scholarly journals Impact of Related Activities on Reading Comprehension of EFL Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Ali S. Alghonaim

This experimental study reported in this article is casual research since it aims to improve reading comprehension of EFL students by means of applying pre-related reading activities. The study is quantitative. It used two instruments: (1) Reading Engagement Scale developed by Whitaker (2003) to determine the efficacy of pre-related reading activities and (2) pretest/posttest to measure comprehension level after implementing related reading activities. The subjects, Saudi EFL learners, were students in an English college in Buraidah city. The research used two groups: experimental and control groups. The subjects in the control group (27 students) were receiving a regular reading instruction, whereas those in the experimental group (24 students) did some pre-related reading activities at home and before the class. Multiple statistical tests were used to find out reliability, regression, and pearson correlation. The result of the study showed that the difference between the two groups was statistically significant. The students in the experimental groups far outperformed those in the control group. The study suggests that EFL learners' comprehension level increases with reading engagement that is related to the class reading. Recommendation of this finding for EFL reading environment is discussed.

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 153
Author(s):  
Moslem Fatollahi

<p>Sight translation is the oral translation of a written text and is a mixture of translation and interpreting. Sight translation is a widely-used activity in translation training programs. Yet, this mode of translation has rarely been applied as a reading instruction technique in Iranian EFL instruction context in spite of the growing interest in using sight translation in language teaching and learning. This study aims at investigating the effect of sight translation on the reading comprehension ability of Iranian undergraduate EFL students. This is a quasi-experimental study involving treatment. To this end, four reading comprehension classes involving 70 learners were divided into two groups, with the experimental one receiving reading instruction with sight translation exercises and the control group receiving reading instruction without sight translation exercises. The posttest results revealed that the experimental group performing sight translation exercises in classroom outperformed the control group who had not engaged in sight translation. This study has implications for ELT instructors and learners in an Iranian context as they can use sight translation exercises as an effective technique for improving the reading comprehension ability of their learners.</p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 815
Author(s):  
Jahanbakhsh Nikoopour ◽  
Mino Bargnil

The present study investigated the effect of using scrambled cloze procedure on reading and writing among intermediate EFL learners. To fulfill the purpose of the study, 60 participants were tested on a PET test, from whom 48 homogeneous participants were selected and assigned randomly to two groups of 25 and 23, as experimental and control group. Then, both groups were given a pre-test of writing and reading comprehension. During 14 sessions, the experimental group were provided with scrambled cloze samples and tasks while practicing paragraph writing and reading, whereas the control group did not, while they were practicing paragraph writing and reading. At the end, the two groups were tested in reading comprehension and writing, based on a posttest. Two raters scored the writing samples collected from two groups in the pre and posttest. Pearson correlation was used to compute the inter-rater reliability. The results showed the experimental group outperformed the control group in paragraph writing and reading comprehension. However, it was found that gender did not make a significant difference in reading comprehension and writing performance.


Author(s):  
Maryam Danaye Tous ◽  
Abdorreza Tahriri ◽  
Sara Haghighi

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of instruction through debate on the male and female EFL learners’ reading comprehension, and to examine the difference between male and female EFL learners’ perception towards instructing critical thinking (CT) through debate. 88 learners, out of 120, were selected through convenience sampling method. Using a quantitative research method with experimental pre-and post-tests design, this study consisted of 44 participants in the experimental group and 44 participants in the control group. The experimental group received some treatment in the form of “the Meeting-House Debate” strategy, while the control group received no such treatment. After one month and a half treatment of experimental group, both groups participated in the post-test. Data analysis was done using descriptive and inferential statistics procedures. Findings showed that the debate strategy had statistically significant effect on the students’ reading comprehension. Also, results revealed that there was no significant difference between male and female EFL learners’ perception towards instructing CT through debate. It was concluded that instructing CT skills through debate strategy resulted in better understanding of reading texts.


Author(s):  
Fereydoon Rasouli ◽  
Omid Ahmadi

Determining the motivational impact of enhancing reading comprehension, through pictorial fictions, on the EFL students to involve them more in writing activities, is the prime purpose of the present study. The study took place in the Iranian Language Institute (ILI), the branch of Mahabad. Key English Test (KET) administrated to a hundred students to select the subjects of the present study. Finally, 60 male students were selected and randomly divided into the experimental and control groups. The experimental group received pictorial fictions as treatment, utilizing input reading comprehension enhancement through typographic elements, and direct and indirect feedback provided to them, while the control group received pictorial fiction texts without such inputs, then to collect the intended data, the "Academic Writing Motivation Questionnaire" (AWMQ) was administered to both groups separately in two stages of pre-tests and post-tests. The results showed that enhancing reading comprehension has a significant motivational impact on the writing engagement of Iranian EFL learners.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 14
Author(s):  
Roghayeh Rasouli ◽  
Akhtar Zohouri Vaghei ◽  
Majid Pourmohammadi

This present study investigated the effects of pre-reading activities on the reading comprehension ability of Iranian pre-intermediate level EFL learners. To this end, 40 female EFL learners with the age of 14 to 18 who were studying at Soroush English Institute in Rasht, Iran were selected from a larger population based on their performance on a Quick Placement Test. Then the participants were randomly assigned to one experimental and one control group. A pretest piloted before with the reliability index of .86 was administered to both groups. Next, the experimental group received 10 sessions treatment that was vocabulary pre-teaching. Meanwhile, the control group received its usual classroom teaching. Then, a posttest with the reliability index of .88 was administered to both groups. The result of this study revealed that experimental group who received the new treatment achieved higher proficiency in reading comprehension than the control group. Therefore, the result of this study confirmed that pre-reading activities and vocabulary pre-teaching can statistically improve the participants’ reading comprehension ability.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 94-103
Author(s):  
Somayyeh Mousavian ◽  
Hossein Siahpoosh

