PEI-LING HSU and WEN-GIN YANG

PRINT AND IMAGE INTEGRATION OF SCIENCE TEXTS

AND READING COMPREHENSION: A SYSTEMIC
FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTICS PERSPECTIVE
Received: 12 September 2006; Accepted: 30 May 2007

ABSTRACT. Systemic functional linguistics (SFL) was the foundation for this study that
explored the effect of science text and image integration on grade 9 students_ reading
comprehension. Two texts in Chinese on the moon phase with different print and image
integration were comparedVa traditional textbook (TT) used in Taiwanese junior high
schools and a systemic functional linguistics text (SFLT) created by the authors for this
study. These two texts contained similar concepts but had major differences in several
features: technicality, representational structure, degree of modality, and interaction
between print and image. A control-experimental design with pretest, posttest, and semi-
structured interviews was used. In total, 132 junior high school students were randomly
assigned to two groups: one group (n=69) read the TT and the other group (n=63) read
the SFLT. Sixteen students with both high and low performances in the posttest were
purposely selected as the subjects of the follow-up interviews. Major findings were: (a)
students who read the SFLT demonstrated significantly better achievement than those
who read the TT, and (b) students who read the TT generated more misconceptions about
the moon phase and had greater difficulty in making sense of the images than the
students who read the SFLT. Accordingly, SFL may serve as a useful theoretical
framework and tool in the design of textbooks and may have a practical application in the
science classroom.

KEY WORDS: print-image integration, reading comprehension, science texts,

systemic functional linguistics (SFL)

INTRODUCTION

From elementary school through college, many students encounter difficulty

understanding their science textbooks (Best, Rowe, Ozuru & McNamara,
2005). Science texts often contain unique terminology and emphasize logic
and physical causality, thus differing from everyday language (Hong,
1997). In reading comprehension research, the focus is largely directed at
the relation between print and reader, but studies on the combination of
print, images, and reader remain scarce (Sung, 1999). In Taiwan, driven by
the reforms of the nine-year systematic curriculum in 2001, many types of
textbooks from different publishers appeared in schools, rather than only
those approved and published by the government as in the past. Therefore,

International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education (2007) 5: 639Y659

# National Science Council, Taiwan (2007)
640 PEI-LING HSU AND WEN-GIN YANG

the quality of textbooks became an issue for serious consideration,

especially the natural sciences and technology textbooks containing
numerous visual images embedded in the print. Lee (2002) found that
three versions of high school biology textbooks in Taiwan had an average
of 1.18 images per page. Nevertheless, little is known about how Taiwanese
students process and integrate print and visual images, and there is little
agreement on how to analyze print and visual materials. This article
analyzes science texts from a systemic functional linguistics (SFL)
perspective and reports students_ reading comprehension results of two
different texts with quantitative and qualitative data.

BACKGROUND

Knowing and understanding the language of science is an essential

component of scientific literacy (Wellington & Osborne, 2001). Learning
from traditional printed and electronic scientific texts has been and will
continue to be an important method of achieving and maintaining
science literacy (Yore, Craig & Maguire, 1998). The traditional view of
reading indicates that learners receive knowledge passively and
mechanically decode words, but current conceptions of reading closely
approximate the constructivist perspective of science learning (Craig &
Yore, 1996; Spence, Yore & Williams, 1999; Yore & Shymansky, 1991).
That is, science reading is not simply a bottom-up process of taking
meaning from text; rather, reading is a meaning-construction process
where the reader makes meaning by negotiating an understanding
between the text, the reader_ s prior knowledge and experiences, the
classroom context, and the teacher_ s instruction (Ruddell & Unrau,
2004). One literacy challenge that children face as they progress through
school is learning to control the distinctive grammatical features and
textual structures of language that construct and communicate knowl-
edge in specialized curriculum areas (Unsworth, 1997). Many science
reading studies emphasize the analysis of textbook content, students_
reading skill, teachers_ use of textbook, and the metacognition of reading
(Best et al., 2005; Craig & Yore, 1996; Spence et al., 1999; Yore et al.,
1998). However, little research has been conducted on the linguistic
perspective of grammatical features, print structures, and image
structures. This study draws on SFL as a linguistic-theory framework
to design and analyze the structure of print and image. Here we refer to
print as words, image as pictures, figures, or graphics, and text as the
layout and integration of print and image.
 SCIENCE TEXTS AND READING COMPREHENSION 641

