The Effects of Pre-reading Activities on ESP Reading Comprehension

Abstract

The present study intended to investigate the effects of pre-reading activities on reading comprehension of L2 learners of science and technology majors. In this respect the following research question was under consideration: Will comprehension be facilitated if students are instructed through restoring to pre reading activities? To carry out this research, participants were selected on the basis of Michigan Test of English Proficiency, and were assigned into control and experimental groups. Members of each group were randomly assigned to one of the two experimental and Control groups. Data analysis conducted through T -test statistical procedures. The findings revealed that better comprehension can be gained through restoring to pre-reading activities. In fact, experimental group which was exposed to pre-reading activities gained considerable abilities in comprehension than control group. Results of this study revealed that giving prior information through restoring to pre-reading activities might become a useful tool for teachers of ESP to facilitate the learner's reading comprehension ability. Some implications have been drawn for ESP material designers too. The computation and analysis of the T-test, provided us with empirical answers for the research question posed, and the effectiveness of employment of pre-reading activities in ESP reading comprehension ability was confirmed.