The Effects of Morphological Awareness on EFL Secondary School Students’ Reading Comprehension Skills

Dalal Yahya Ali Al-Haydan

doi:10.7575/aiac.ijels.v.8n.3p.48

Abstract

This exploratory study examines the impacts of morphological awareness on Saudi female secondary school students’ reading comprehension skills. In particular, it examines the effects of increasing students’ morphological awareness on their reading comprehension skills. Participants included 58 Saudi female secondary school students, who were divided into an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group was taught using a morphemic analysis strategy during their reading classes, whereas the control group attended their usual reading comprehension classes. Pretests and post-tests were prepared to determine the effect of raising students’ awareness of morphological knowledge on their reading comprehension skills. The results indicated a strong positive correlation between the students’ morphological awareness and the improvement of their reading comprehension skills in the post-test. The study, therefore, confirms that the direct instruction of prefixes, suffixes and base words is useful and should be emphasised when teaching because it significantly increases students’ morphological awareness.

Highlights

One cogent reason for students’ academic success in school is their ability to understand what they read (Ronzano, 2010)
The experimental group was exposed to morphological knowledge training in their reading comprehension classes, but the control group was taught in the traditional way
The students who were taught the basic elements of word parts during reading classes demonstrated a significant difference in their reading skills post-test compared to students who attended traditional reading comprehension classes

Summary

Introduction

One cogent reason for students’ academic success in school is their ability to understand what they read (Ronzano, 2010). Reading plays an essential role in education and life. It is “a very complex process involving many physical, intellectual and emotional reactions” In Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of Education has tended to focus on students’ ability to read fluently and comprehend adequately at all levels, especially at the secondary level. Alsamadani (2009) found that many Saudi EFL teachers in schools spent most of the class time practicing silent reading

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion