Abstract
Strategies-based instruction (SBI), as a learner-centered and participatory approach, allows learners to be the center of attention and explicitly taught how, when, and why strategies can be used. The study reported here has investigated the effect of strategic reading instruction on enhancing reading comprehension and emotional-social abilities of a cohort of undergraduates at a college located in the southeastern Iran. The treatment group (n = 19) practiced for around 75 h (50 sessions) strategy training as well as critical and creative reading skill (higher order processing). The instruction was organized around pre-, during-, and post-tasks, and the major course books included Mosaic 2 by Wegmann and Knezevic (2007) about 60 min and Strategic Reading 2 by Richards and Eckstut-Didier (2012) for about 30 min per session. The 21 students in the control group, however, experienced a traditional reading instruction which was mainly focused on comprehension check, vocabulary development, and writing activities. Operationalized in the form presented in this study and implemented over two consecutive semesters, SBI had positive educational and psychological outcomes, although in some not all the target domains.
Highlights
Learning strategies research abounds with topics related to strategies-based instruction (SBI) including identification of appropriate learning strategies, classification of strategies, effects of learner characteristics on strategy use, effect of context on strategy use, language of instruction, and methods and models of strategy instruction (Chamot, 2004)
This finding is in tune with the results of previous studies like Carrell (1998), Dole et al (1996), and Macaro (2006), which found strategy training making the learners more aware of the active nature of learning and more capable of employing problem-solving and trouble-shooting routines to enhance understanding; it shows that reading comprehension could be improved through regular and explicit instruction on language learning strategies
Among other studies existing in the literature which showed the positive effect of teaching reading strategies on enhancing students’ reading comprehension ability are Aghaie and Zhang (2012), Bimmel et al (2001), Eker (2014), Farrell (2001), Lau and Chan (2003), Plonsky (2011), Table 3 Groups’ Composition in terms of EI Performance across Testing Sessions
Summary
Learning strategies research abounds with topics related to strategies-based instruction (SBI) including identification of appropriate learning strategies, classification of strategies, effects of learner characteristics on strategy use, effect of context on strategy use, language of instruction, and methods and models of strategy instruction (Chamot, 2004). Many researchers (Ahmadi & Hairul, 2012; Aghaie & Zhang, 2012; Anderson, 2005; Bedir, 2010; Bimmel et al, 2001; Dole et al, 1996; Fan, 2010; Griffiths, 2010; Harris et al, 2001; Lee 2007; Zhang, 2008; Zhicheng 1992) believe that a reader needs to be aware of and apply effective reading strategies in order to comprehend the information from the text and beyond it According to these studies, an explicit strategy instruction may help learners in three ways: firstly, the strategies instruction can make the learning process easier; secondly, skills in using. Ghahari and Ebrahimi Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education (2017) 2:9 learning strategies assist learners in becoming independent, confident, and selfdirected; and they become more motivated as they begin to understand the relationship between their use of strategies and success in language learning (Chamot & O’Malley 1994; Uzunçakmak, 2005).
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