scholarly journals The Impact of Portfolio Assessment on EFL Learners’ Reading Comprehension Ability

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Khavar Rostami Charvade ◽  
Shahrokh Jahandar ◽  
Morteza Khodabandehlou
2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 370
Author(s):  
Ayda Rahmani

This study aims to investigate whether enhancing input through author’s biography affect Iranian EFL learners’ reading comprehension ability across gender or not. To answer, a proficiency test of OPT was administered to a total of 120 male and female learners. Then 60 homogenous subjects, with the same English proficiency, were selected. The 60 participants were assigned into 4 groups randomly i.e. experimental male, experimental female, control male, control female. The study includes a pre-posttest design with 4 groups. The female and male experimental groups went through the treatment and finally the four groups were given a posttest.  Finally, descriptive and inferential statistics (A paired- samples t-test and a two-way ANOVA) were applied to analyze the statistical data. The findings indicated that input enhancement through author’s biography does affect Iranian EFL learners’ reading comprehension ability and male participants outperformed female participants.


2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryam Sharafi-Nejad ◽  
Shohreh Raftari ◽  
Shaik Abdul Malik Mohamed Ismail ◽  
Lin Siew Eng

<p class="1">Reading<em> </em>comprehension<em> </em>is a<em> </em>flexible and ongoing cognitive and constructive<em> </em>process. There are different pre-reading methods that can influence positively on EFL learners’ reading comprehension. Thus, this research investigated the impact of brainstorming as a pre-reading strategy on reading comprehension ability of Malaysian EFL learners. The study used an experimental design with fifty students who were between 12 to 18 years of age at intermediate level were considered homogenized. In order to have homogenized participants a language proficiency test was run. It was given to 70 students at Asian EFL Academy Language Institute in Pinang, Malaysia. The results of the proficiency test confirmed the homogeneity of the participants regarding their reading comprehension ability. Then, the researcher divided the students into two groups, control and experimental. An immediate- delayed test was administered to both groups before and after the implementation of the proposed technique on the experimental group. Experimental group received treatment for a given period of the time. At the end of the specified period of treatment both groups received a delayed test. None of the groups had any previous experience in brainstorming strategies. An immediate test was covered having 10 reading comprehension questions carrying out every two session at the end of each reading comprehension lesson. The last session was devoted to conduct the delayed tests including 50 questions at the end of treatment. The participants in the experimental group were instructed how to use brainstorming strategies before reading passages in 10 sessions for 20 minutes at Asian EFL Academy Language institute in Pinang, Malaysia. A statistical comparison of the results indicated that brainstorming strategies have a positive significant effect on reading comprehension ability of the participants. </p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 73
Author(s):  
Zahra Sanati

The present study was conducted to investigate the impact of visualization on reading comprehension ability of Iranian intermediate EFL learners. To fulfill the purpose of the study, 40 out of 100 intermediate learners of an English language institute were chosen by means of administering a PET Test. Based on the results of the homogenizing test, two groups were formed, and learners were not randomly assigned to an experimental group and a control one. Then, both groups were provided with seven teaching sessions. A pretest was given to all examinees to capture the initial differences. Learners in the experimental group were taught to visualize the words using a variety of visualization strategies before, during, and after reading the text in class. However, students in the control group were provided with a conventional instruction in traditional classes like reading the text aloud, translating the text, and providing synonyms and antonyms, if it was needed. After teaching sessions, a posttest was given to students of both groups. The statistical analysis of obtained results using paired t-test and ANCOVA revealed that the participants in the experimental group outperformed the participants in the control group. The findings of this study showed that the effect of visualization as an instructional technology on Iranian EFL learners’ reading comprehension was extremely noticeable. The findings of the present study may have some theoretical and practical implications for both Iranian EFL teachers and students, as well as for curriculum designers and developers.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiba Bensalah ◽  
Noureddine Guerroudj

This research study aims to investigate the impact of cultural schemata on the process of reading culturally- loaded texts, and whether the use of pre-reading activities recompenses for the absence of cultural familiarity. In this regard, EFL readers bring to the text a wide range of experiences. Consequently, such diversity of prior knowledge influences their perception and interpretation of foreign language texts. Here comes the role of cultural schemata, which is indeed a very critical role. How do cultural differences in background knowledge influence student’s reading comprehension ability? To recognize the effect of cultural schemata on comprehension, it is essential first to understand the significant role that background knowledge plays in the reading process. Therefore, to carry out this research, a selection of reading comprehension tests was assigned for an experimental and a control group in a quasi-classroom experiment of first-year EFL students at Ibn Khaldoun University (Tiaret). While the experimental group was provided with pre-reading tasks to activate their background knowledge, the control group received no treatment. We collected data from 40 participants, and the results show that many EFL learners belonging to the control group display a lack of cultural schemata since their prior-knowledge is not activated, which may well impact negatively on their reading practices. By contrast, participants of the experimental group performed better in the comprehension test than those in the control group. In brief, there is a correlation between activating students’ background knowledge and the increase of reading comprehension ability.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (7) ◽  
pp. 159
Author(s):  
M. Rahim Bohlooli Niri

<p>The purpose of the present study is to investigate the relationship between successful readers’ strategies in Persian and English languages, and the impact of instruction of such strategies on English reading comprehension ability. The present study relies on Casanave’s (1998) expanded view of schema theory, the strategy schema, Goodman’s (1971) language transfer or linguistic independent hypothesis and Clarke’s idea of short-circuit or language ceiling hypothesis in ESL or EFL. This study also aims at finding an answer to the question of reading problem versus language problem, first raised by Alderson (1984, pp. 1-27) and then followed by Carrell (1991, pp. 159-179).</p>


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 761
Author(s):  
Mehran Davaribina ◽  
Shahram Esfandiari Asl

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.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 337
Author(s):  
Shahram Esfandiari Asl ◽  
Asgar Mahmoudi

The current study was carried out to investigate whether elaborative text modification improves reading comprehension ability of pre-intermediate male and female EFL learners. To do this, 60 pre-intermediate learners were chosen based on their performance on a standard version of Longman's New Opportunities Placement Test. The participants also received a piloted version of a researcher-made reading comprehension test as the pretest to ascertain their homogeneity. The participants were then divided into two equal groups to represent the experimental and the control groups. Each group was further subdivided into male and female groups. Five reading passages in two formats (unmodified and elaborated) were administered to the participants in five weeks which was followed by a posttest. The experimental group received the elaborated texts, while the control group received the unmodified baseline texts. The results of a Two-way ANOVA indicated no significant effect for gender but there was a significant difference between the experimental and the control groups' reading comprehension. Findings of the study suggest that elaborative text modification can be a worthy option in EFL reading classes.


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