An Assessment of the Readability Level of Macmillian New Primary English Book 5 Using Syntatic Complexity; Average Sentence Length Tests and Dale-Chall Formula

Abstract

This study examined the linguistic problems that might have been inherent in the Macmillian New Primary English book 5 which are capable of hindering effective comprehension of the passages in the text for the 5^th grade student for which it was recommended.  Three readability tests were conducted – Age grade; Average sentence length and syntactic complexity.  The results of the tests established the fact that:  the passages could easily be understood by an average 5^th grade student of English as a first language; the average sentence length is fourteen (14) words per sentence while the average sentence syntatic complexity is 1.33.  The end product of all these tests showed that the text is readable at independent level for an average 5^th grade student But because the formulas used are native speaker biased and the fact that most of the pupils in Nigerian public primary schools have poor background in English Languages, it is suggested that the readability of the text should be put at instruction level for them.  The teachers should therefore provide all necessary supports to enhance effective comprehension of the text.