SFL conceptualizes language as a semiotic tool intimately involved in

the negotiation, construction, organization, and reconstrual of human
experience. It demonstrates how linguistic choices contribute in a
systematic way to the realization of the principal resource for making
meaning (Halliday, 1994). SFL examines language mainly along three
variables: (a) fieldVaddressing activities, subjects, or content; (b)
tenorVgauging the interpersonal relationship that language conveys;
and (c) modeVexamining the role of medium and language. SFL is
extensively applied as a research tool in many disciplines, e.g., reading
development, classroom dialogue, social-class hierarchy, social culture,
social language, and social-gender research (Unsworth, 2000; Veel,
1997, 1998). With respect to texts, Unsworth (2000, 2001b) employed SFL
to analyze the composition of science and history textbooks; Hu, Zhu &
Chang (1987), Hu (1990), Huang (2001), and Lin (2003) also adopted
SFL as a tool to study Chinese language texts. In addition, Kress & van
Leeuwen (1996) developed a framework based on SFL to analyze images.
This study employs these SFL frames in carrying out further in-depth
analysis of textbook print and images regarding the structural features of
print, visual images, and their integration.

Structural Analysis of Print

In science writing, certain features of the way meaning is organized and
worded present special problems for a reader beyond the unfamiliar
subject matter and its remoteness from everyday experience (Halliday,
1993). The grammar of both Chinese and English, using similar
resources (noun compounding, nominal groups, nominalization, gram-
matical metaphors), creates a form of discourse for codifying, extending,
and transmitting scientific knowledge (Halliday, 1993). The distinguish-
ing features of scientific writing identified from an SFL perspective
include informational density, abstraction, technicality, and authorita-
tiveness (Fang, 2005). In this study, the structural connections of print
between clauses are considered to be a critical feature. These
connections can be analyzed based on an SFL consideration of theme
and rheme and grammatical metaphor: nominalization and the construc-
tion of technicality.
Theme and Rheme. The phrasal function of any sentence or speech can
be deconstructed into theme and rheme. Theme pertains to the first
element (generally, the participant or the circumstance) of a clause,
which initiates information conveyance; the remaining element of the
clause is rheme. For example, in the sentence Karen went to school by
642 PEI-LING HSU AND WEN-GIN YANG

bus today, the participant Karen is the theme and the remainder of the
sentence is rheme. Generally, theme carries a known message whereas
rheme carries an unknown message. In the process of information
conveyance, if an article intends to introduce new terminology, a
message already known to the reader is positioned as the theme and a
new concept as the rheme. This arrangement takes the reader gradually
from familiar knowledge to an unfamiliar concept (Unsworth, 2001b).

Technicality. Grammatical metaphor involves the substitution of one

grammatical class or structure by another. For example, in He acted
brilliantly and His brilliant acting, brilliantly is an adverb in the first
sentence, but the semantic meaning is substituted by the adjective
brilliant in the second sentence. Halliday (1998) referred to grammatical
metaphor as the noncongruent form of meaning, and he identified
different kinds of grammatical metaphors in scientific discourse. He
pointed out that these variants are definitely not synonymous, but they
are potentially co-presentational.
The core of scientific text is the development of a chain of reasoning
in which each step leads on to the next. In order to go to the next step,
however, you have to be able to repeat what has gone before and is now
being used as the springboard for the next move (Halliday, 1993).
Nominalization, one form of grammatical metaphor, has served to create
higher and higher order abstractions that provide conceptual objects
populating the intellectual landscape of scientific specialties (Bazerman,
1998). Through the nominalization process, the event characteristic and
relationship are no longer represented by verb, adverb, and conjunction
but are represented as a thing or noun, turning them into participants
woven in the fabric of an article. For example, in the process of
nominalization, the author can package old information into a new noun
or concept to serve as the starting point for conveying the next message.
Halliday (1993, p. 131) illustrated the simplest form of this: B... both
ethyne and nitrogen oxide are kinetically stable.... The kinetic stability of
nitrogen oxide shows....^ The noun group (nitrogen oxide) + verb (are) +
the adverb (kinetically stable), forming a clause structure, are compacted
into a single noun group (the kinetic stability of nitrogen oxide) as the
starting point for the next clause. This involves turning the adjective
stable into the noun stability, hence, using the grammatical metaphor to
create an abstract thing in order to be able to proceed with the explanation
(Unsworth, 2001a).
The grammatical metaphor also occurs when a verb (result in) or a
noun (the result) substitutes for a conjunction (because). For example,
 SCIENCE TEXTS AND READING COMPREHENSION 643

