The effect of shadow reading and collaborative strategic reading on EFL learners’ reading comprehension across two proficiency levels

Abstract

ABSTRACTReading comprehension is a key skill that can influence the learning outcome and further language development. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of two types of reading interventions, Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) and Shadow Reading (SHR), on EFL learners’ reading comprehension across two proficiency levels. To this end, the researcher selected three intact elementary classes and three intact intermediate classes and randomly assigned them as one control and two experimental groups at each proficiency level. A pre-test of reading comprehension taken from the reading section of KET, for elementary learners (n = 72), and a pre-test of reading comprehension taken from the reading section of PET, for intermediate learners (n = 72) was administered to assess their initial performance in reading comprehension. Then, the experimental groups recieved one of the intended treatments, SHR or CSR, for ten sessions, while the control group received only regular classroom reading instruction. Finally, the learners were given a post-test of reading comprehension to measure their reading skill. The findings of two-way ANOVA revealed that there was a significant main effect for reading intervention. Moreover, there was neither a significant main effect for proficiency level nor a significant interaction effect of reading intervention and proficiency. The results of Tukey post-hoc test indicated that CSR group surpassed the other two groups and SHR group outperformed the control group. The implications are discussed in terms of the efficacy of CSR and SHR in enhancing EFL learners’ reading comprehension.