scholarly journals Getting to Know L2 Poor Comprehenders

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 98
Author(s):  
Masoud Zoghi ◽  
Ramlee Mustapha ◽  
Tengku Maasum
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Strategy Training ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Poor Reading ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Reading Comprehension Strategies ◽  
Poor Comprehenders ◽  
Scant Attention ◽  
Iranian Context

Among the plethora of studies conducted thus far to explore the factors affecting EFL reading effectiveness, scant attention seems to be paid to the why of poor reading comprehension of most EFL learners. In this regard, the present article capitalized on qualitative research on a small scale, for the purpose of addressing the not-so-often-debated issue of unsuccessful EFL reading competency in the Iranian context. In fact, the purpose of the article was to explore the degree of Iranian EFL learners' awareness of reading comprehension strategies and their potential comprehension failure. To this end, 12 EFL university-level students were interviewed, using a researcher-developed interview questionnaire. An analysis of student data interview revealed that there is an instructional void as regards to reading strategy training in the Iranian educational settings. Ultimately, based on the findings of the study, recommendations for future investigations are discussed.

scholarly journals Reading Comprehension Strategies among EFL Learners in Higher Learning Institutions

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arab World English Journal ◽  
Hamza Al-Jarrah ◽  
Nur Salina binti Ismail
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Reading Strategies ◽  
Conceptual Knowledge ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Higher Learning ◽  
Comprehension Strategies ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Reading Comprehension Strategies ◽  
Reading Materials ◽  
Learning Institutions

A variety of reading strategies are required to comprehend reading materials. Without effective reading strategies, students mostly face reading comprehension difficulties. This study aims to investigate reading comprehension strategies among English foreign language (EFL) learners in higher learning institutions. The study employed qualitative method and 10 Arab students of Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) and Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) were interviewed. Inductive thematic approach was used to analyze data. The findings indicates that the most commonly used reading strategies among the EFL learners are logical knowledge (under linguistic schema), formal construction (under formal schema), cultural knowledge (under cultural schema), and prior knowledge and conceptual knowledge (under content schema). This study concludes that reading strategies help the EFL learners in understanding English reading materials. To improve reading strategies for EFL learners, there is a need for collective effort of English language teachers, curriculum designers, educationists, education policy makers, and the EFL learners themselves.

scholarly journals A Study of Factors Affecting EFL Learners’ Reading Comprehension Skill and the Strategies for Improvement

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abbas Pourhosein Gilakjani ◽  
Narjes Banou Sabouri
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Reading Strategies ◽  
Review Paper ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Academic Tasks ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Comprehension Skill ◽  
Written Materials

<p>Reading comprehension is a significant skill that furthers the development of learners’ various academic tasks. It helps them decoding a text, analyzing, explaining, and expressing their own ideas about written materials. Learners should develop a strong ability to understand written materials to struggle with the academic tasks that their teachers deal with them. A primary objective of reading comprehension is to aid learners improve skills and comprehension of texts if they want to be skilled readers. In this review paper, the researchers define the term reading comprehension and reading strategies, elaborate previous findings about the relationship between reading strategies and reading comprehension skill, state factors affecting reading comprehension skill, explain the effective strategies for reading comprehension, and finally mention suggestions for improving reading comprehension skill. The findings of this review paper indicated that appropriate reading strategies play a vital role in improving EFL learners’ reading comprehension skill.</p>

scholarly journals Do Different Instruction Modalities Matter? Exploring the Influence of Concept Mapping and Translation Strategies Instruction on the Reading Comprehension Ability of Adult EFL Learners

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 761
Author(s):  
Mehran Davaribina ◽  
Shahram Esfandiari Asl
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Concept Mapping ◽  
Strategy Instruction ◽  
Analysis Of Covariance ◽  
Strategy Training ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Translation Strategy ◽  
Comprehension Ability ◽  
Reading Comprehension Ability

The present study was an attempt to compare the effect of concept mapping strategy instruction and translation strategy instruction on the reading comprehension ability of the Iranian EFL learners. To do so, 90 EFL learners at the intermediate level studying in a language institute in Ardabil, north Iran were randomly assigned into three equal groups (concept map, translation and control).  Having taken a reading pretest, the participants in experimental groups were instructed using mentioned strategies whereas the control group learners were taught the same content with no strategies integrated. Results of analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) revealed that the participants in the experimental groups significantly outperformed the participants in the control group, suggesting that the application of concept mapping and translation strategy training can generate more positive effect on the reading comprehension ability of the learners. Also, the findings of the study indicated that the concept mapping group outperformed the translation strategy group on the reading posttest. Pedagogical implications and suggestions of the study will be discussed.

scholarly journals Instructing Reading Comprehension Strategies: Effects on EFL Learners’ Self-Efficacy in Reading

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (S1-May) ◽  
pp. 69-73
Author(s):  
Mohammadreza Valizadeh
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Control Period ◽  
Main Idea ◽  
Comprehension Strategies ◽  
Placement Test ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Traditional Teaching ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Reading Comprehension Strategies