He succeeded because he was diligent could be expressed metaphori-

cally as His success was the result of his diligence or His diligence
resulted in his success. In science text, the grammatical metaphor is
frequently used. For example, The effect of the addition of lubricant was
a decrease in friction instead of Lubricant was added, so the friction was
reduced (Unsworth, 2001a).
Introducing technical terms means placing a token in relation to its
value, which entails relating meaning in the grammar as participants
(Martin, 1993). Both technical terms and the grammar compress as much
information as possible into a short space. Text cohesion refers to
properties of the text that determine the degree to which readers need to
generate inferences to construct a coherence explicitly stated in the text.
Readers_ comprehension can be improved when text cohesion is
improved (Kintsch, 1998). To improve text cohesion, Martin analyzed
a middle school science textbook, applying a technical building process
to construct a case of scientific knowledge. Technicality refers to the use
of terms or expressions with a specialized field and meaning; the process
of technicalizing involves naming the phenomenon and making that
name technical (Wignell, Martin & Eggins, 1993). Unsworth (2000)
illustrated the use of grammatical metaphor in text to build up
terminology and explanations; the linguistic construction of technicality
is achieved through a series of reconstruals. At the technical-event level,
the text uses a grammatical metaphor, such as changing from a verb to an
adjective. At the next stage, these technical events are transformed into a
macro-event, converting them into things. In the final stage, the meta-
event level, entire scientific sequences are packed as a thing and
identified by the scientific term. Through the course of moving from
technical-event to macro-event and meta-event, an idea is elevated to a
higher level of abstraction.

Structural Analysis of Images

Functionality of images corresponds to three major functions (ideational,
interpersonal, textual) in print: (a) representational structure, used mainly
to develop linguistic or visual understanding of the nature of the event,
object, participant, and milieu; (b) interactive relation, used to understand
the nature of the interactive relationship between reader/author and
speaker/listener; and (c) compositional meaning, related to understanding
the element of text or images in the overall arrangement (Kress & van
Leeuwen, 1996). Representational structure, image modality, and salience
(interactive relation) were identified as the central factors in this study.
644 PEI-LING HSU AND WEN-GIN YANG

Representational Structure. Image representation is constituted primarily

of two types of structure: (a) narrative structure manifests mainly in
unfolding actions, the process of change, and transitory spatial arrange-
ments; and (b) conceptual structure represents class, structure, and
meaning that are more prevalent or permanent in nature (Kress & van
Leeuwen, 1996). In this study, the scientific concept of moon phase is
constituted by permanent features of nature, such as the relative position
of the sun, moon, and earth and the phase of the moon on different dates.
The moon-phase text in this study used the conceptual structure due to its
universal and permanent attributes.
Conceptual structure comprises three processes: (1) the classificational
process, where the participant plays the particular kind of relationship, (2)
the analytical process, which is the part-whole relationship, and (3) the
symbolic process, which is the more profound meaning of symbolic
attributes under the surface of image representation. The text in this study
used the analytical process due to its part-whole relationship of the sun,
earth, and moon. The analytical process can be exhaustive and inclusive;
exhaustive manifests the carrier_ s attributes one-by-one proportionately,
whereas the inclusive indicates part of the attributes.

Image Modality. Modality refers to the truth-value or credibility of

statements about the world (Kress & van Leeuwen, 1996). The
credibility of a message is generally determined by the way it is
presented: a photograph is more authentic and reliable than a sketch; a
report-type article is more credible than a story. Furthermore, modality
signifies the degree of interpersonal meaning the author seeks to express
about the message_ s authenticity and truth. Naturalism believes that
Frealistic_ pertains to how closely the representation resembles what the
naked eye sees (akin to a 35 mm photograph); if it is even more detailed
than the naked eye perception, it is referred to as hyper-real. Naturalistic
modality criteria include colour saturation, colour differentiation, colour
modulation, contextualization, representation, depth, illumination, and
rightness (Kress & van Leeuwen, 1996).

