The Effect of Swain's Push Out Hypothesis on Promoting Jordanian Language Learners' Reading Performance

Abeer Al-Ghazo

doi:10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.7n.1p.73

Abstract

The present study investigates the effect of push out hypothesis in language acquisition that is based on Swain’s push out hypothesis (1985) on promoting Jordanian language learners' reading performance. The sample of the study consists of two classes of English reading comprehension Course , Level one with 60 EFL students, 30 in the control group and 30 in the experimental group. Those students were belonging to the Department of English Language and Literature. The researchers choose the reading texts from reading comprehension course which was published by Macmillan Education LTD, intermediate level (2001). The researchers construct a multiple-choice reading comprehension test to assess the students reading comprehension. The participants in the two groups took a vocabulary test and an achievement reading comprehension test as a pre-test in order to be sure that the participants formed a homogenous sample. The experimental group underwent a treatment based on Swains’ push out task, while the control group did not receive any treatment. Then, Proper statistical analyses were used to analyze the results. The scores of control and experimental group were compared at the end of the treatment period. The results reveal that the scores of the experimental group on the post-test were significantly higher than those of the control group. These results prove that teaching on the basis of the Swains’ push out hypothesis was successful to develop the students’ reading comprehension as well as their performance.

Highlights

Nowadays, English is considered a universal language
The present study investigates the effect of push out hypothesis in language acquisition that is based on Swain’s push out hypothesis (1985) on promoting Jordanian language learners’ reading performance
The results revealed that the push out group and after receiving the treatment outperformed the control group, In addition, the study show that participants in the control group didn’t; succeed in showing a clear development in their production despite that they received a measurable gains in comprehending the target linguistic form

Summary

Introduction

English is considered a universal language. It is the language that all learners try to learn and master. Learners and students who want to learn English must be able to master the four English skills: Reading, speaking, writing and listening. As one of the four English skills, plays an essential role in the acquisition of English as a foreign language. It is a crucial skill for educators and teachers to ensure that learners acquire adequate vocabulary to be able to read and comprehend any text very well. Reading comprehension depends on many components such as vocabulary, grammar, cohesion and coherence of ideas, pronunciation, spelling ....etc. These components are essential in language acquisition. The shortage in vocabulary for EL learners will definitely lead to a lack of communication among the speakers, which is a major problem in mastering the language

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