How effective is Thinking Maps® instruction in improving Jordanian EFL learners’ creative reading skills?

Abstract

This study examines the potential effect of a Thinking Maps®–based treatment on the creative reading skills (viz., fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration) of Jordanian learners of English as a foreign language. The researchers drew a purposeful sample of two intact 10th‐grade sections (N = 57) from a public school in Zarqa, Jordan. The two sections were randomly assigned into an experimental group of 28 students taught through Thinking Maps® and a control group of 29 students taught per the guidelines of the prescribed teacher's book. Following the 8‐week treatment, the researchers collected data by means of a creative reading skills test and an interview. The findings reveal not only significant differences (at α = 0.05) in the students’ creative reading skills in favor of the experimental group, but also general favorable opinions about the effectiveness of the treatment.