Salience. Salience involves a hierarchy of importance and worthiness

among the elements, selecting some as more important and more worthy
of attention than others. Some elements in images have salience because
of the effect of the elements_ relative size, sharpness of focus, tonal
contract (areas of high tonal contract, e.g., borders between black and
white have high salience), colour contrasts (e.g., the contrast between
strongly saturated and soft colors or the contrast between red and blue),
 SCIENCE TEXTS AND READING COMPREHENSION 645

placement in the visual field (elements not only become stronger as they
are moved towards the top but also appear stronger the further they are
moved toward the left, due to an asymmetry in the visual field),
perspective (foreground objects are more salient than the elements they
overlap), and quite specific cultural factors (e.g., the appearance of a
human figure or a potent cultural symbol) (Kress & van Leeuwen, 1996).
In densely printed pages of text, reading is linear and strictly coded. Such
text must be read the way it is designed to be read: from left to right,
from top to bottom, line by line. But the reading path of visually
enriched text might be quite complexVcircular, diagonal, spiraling, etc.
(Kress & van Leeuwen, 1996). The layout of contemporary school texts
requires quite complex choices about how to traverse the textual space,
and it is up to the reader to choose from a range of possible reading
paths.

RESEARCH DESIGN

This empirical study comprised a mixed-methods approach involving a

pretest-posttest experiment and semi-structured interview. The experi-
ment consisted of 132 grade 9 students randomly assigned into
experimental and control groups. Students had not studied the unit on
moon phase in their junior high school but may have had relevant prior
knowledge about the moon phase. The experimental group read the
colored Chinese SFLT about the moon phase, which was written
utilizing the principles of technicality construction, imagery-exhaustive
structure, and high-modality expression. The control group read the
colored Chinese TT on moon phase from a current junior high school
science textbook. The groups were administered a pretest to probe their
prior understanding of moon phase. After 2 weeks, students read the
assigned versions of the text and were administered a posttest. Sixteen
students from both groups were selected randomly in terms of high or
low performance on the posttest to participate in an in-depth interview.
The main purpose of the interview was to investigate students_ reading
processes and their comprehension of the image included in the text.

Text Comparison: TT and SFLT

The study selected the moon-phase section of the Newton Publishing
Group (2002) edition of the natural and living technology science
textbook as the traditional text (TT). Based on the similar content of
moon phase and considering SFL linguistic theory, the authors created an
646 PEI-LING HSU AND WEN-GIN YANG

SFLT, then examined and revised it by implementing a pilot study. The

similarities and differences of the two versions are discussed below.

Equivalent Content. The main independent variables of the empirical

reading comprehension study were the different structures of print and
image in the two versions, whereas the content, total word number, and
compositional arrangement (i.e., layout design, image size) were controlled.
The two texts included around 900 Chinese characters, the layouts were
composed as print-left and image-right sequences, and the image in both
texts occupied about two-thirds of the page (Figure 1). The SFLT and TT
addressed eight science topics: definition of moon phase, cause of moon
phase, earth_s rotational direction, moon_s orbital revolving direction, the
moon phase_s trajectory path in the sky, determining time by the moon
phase, relation between the date and moon phase, and relation between
time and moon phase.

Main Differences between the Two Texts. The SFLT differed from the
TT in three main aspects: structure of print, structure of images, and
structure of interaction between print and image. The main differences
are summarized in Table I.

Structure of Print. Two important print differences occur in the two text
versions: word accuracy and the inference process of new concepts. The
ambiguity of words influences the accuracy of the text meaning, for
example, the concepts of date (e.g., day 1) and moment (e.g., noon) are
key points in the context of a moon phase. In TT, the Chinese character
Shi-jian indicated the general expression of time and was used for both
the concept of date and moment. In contrast, date and moment were

Figure 1. Layout of TT and SFLT versions.

