The Effect of an Intercultural Communication Model on the Reading Comprehension of Refugee and Underprivileged Learners

Abstract

This study describes a shifting of paradigm in the literacy education of Syrian refugees and underprivileged Lebanese learners (n = 72) in three eighth-grade classes in a public school in Lebanon. The study used a pre/post experimental control-group design to address its research questions. As complement to a Human Rights Education curriculum framework suggested in 2018, an intercultural communication model named the Third Space Literature Circle (TSLC) is offered, its goal to improve the reading comprehension of underprivileged Syrian and Lebanese learners. An experimental group (n=49), received the TSLC model instruction whereas the control group (n=23), received the regular reading instruction. Results show that the experimental group outperformed the control group; in particular, some members of the experimental group became more fluent describing their experiences than their control group-counterparts.