This experimental study, using pretest-intervention-posttest design, investigated whether or not teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) learners to use comprehension strategies when they read English passages, increases their self-efficacy in reading. The participants were 55 EFL learners in Turkey who were at lower-intermediate level based on the results of the Oxford Quick Placement Test. Data were gathered via a Reading Self-Efficacy Questionnaire. The whole treatment/control period lasted for 11 weeks during a reading course. The experimental group (n = 28) received instruction in reading comprehension strategies (i.e., previewing, scanning for details, skimming, identifying the topic and main idea, finding supporting details, making inferences, understanding the author’s purpose, making predictions, dealing with unfamiliar words, using context clues, and summarizing). The control group (n = 27) received instruction by traditional teaching methods (i.e., reading, paraphrasing, translating, and answering the exercises).The results of the Mann-Whitney U Test indicated that instruction in English reading comprehension strategies had a positive effect on EFL learners in terms of increasing their self-efficacy in reading.

scholarly journals INVESTIGATING FACTORS AFFECTING POOR READING CULTURE AMONG EFL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-38
Author(s):  
Sumaya Khalid Mustafa ◽  
Osama Sayfadin Ali ◽  
Mohammed Sherko Awlqadir ◽  
Rekar Jalal Mahmood
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Role Models ◽  
Good Readers ◽  
Poor Reading ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Reading Culture ◽  
Major Factors ◽  
University Lecturers ◽  
The University

Reading books has not become a habit among university students in Kurdistan; one can count the good readers in a class with fingers of a hand. This is a big crisis and needs serious work. The problem is demonstrated through the students’ performance and proven knowledge in the academic years and it matters because when the students graduate in the university and during the university academic years they do not have sufficient knowledge that a university student needs to have. This study aims to investigate the factors that affect poor reading culture of the EFL learners in Kurdistan universities. It provides the major factors that affect the reading interest of EFL learners. For this purpose, a questionnaire, and an interview are used. The questionnaire is designed to obtain certain information regarding the learners’ reading culture, environment, factors that motivate and demotivate them. The interview is designed to ask certain questions which are answered by university lecturers and one of them is the director of the general library in one of the universities. Through the study, it was found that reading books has not become a habit among university students in Kurdistan and they have given little or no attention to reading books, and students’ cultural environment demotivates them from reading books. Kurdish culture, lack of role models, and insufficient libraries are among factors of poor reading culture among university students. However, it was found that university libraries are quite sufficient for reading books. Therefore, the results indicate that the reading culture is not at the needed level and students are not used to providing a decent time for reading daily. They spend their free time on other things rather than reading. The findings of this study may serve as reliable data regarding the culture and habit of reading which shows an up-to-date piece of information about one of the great aspects of EFL learners in universities in Kurdistan which is reading culture.

scholarly journals The Comparative Effect of Collaborative Strategic Reading and Content-Based Instruction on EFL Learners' Reading Comprehension

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 165
Author(s):  
Mania Nosratinia ◽  
Negin Hooshmand Fateh
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Strategy Training ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Strategic Reading ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Collaborative Strategic Reading ◽  
Csr Strategy ◽  
Pre Treatment ◽  
Based Instruction ◽  
Age Range

The present study was an attempt to compare the effect of teaching Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) and Content-Based Instruction (CBI) on the reading comprehension of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. To fullfill this objective, a group of 90 intermediate female EFL learners, within the age range of 17 to 19, took a piloted sample of the PET as a pre-treatment proficiency test. Sixty of them were selected as homogeneous learners and were randomly divided into two experimental groups of CSR and CBI. The CSR group receieved CSR strategy training based on Klingner, Vaughan, and Schumm's model (2001), while the CBI group receieved CBI-based strategy training, using Tsai and Shang's (2010) model. At the end of the training, another piloted PET reading test was administered  as the posttest. The pre-treatment reading scores were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test whose results confirmed the pre-treatment homogeneity of the participants. The post-treatment scores were also analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test whose results indicated no significant difference in the reading posttest levels of CBI and CSR groups, U = 423.5, z = -.401, p = .688, r = -.0517. The article concludes with a discussion on the results and presenting some implications. 

Social constructivist learning theory and reciprocal teaching to teach reading comprehension

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 70
Author(s):  
Welly Ardiansyah ◽  
Murwani Ujihanti
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Social Constructivism ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
Reciprocal Teaching ◽  
Poor Reading ◽  
Reading Comprehension Strategies ◽  
Comprehension Skills ◽  
Good Reading ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
Reading Comprehension Skills

English teachers who teach reading comprehension course surely often give their students reading assignments, for example reading articles, popular press books and/or internet publications. Unfortunately, the results were not satisfying and made English teachers disappointed. This lack of good reading comprehension skills is exacerbated by the central role of reading comprehension required for the success in higher education. One solution to overcome this problem of poor reading comprehension skills is the explicit teaching of reading comprehension strategies to students, specifically, reciprocal teaching (RT). The philosophical root of RT itself is social constructivism which explains how students might acquire knowledge and learn; then, this concept is accumulated with the use of RT strategy to teach reading comprehension course at school. All are clearly discussed, so that the RT could be an alternative reading comprehension strategic choice for all English teachers to teach reading comprehension course at Polytechnic.   Keywords: Social constructivism, reciprocal teaching, learning evaluation.

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