 SCIENCE TEXTS AND READING COMPREHENSION 647
TABLE I
Main differences between TT and SFLT
Traditional text SFL text

Structure of print a. Ambiguous words a. Precise words

b. Unstructured description
Structure of image a. Inclusive structure
b. Low modality
c. Multiple views
Structure of a. Isolating leading of reading
interaction path within print and image
between print b. Different starting-reading
and image points implied in the text
and image
b. Technicality construction
a. Exhaustive structure
b. High modality
c. Consistent views
a. Interactive leading of reading
path between print and image
b. Same starting-reading points
implied in the text
and image

represented separately as the Chinese characters Rih-ci and Shi-ke to

avoid ambiguity in SFLT.
The inference process used to introduce new concepts in the two texts
was significantly different. The inference of the moon phase concept is
introduced in one paragraph and one diagram in TT (Figure 2). The
concept of moon phase was introduced in the paragraph, but the
individual moon phases (new moon, crescent, first quarter, full moon)
represented in the diagram were neither explained nor referred to directly
in the print. The theme/rheme principle from SFL suggests that the new
technical term or abstract concept should be carried in rheme, which is
introduced after the established or known information (theme). But the

Figure 2. Introduction of moon phase (one paragraph and diagram) in TT.

648 PEI-LING HSU AND WEN-GIN YANG

Figure 3. Introduction of moon phase (paragraph) in SFLT.

four, new, individual concepts of moon phase in TT were not properly

introduced, connected, or developed.
The SFLT was written using a technicality construction of the target
concept of moon phase (Figure 3). Technical events or characteristics
were transferred into macro-level eventsVa grammatical construct
shown as dashed-line arrows See the dark side of the moon Y the moon
shape of our seeing Y New moon, which embeds the meaning of the
entire event or characteristics required to induce a concept of greater
complexity. In the meta-event level, the entire scientific sequence The
moon shape of our seeing Y New moon Y These different moon shapes
on different days are packed as a thing; the scientific term moon phase is
introduced at the end and shown as solid arrows. The technical structure
elevated the nominalization to a broader level, from a technical event to
a macro-event and a meta-event sequentially by introducing events
leading to the abstract concept (Figure 4).

Structure of Images. The structure of the images (Figure 5) was analyzed

and designed in three aspects: representational structure, modality, and
salience (refers to particular views of images). In TT, the image was
represented as an inclusive structure that indicates four, nonequidistant
dates (days 1, 3, 7, 15). The image in the SFLT was represented as an
exhaustive structure that indicates the eight nearly equidistant dates
(days 1, 4, 7, 11, 15, 19, 23, 27) and four moments (morning, noon,
evening, midnight). The exhaustive image structure of SFLT likely
reduces the reader_s cognition load and shortens the time demanded for
inferences regarding the complexity of moon phase.
 SCIENCE TEXTS AND READING COMPREHENSION 649

Figure 4. Construction of technicality in SFLT.

The colour modality of TT for the moon was solid yellow. Many
students in the control group misunderstood the moon as the sun in the
image. The image has low modality resulting in TT readers not being
able to recognize the meaning of the symbols, since the students were
unacquainted with astrological phenomena and, therefore, unable to
grasp directly what the image symbols signified. The SFLT adopted a
high-modality representation of the moon phase, featured in the moon_s
physical appearance (i.e., the photograph-style square frame) and the
authentic colour of the moon and moon phase to enhance comprehension
of the elements_ representational meanings.
With respect to viewing of salience in TT, it provides two perspectives:
a top-down view that is presented by the orbit of the moon and a sectional
view that is represented by the three-dimensional earth. However, the SFL
image was depicted from a top-down perspective only, which was
represented by the orbit of the moon and a top-down view of earth. Using
the same view in the image should be more convenient for reading and
should also reduce the chance of confusing the students.

