently poor performance of Iranian students in international reading assessments (e.g., PIRLS) underscores the urgency of this investigation. This study, therefore, aimed to compare the coherent and elaborative inference skills of strong and weak comprehenders among Iranian junior and senior secondary school students. 2.Theoretical Framework This study is grounded in construction-integration models of reading comprehension (e.g., Kintsch, 1998), which posit that understanding requires building both a text base (from explicit content) and a situational model (through inference). We focus on two primary inference types: coherent inferences (bridging explicit ideas within the text) and elaborative inferences (integrating text information with world knowledge) (Bayat & Çetinkaya, 2020; Cain & Oakhill, 1999). The ability to make these inferences depends on working memory capacity, vocabulary knowledge, and the strategic application of prior knowledge (Perfetti & Stafura, 2014). This framework guides the examination of how these cognitive skills manifest differently across comprehension proficiencies and educational levels. 3.Methodology A quantitative, quasi-experimental design was employed. The participants were 80 male students from Some'e Sarā, Guilān province, Iran, divided into four groups: strong and weak comprehenders from both first cycle (9th grade) and second cycle (12th grade) secondary school levels. Participants were classified using a validated Persian Reading Comprehension Test (Ghavāmi Lāhij et al., 2018). The independent variables were comprehension level (strong/weak) and educational level (first & second cycle secondary school). The dependent variable was the score on a researcher-made inference-making test (Ghavāmi Lāhij & Dānāye Tous, 2022), which assessed coherent and elaborative inferences, respectively, through multiple-choice questions following four expository texts. Data were summarized using descriptive statistics and they were analyzed using inferential tests (Mann-Whitney U and Independent Samples t-test), with SPSS software. 4.Results & Discussion Key Findings: Within both educational levels, strong comprehenders significantly outperformed weak comprehenders in both coherent and elaborative inference-making (p < .05). Between educational levels, strong comprehenders in second cycle secondary school showed no significant advantage in coherent inference over their first cycle counterparts (p > .05), but they were significantly better at elaborative inference (p < .05). Weak comprehenders in second cycle secondary school performed significantly better than weak first cycle students in coherent inference (p < .05), but no significant difference was found for the elaborative inference (p > .05). The superior performance of strong comprehenders across the board confirms that inference-making is a core differentiator of reading skill (Cain et al., 2001). The lack of growth in coherent inference among strong students across the educational levels suggests this skill stabilizes early and may not develop significantly without explicit instruction (Oakhill & Cain, 2012). In contrast, the development of elaborative inference in strong second cycle students highlights the role of accumulated knowledge and cognitive maturation (Sillagi et al., 2015). The progress in coherent inference among weak second cycle students may stem from increased reading exposure and practice with basic textual connections. However, their stagnation in elaborative inference points to a persistent deficit in accessing and integrating prior knowledge, a more complex skill requiring targeted pedagogical intervention (Bayat & Çetinkaya, 2020). 5.Conclusions & Suggestions This study concludes that while foundational coherent inference skills may develop with general education and exposure, higher-order elaborative inference skills require more strategic cognitive resources and do not develop automatically. The significant proportion of weak comprehenders highlights a systemic challenge in Iranian Persian language education. The findings imply an urgent need to revise curricula and teaching methods to include explicit, direct instruction in inference-making strategies, particularly elaborative inference. Teachers should design activities that actively activate students' prior knowledge and teach them how to connect it to the text. For future research, longitudinal studies, intervention-based designs, and replications with female students and larger samples are recommended to generalize findings and develop effective instructional packages. Select Bibliography Bayat, N., Çetinkaya, G. The relationship between inference skills and reading comprehension. Education and Science, 2020, 1, 1-14. doi: 10.15390/EB.2020.8782 Cain, K., & Oakhill, J. V. Inference making ability and its relation to comprehension failure in young children. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 1999, 11(5-6), 489–503. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008084120205 Ghavāmi Lāhij, S. Cognitive and metacognitive strategies underlying written text comprehension: Evidence from phonological awareness, inferencing, working memory, and comprehension monitoring [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Islamic Azad University, South Tehran Branch, 2018. (Original work published 1397) [in Persian] Ghavāmi Lāhij, S., & Danāye Tous, M. Inference strategy in written text comprehension: Evidence from strong and weak Persian-speaking students in reading comprehension. Zabān-pazhūhī (Linguistic Research), 2022, 14(42), 97–123. https://doi.org/10.22051/jlr.2021.35373.2008 (Original work published 1401) [in Persian] Kispal, A. Effective teaching of inference skills for reading: Literature review. Research Report DCSF-RR031. National Foundation for Educational Research, 2008. https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/id/eprint/7918 Kintsch, W. Comprehension: A paradigm for cognition. Cambridge University Press. APA PsycInfo, 1998. Negahdār, B., Dānāye Tous, M., & Sorāhi, M. The relationship between working memory and reading with written text comprehension among secondary school students: A psycho-linguistic perspective. Journal of Educational Innovations, 2019, 18(70), 81–100. https://doi.org/10.22034/jei.2019.92885 (Original work published 1398) [in Persian] Oakhill, J., & Cain, K. The precursors of reading ability in young readers: Evidence from a four-year longitudinal study. Scientific Studies of Reading, 2012, 16(2), 91–121. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888438.2010.529219 Perfetti, C. A., & Stafura, J. Word knowledge in a theory of reading comprehension. Scientific Studies of Reading, 2014, 18(1), 22–37. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888438.2013.827687 Silagi, M.L., Romero, V.U., Mansur, L.L., Radanovic, M. Inference comprehension during reading: Influence of age and education in normal adults. Codas, 2015, 26(5), 407-414. DOI:10.1590/2317-1782/20142013058 خواندن، مهارتی زبانشناختی است که هدف نهایی آن درک متن است و یکی از مهمترین مؤلفههای درک متن، استنباطسازی است. این پژوهش کمّی با هدفِ بررسی تفاوت میان دانشآموزان دورههای متوسطۀ اول و دوم از نظر مهارت استنباطسازی انجام شد. به اینمنظور، نمونه‌ای متشکل از ۸۰ دانش‌آموز پسر در دو گروه ضعیف و دو گروه قوی از مدارس دولتی شهرستان صومعهسرا با استفاده از روش نمونه‌گیری در دسترس انتخاب شدند و در آزمون استنباطسازی شرکت کردند. نمرات افراد از نظر دو نوع استنباط پیوسته و تفصیلی با دو آزمون تی مستقل و یو من-ویتنی تجزیهوتحلیل شد. نتایج نشان داد که دانشآموزان قوی هر دو دوره، از نظر هر دو نوع استنباط توانایی بیشتری نسبت به دانشآموزان ضعیف دارند. دانشآموزان قوی دورۀ دوم در استنباط تفصیلی نسبت به دانشآموزان قوی دورۀ اول به طرز معناداری عملکرد بهتری داشتند. همچنین، دانشآموزان ضعیف دورۀ دوم در استنباط پیوسته به طرز معناداری عملکرد بهتری از دانشآموزان ضعیف دورۀ اول داشتند. پیامدهای این یافتهها به بحث گذاشته میشود.

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