Comprehension ofWriting and Spontaneous Speech

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore a difference between reading comprehension and the comprehension of spontaneous speech which an earlier investigation by the present author had suggested. It was hypothesized that, because of channel differences and because of differences in the linguistic structure of formal writing and extemporaneous speech, reading comprehension was a more precise form of language processing than listening to this type of material. Data to test this hypothesis were obtained by administering a test of precision in literal comprehension to a sample of undergraduate students who had been exposed either to passages of spontaneous speech or equivalent written passages. Statistical analysis of the data revealed a significant difference between the mean scores of the listening group and tile mean score of both an untimed reading group and a reading group whose reading time had been matched to the time available to the listeners. It was concluded that normal reading comprehension, at least at the literal level in mature readers, was shown to be a more precise form of language processing than listening to spontaneous speech.