Structure of Interaction between Print and Image. The interpretation and

reading path of print and images are more complex than reading print
exclusively. In order to lead readers to understand the meaning of the
images, the SFLT adopted many indicating (signal) words to link images
and print in a back-and-forth process. For example, In figure 1, you can
650 PEI-LING HSU AND WEN-GIN YANG

Figure 5. Differences in image structure. (a) Image in TT-inclusive structure, low

modality, multiple views. (b) Image in SFLT-exhaustive structure, high modality,
consistent views. (Permission to publish the traditional image was obtained from the
Newton publisher in Taiwan.)
 SCIENCE TEXTS AND READING COMPREHENSION 651

see ... or As the small black person stands in A position ... or When the
black person turns to B position, he will see .... These words allow
students to read the image through the guidance of print, thereby reading
the print and image at the same time by following the indicating words.
In the TT, due to the lack of explicit connection between the print and
image, the reading path may be more disconnected between print and
images than the interactive reading path encouraged in SFLT (Figure 6).
The reading path in the text and images for the TT illustrates that
there are few connections between the print and image due to the lack of
signal words in the print and labels in the image. Meanwhile, the starting
points implied in the print, diagram, and image are different in the TT.
The sentence in the text If you see the moon every day, you will find that
it changes from a circle, wanes and then waxes to a circle, in periodic
cycles implies that one starts reading the image from day 15. However,
the sequence of the diagram written from the top down is day 1 to day
15. The inconsistent starting points in the print and in the image are
unlikely to lead students to follow the author_s planned reading path. In
contrast, the SFLT leads them to read by means of the signal words in
print, day-label words in the image, and eight clear arrows showing the
moon_s orbit. These three ways lead students to start reading moon phase
at day 1. The consistency of starting points in both image and print likely
lead students to read as the author planned.

Instruments and Data Analysis

This study involved two different versions of texts (TT and SFLT) and a
reading comprehension test. Referring to test questions from junior high
school textbooks, the Internet, and related books, the reading compre-

Figure 6. Reading paths implied in TT (isolating leading of reading path within print
and image) and SFLT (interactive leading of reading path between print and image).
652 PEI-LING HSU AND WEN-GIN YANG

hension test designed by the authors included the main concepts

(movement and relative positions of the moon and the earth, the
phenomenon and cause of moon phase, the relation of dates, time and
moon phase) addressed in both science texts. The test is composed of 36
items (35 multiple choice and 1 short answer) with an alpha coefficient
of internal consistency of 0.83 based on the pilot study (50 students). The
data collected for this study included a pretest and posttest on the
comprehension of moon phase and one-on-one semi-structured inter-
views. The data analyses generated descriptive statistics and a one-way
ANCOVA of posttest results was performed for the treatment groups
using the pretest results as the co-variant. The qualitative interviews
were transcribed from audiotapes and analyzed using a constant-
compression technique.

RESULTS

Results of the Reading Comprehension Tests

The reading comprehension tests (36 items, alpha coefficient 0.90 on
posttest) revealed that 69 students who were randomly assigned to
reading TT yielded a pretest mean score of 18.14 (SD = 7.01) and a
posttest mean score of 22.52 (SD = 7.66). The 63 students who were
randomly assigned to reading SFLT yielded a mean pretest score of
18.83 (SD = 6.99) and a mean posttest score of 26.52 (SD = 6.92). The
TTs gain score effect size was 0.54, and the SFLT gain score was 1.11.
These effect sizes indicate that both texts led students to gain a better
understanding of moon phase but that the SFLT had a higher efficacy
than the TT. Furthermore, we used ANCOVA to determine if the effects
were significantly different. The results of the one-way ANCOVA
analysis of posttest results adjusted for pretest performance (F = 12.87,
df 1.129) revealed that SFLT readers performed significantly (p G 0.001)
better than TT readers.

Results of Semi-Structured Interviews

The interviews were originally conducted to document the reading
comprehension of image text and ask about print-image integration in the
two different text versions. On the basis of the pilot study, the semi-
structured interview was designed to take about 15Y20 minutes for each
student and the questions focused on the comprehension of the images.
The 12 image-relevant questions are as follows:
 SCIENCE TEXTS AND READING COMPREHENSION 653

1. In the text, which part of the image confuses you?

2. Where do you start to read the image?
3. What do the inner zone symbols (moon) and the outer zone symbols
(moon phase) mean?
4. What is the cyclic period of the moon_s revolution and its direction?
5. What is the period of the earth_s rotation and its direction?
6. What is each date of moon phase in the image?
7. What are the locations represented by A, B, C, and D in the image?
8. What is the cause of moon phase?
9. Why are there curved and straight shapes in the outer zone symbols
(moon phase)?
10. Why is the moon phase on day 7 opposite to day 23?
11. Does the image look like a top-down view drawing or a sectional
drawing?
12. Do you have any other comments about the image?

