THE IMPACT OF EDUCATIONAL LEXEMES ON READING COMPREHENSION AND EXPLICIT,IMPLICIT INSTRUCTIONS

Аннотация

; Educational texts are densely populated with lexemes that range from high-frequency general words to specialized academic and instructional vocabulary. This study investigates how educational lexemes—particularly those used in instructions—affect students’ reading comprehension under conditions of explicit and implicit instruction. Using a mixed-method design, the study reveals that students’ comprehension improves significantly when key lexemes are explicitly introduced and explained prior to reading. The findings highlight the importance of vocabulary instruction in content learning and suggest pedagogical strategies for scaffolding both general and discipline-specific lexemes toenhance reading comprehension. Keywords: educational lexicon, reading comprehension, explicit instruction, implicit learning, academicvocabulary, pedagogy Reading comprehension in academic contexts involves more than decoding words—it requires interpreting complex lexemes, often loaded with disciplinary meaning or instructional functions. Educational lexemes, such as analyze, compare, infer, and evaluate, are often assumed to be understood by learners, yet they represent significant cognitive demands, especially for second- language learners and novices. Previous research has emphasized the importance of vocabulary knowledge in supporting comprehension. However, less attention has been given to how the type and treatment of educational lexemes—particularly those used in instructions—impact student understanding. The distinction between explicit instruction (where words are directly taught or clarified) and implicitexposure(where understanding is inferred from context)is particularly critical. This study aims toexplore:  How educational lexemes influence reading comprehension;  The comparativeeffects of explicit vs.implicit instructiononprocessing theselexemes. Participants The study involved 90 upper-secondary students (ages 16–18) from three schools, divided into three groups (n=30 per group). Materials  Three academic texts (science, social studies, and literature) were selected, each containing 10–15high-frequency educational lexemes.  Pre-tests and post-tests were designed to measure reading comprehension and lexical recognition. 72 PEDAGOGIK ISLOHOTLAR VA ULARNING YECHIMLARI https://worldlyjournals.com Procedure  Group A received explicit instruction, where educational lexemes were pre-taught and discussed.  Group B received implicit instruction, where no prior explanation was given; students inferred meaning during reading.  Group C(control group) read thetexts with noinstructional intervention. Data Collection Data were collected through comprehension quizzes, vocabulary recognition tasks, and short- answer written responses. Analysis Quantitative data were analyzed using ANOVA to compare group performance. Qualitative insights were drawn from students’written explanations and self-reflections. The results of the study clearly indicate that explicit instruction of educational lexemes has a significant positiveimpact onstudents' reading comprehension. Students in Group A, who received explicit instruction on key educational lexemes before reading, demonstrated the highest comprehension scores, with an average of 82% accuracy on post-tests. They were able to understand task instructions better, identify the purpose of questions more precisely, and useacademic vocabulary accurately in written responses. In contrast, Group B, which experienced implicit instruction (no prior explanation of terms), scored an average of 68%. Although some students were able to infer the meaning of the lexemes from context, their understanding was often inconsistent, particularly when encountering abstract verbs likejustify,evaluate,or contrast.Errors ininterpreting questionprompts were frequent. Group C, the control group, which received no vocabulary support, scored the lowest, averaging 55%. These students often misunderstood instructions entirely or provided irrelevant answers, suggesting a clear gapin understanding academic terms essential for task completion. Qualitative data from student reflections and short-answer responses further confirmed that explicit exposure to educational lexemes increased student confidence and task clarity. Students in Group A frequently expressed that pre-learning the vocabulary helped them focus on content ratherthan struggle with instructions. Overall, theresults demonstrate that:  Educational lexemesplay a crucial role inshaping comprehension.  Explicit instructionleads tomore accurate understanding and useof academicterms.  Implicit learning alone is insufficient for consistent comprehension, particularly for less proficient readers or second-language learners. These findings suggest that educational lexemes function as both cognitive and instructional anchors within academic texts. Without understanding key terms—particularly those used in question stems orreading prompts—studentsmay misinterpret