Reading comprehension is a key issue in learning English as a foreign language, and it is critical that teachers utilize pre-reading strategies in reading classes in order to help students enhance their comprehension. The present study investigated the effectiveness of two pre-reading strategies of pre-questioning and vocabulary pre-teaching on EFL students’ performance in reading comprehension. A group of 60 students participated in this study. An experimental design was used, with 20 students being assigned to the first experimental group that received one pre-reading strategy (vocabulary pre-teaching), while the second experimental group which also consisted 20 students received another pre-reading strategy (pre-questioning) and the remaining 20 students received the traditional method. Students in the groups were asked first to perform the pre-reading strategy, read a passage, and then answer comprehension questions. Results indicated that there were statistically significant differences between the groups. The experimental groups got better results than the control group. Comparison of the two experimental groups, moreover, showed that the vocabulary pre-teaching group outperformed the pre-questioning group.   Key words: EFL teaching, Pre-reading strategies, Pre-questioning, Reading comprehension, Schema theory, Vocabulary pre-teaching


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 1043-1050
Author(s):  
Asalefew Mekuria Wudneh

The study was an attempt to investigate the level of awareness on Metacognitive reading strategies among first year Ethiopian EFL students.  It  also  tried  to  figure  out  the  possible  relationship  between  Metacognitive reading strategies  use  and  reading comprehension achievement.  Ninety-four EFL learners participated  in  the  study.  Metacognitive reading strategy inventory and reading comprehension test were used to collect the data. The data were analyzed through descriptive statistics to determine the mean value of strategies employed by the learners. Moreover, Pearson correlation coefficient  was  used  to discover  the  association  between  reading  strategy  use  and  reading  comprehension  achievement. According  to  the  findings  Ethiopian  EFL  learners ,were almost near to the lower limit (M=2.55,Sd.=0.34)line of medium level reading strategy users. Furthermore, the use of metacognitive reading strategy had weak correlation (r=0.21,p=0.039) with reading  comprehension achievement. The possible cause of this could be lack of awareness on how to regulate and monitor reading comprehension.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehrnoosh Karimi ◽  
Raouf Hamzavi

The present study aimed at investigating the effect of flipped model of instruction on EFL learners’ reading comprehension ability. Moreover, this study aimed at identifying EFL students’ attitudes toward flipped model of instruction. To this end, 60 EFL learners studying at an accredited private language institute in Isfahan were first conveniently sampled and were homogenized through a sample of PET. 50 EFL learners within age range of 19 to 25 were selected for the study and equally assigned into two groups-experimental and group. A researcher-made reading comprehension test was given to the participants as the pretest of the study. The experimental group received flipped model of instruction, whereas the control group received traditional model of instruction. At the end of the study, the researcher-made reading comprehension test was administered to the two groups of the study as their posttest. Moreover, in order to identify the EFL students’ attitude towards the flipped model of instruction, the participants were asked to complete a questionnaire on flipped model of instruction developed primarily by Elfatah and Ahmed (2016). The results of ANCOVA revealed that flipped model of instruction had a significant positive effect on the reading comprehension ability of EFL students. Moreover, the results of frequency analyses indicated that EFL students in the experimental group had positive attitude towards attitude flipped model of instruction and agreed that it was helpful to them in many ways. The results and implications of the study are discussed in more detail in the paper. 


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Safaa M. Abdelhalim

This study investigates the effectiveness of a proposed instructional strategy based on habits of mind and shared inquiry in developing reading comprehension and reading engagement among EFL learners at a KSA university. Integral to the study was the use of two main instruments: reading comprehension test and reading engagement survey. The experimental group received reading strategy and reading engagement training activities in addition to general reading practice, while the control group focused only on developing general reading comprehension skills. The data, coded in terms of a range of measures of literal, inferential, and critical reading skills as well as reading engagement, were subjected to t-tests. The results indicate that after the intervention, although some reading comprehension gains were achieved by the CG, the EG achieved higher levels in reading comprehension skills and engagement. Thus, findings revealed support for the proposed strategy. The findings have significant implications for EFL pedagogy, highlighting the effective impact of strategy based instruction on development of reading comprehension.


2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-50
Author(s):  
KHATEREH BEHZADIAN

ABSTRACT Phrasal verbs are commonly used in spoken English but they are difficult for learners to acquire. This is mainly because such verbs, in their combinations with various prepositional/adverbial particles, often exhibit figurative senses not readily clear to the learner. Due to the problems experienced by Iranian EFL learners in acquiring phrasal verbs, this study was designed to investigate the effectiveness of reading with input enhancement and concordance-based materials on 60 Iranian EFL learners' acquisition and retention of phrasal verbs. To this end, three intact classes were assigned to: 1) reading with input enhancement group, 2) concordance-based group, and 3) a control group. These classes had equal numbers of participants and prior to the treatment, participants were asked to complete a pre-test to ascertain their unfamiliarity with the target phrasal verbs. After a ten- session treatment period, the production and retention of the target phrasal verbs were tested through a post-test and a delayed posttest. The results of the ANOVA revealed the superiority of the reading with input enhancement group over concordance-based group in both acquisition and retention of phrasal verbs. In addition, through Pearson Correlation it was found that the knowledge of phrasal verbs has a positive relationship with learners' cloze reading comprehension. The study concluded with some pedagogical implications.


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