The summary results for the 16 randomly selected students are shown
in Table II, in which H indicates the score was in the top one-third of the
posttest rating and L indicates the score was in the bottom one-third of
the rating. The student interview responses revealed group differences
between the SFLT and TT on questions 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, and 11. In addition,
we found that high- and low-performing students_ responses were
apparently different for reading the TT in questions 9, 10, and 11, and
that the SFLT appeared to support more similar responses across high-
and low-performing students. The main differences between TT and
SFLT from the interview data involved the starting point of reading the
image, symbol representation and inference, and construction of meaning
and causality.

Starting Point of Reading Image. Exploring students_ starting point of

reading the image as asked in question 2, day 1 is a hidden starting point
for reading the moon-phase image. But only 1 TT student interviewed
started reading from day 1; the other 7 students read from day 7, day 15,
or day 23. In contrast, 7 out of 8 SFLT students started reading from the
intended date position (day 1). The interviews and text analysis indicated
that the SFLT efficiently and successfully led students to read the image
from day 1. This was likely due to the technicality construction of print
and the exhaustive structure of labeling moon phase.

Symbol Representation and Inference. The analysis of questions 3 (moon

and moon phase representations), 6 (dates of phase), and 7 (ABCD
location representations) revealed that many students misunderstood the
654 PEI-LING HSU AND WEN-GIN YANG

TABLE II
Interview results of 16 students_ comprehension about the image in TT and SFLT

Notation:
H and L indicates top third and bottom third of rating student; M and F indicates male and female
student; J indicates that the student had scientific responses; indicates that the student hesitated
when responding; $ indicates that the student had comments (open answers).

representations in the traditional images. The TT readers_ responses to

question 3 revealed that they had better comprehension of the outer
circle of symbols signifying looking at moon from the earth (moon
phase) but could not understand the represented meaning of the inner
circles (moon). Only 2 of 8 TT students interviewed successfully
recognized the scientific meaning of the outer and inner symbols in the
traditional image, and many students mentioned the yellow color of the
inner symbols as their reason for identifying the moon as the sun. In
contrast, SFLT readers did not have the same confusion. All SFLT
readers interviewed understood the meaning of the symbols of moon and
moon phase in the image. This high level of comprehension was likely
due to the high modality of moon and moon phase representation, in
which the same grey colour was used to represent moon and moon phase
and the squares outside the moon phase were used to represent the
phenomenon as viewed or pictured from earth.
 SCIENCE TEXTS AND READING COMPREHENSION 655

All SFLT readers quickly indicated dates for each moon phase
(question 6). However, the TT readers hesitated and slowly pointed out
each date, especially days 19, 23, and 27. The SFLT adopts the exhaustive
structure in which the carrier_s attributes correspond to the image. The
symbolic clarity appeared to help readers recognize each date of the moon_
s phase. Nevertheless, the inclusive structure of the TT only partly
indicates three dates of the 8 moon phases. Therefore, students need more
mental effort, resources, and time to process the understanding of each
moon phase date.
TT readers encountered difficulty in identifying the exact meaning of
the four points (A, B, C, D) marked in the image (question 7). The
original intention of the points in TT was to illustrate the earth_s equator
at different moments (morning, noon, evening, midnight). Most TT
readers (6 of 8) misunderstood these points as different latitudes or
different directions on the earth. In contrast, 7 of 8 SFLT readers could
illustrate that the four points were located at the same latitude (equator).
Both texts attempt to lead students toward considering the relative
positions of the moon and people on the earth to the causality of moon
phase. The TT readers_ confusion about the multiple perspectives
complicates their understanding of the relative positions of the moon and
people on the earth as the cause of phases.

