An Analysis of Summary Protocols of University ESL Students

Though summarization is a task often required in academic classes, little is known about summary processes and products of university ESL students. In this study, a coding scheme based on the Kintsch and van Dijk text-processing model (1978) was employed to compare idea units in summary protocols produced by university ESL students at two levels of proficiency. Significant differences between the groups were found in two categories: replication of sentences from the original text, and combinations of idea units taken from two or more punctuated sentences in the original. Though there were differences between the two groups in other idea unit replication and distortion categories, none were found to be significant. Suggestions for teaching and further research conclude the paper.