Analysing English for Science and Technology Reading Texts Using Flesch Reading Ease Online Formula: The Preparation for Academic Reading

This study aims to determine the effectiveness of the Yemeni Senior Secondary School curriculum in preparing students for academic reading at the tertiary level. In this qualitative study, the data used comprised all reading comprehension texts in the English for Science and Technology (EST) senior secondary school textbook, and the reading instructional design was analyzed in terms of the types, readability level, and grade level of the texts. The types of reading texts were analyzed by calculating the percentages of narrative versus expository texts, Flesch Reading Ease (FRES) readability test and the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level test were used to analyze the readability level, and the length of reading texts was calculated based on Leslie and Caldwell's Qualitative Reading Inventory (QRI 3 & 4). The findings showed a clear gap between the academic level of reading texts and the reading texts at the senior secondary school level. Approximately, all of the reading texts were found to be far below the grade level in terms of length and ability level. Moreover, not enough emphasis was given to the expository texts. The findings suggest that the Yemeni EST Senior Secondary Reading curriculum is one of the possible causes of the reading problems faced by Yemeni learners at the tertiary level. The researchers suggested a revision of the EST Senior Secondary reading instructional design.