Construction of Understanding and Causality. Understanding the cause

and effects of the sun, moon, and earth relationship reflected in the
changing phases of the moon was the central goal of the science unit and
requires scientific reasoning and understanding of relative positions to
overcome common misconceptions (questions 8 and 11). Question
8 probes students_ implied causality of moon-phase shapes and their
reasoning. Only 1 traditional and 5 SFLT readers interviewed answered
this question scientifically. Most readers inferred that the cause of the
different moon phase shapes was The moon is blocked by something or
simply Don_t know. We found that the SFLT supported students better in
understanding the causality of moon phase without explicit additional
teaching.
Part of the difficulty in understanding the cause of the phases of the
moon appears to be the awareness of the multiple perspectives from the
earth, moon, and sun (question 11). Alert readers are aware of the
perspectives embedded in images. When asked to indicate the views of
the images, low-performance TT readers could not identify the
perspective (e.g., I am not sure). Only high-performance TT readers
indicated that it was a top-down view. However, all the SFLT readers
656 PEI-LING HSU AND WEN-GIN YANG

quickly identified the top-down view. These results appear to suggest

that the SFLT, having no conflicting views in images, led both high- and
low-performance students to read efficiently.
In summary, reading and understanding moon-phase images is
difficult for most students and especially for TT readers. Many students
were unable to grasp the meaning of the various elements the author
intended to reveal in the images. Therefore, the representation and
structure of the image and the efficient integration of print and image
(leading to the interactive construction of understanding) should be
considered by authors, publishers, and teachers.

DISCUSSION

The purpose of this research is to compare two different versions of moon-

phase science texts and report grade 9 students_ reading comprehension.
The main differences between the TT and SFLT are introduced in terms of
the structure of print (e.g., ambiguity of words, technicality), structure of
image (e.g., representational structure, modality, salience), and interaction
of print and image (e.g., starting point and reading path implied in texts).
The ANCOVA results indicated that the SFLT readers demonstrated
significantly better comprehension than TT readers, and the semi-structured
interviews revealed the better efficacy of the SFL image. Some scientific
concepts, such as astronomical or spatial concepts, are difficult when
introduced only by print. Readers can derive an enormous amount of
information from reading images, but the abstract aspect of images might
lead to different interpretations. One effective solution is to integrate the
respective strengths of print and image so as to complement each other by
means of including interactive references between the print and the image.
The study provides an example of the importance of the design of
integration of print and image dealing with a difficult-to-learn science
concept. This integration significantly improved students_ reading
comprehension. SFL is recommended, therefore, as a potentially useful
and systematic theory and tool to design science texts to facilitate students_
reading comprehension.
Research on integrating print and images has frequently taken a
cognition perspective, such as Paivio_s dual-code theory and the generative
theory of multimedia learning (Mayer, 1989). This study examined
integrating print and images from the point of view of linguistics. It not
only has the support of linguistic theory but also contains guidance on
print-development formats, image-design frameworks, and text layout that
 SCIENCE TEXTS AND READING COMPREHENSION 657

could serve as a beneficial theoretical tool for authors, educators, and

publishers to design and write textbooks or supplemental readings.
Other potential applications of SFL might be for teachers. First, SFL
could serve as a tool and resource to develop criteria for evaluating
textbooks. Especially after implementing the nine-year systematic
curriculum in Taiwan, more and more textbooks created by different
publishers have appeared in schools. Thus, having criteria developed by
a systematic and reliable theory to evaluate textbooks allows teachers to
choose suitable reading texts for their students. Second, SFL could serve
as a curriculum support tool, helping teachers to teach the language of
science in a systematic and explicit way. Students who are not familiar
with the specialized, meaning-making, grammatical resources of science
are likely to experience difficulty when reading and writing science texts
(Fang, 2005). These students need tools to unpack the organization and
logic of science language. Thus, SFL could not only serve as a theoretical
framework for designing science texts but also as a resource for
developing textbook criteria and the explicit teaching of science language.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research is supported by the National Science Council, Taiwan

(NSC 94-2511-S-003-004). We thank L. Yore, S. Yore, J. Shymansky,
and two unidentified reviewers for their valuable and critical feedback to
earlier drafts of this article. We also express our appreciation for the
participants_ contributions in this study.

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Pei-Ling Hsu and Wen-Gin Yang

Graduate Institute of Science Education,
National Taiwan Normal University,
No. 88, Ting-Jou Rd., Sec. 4, Taipei, 116, Taiwan
E-mail: wgy@ntnu.edu.tw

Pei-Ling Hsu
Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Faculty of Education,
University of Victoria,
Victoria, V8W 3N4, BC, Canada
E-mail: phsu@uvic.ca