Using Performance Feedback of Reciprocal Teaching Strategies to Increase Reading Comprehension Strategy Use With Seventh Grade Students With Comprehension Difficulties

The most challenging skill for S1 university students in the EFL context is Reading comprehension. This may be due to the lack of possessing the necessary reading comprehension strategies that would help them to understand English texts efficiently. In this respect, this study is first intended to determine the relationship between the frequency of use of reading-comprehension strategies and the students’ familiarity with them before and after completing the usual curriculum of reading comprehension course. Furthermore, this study also attempts to evaluate the effect of the S1 students’ familiarity with and frequency of use of reading comprehension strategies on their performance in reading comprehension tasks. A sample of 85 University students in EFL context was chosen, but only 73 of them filled in the questionnaire and completed their pre-test and post-test. All of these 73 students attended the usual reading curriculum without any special treatment. The findings of the study indicate that the students’ awareness and frequency of use do not show any improvement as the S1 students completed their usual reading comprehension courses. Another major finding is that reading strategies frequency use and familiarity with them show no correlation with the students’ performance while taking both the pre-test and post-test. Therefore, the fact that S1 students show no development of both their use and awareness of reading comprehension strategies after completing the usual reading comprehension course and also no improvement in their performance can be explained by the ineffective training that they underwent during Semester 1 of their English studies journey. In other words, the students’ high or low scores in reading comprehension courses are not determined by their familiarity with reading comprehension strategies or their frequency use. Thus, researchers on education are urged to hold studies that shall investigate the teaching of reading comprehension strategies in the usual curriculum and how they should be taught efficiently.

The present study explored the combined effects of students’ learning-related beliefs as well as use of reading comprehension strategies on academic success—academic outcomes and exhaustion. In total, 1165 eighth grade students’ beliefs, use of reading comprehension strategies and reading comprehension were assessed at the beginning of the school year. Half a year later 296 students from the sample reported their academic exhaustion and grades from the previous semester. Students’ learning-related beliefs and use of deep reading comprehension strategies were associated with their academic outcomes and exhaustion. More specifically, believing in quick and effortless learning was associated with the use of a smaller variety of deep reading comprehension strategies and lower academic outcomes. Additionally, students’ motivational beliefs about effective learning were mainly indirectly through strategy use linked to their academic outcomes, while having direct effects on academic exhaustion. These results refer to the importance of addressing learning-related beliefs in addition to strategy instruction.

The use of adequate reading comprehension strategies is important to read efficiently. Students with dyslexia not only read slower and less accurately, they also use fewer reading comprehension strategies. To compensate for their decoding problems, they often receive audio-support (narration written text). However, audio-support linearly guides readers from beginning to end through texts, possibly hindering the use of reading comprehension strategies in expository texts and negatively impacting reading time and reading comprehension performance. We examined to what extent audio-support affects reading comprehension strategies, reading times, and reading comprehension performance in 21 secondary school students with dyslexia and 22 typically developing controls. Participants were provided with three types of assignments (summarizing, open-ended questions, statement questions) in each condition (written text with and without audio-support). SMI RED-500 eye tracker captured eye movements during reading. The standard deviation of the weighted fixation duration times on the three paragraphs was considered indicative of the disparity of readers’ attention within the text. Following a discrimination based on experts’ reading behavior and hand-coded validation, these scores visualized whether students used the intensive reading strategy (reading whole text) or selective reading strategy (focusing on part of the text). In open-ended assignments, students divided their attention more over the whole text instead of focusing on one specific part when audio was added. In addition, audio-support increased reading time in students with and without dyslexia in most tasks, while in neither of the tasks audio-support affected reading comprehension performance. Audio-support impacts reading comprehension strategy and reading time in all students.

Relationship between reading comprehension strategy use and daily free reading time

The purpose of this study was to identify the types of reading strategies used by first year college students for reading different materials and their effects on students’ academic performance/achievement. The sample of the study consisted of 269 first year students of different departments of Arts and Humanities group at Government College (Wahdat Road), Lahore. IELTS’ Reading Comprehension Test (Academic/General) was used to assess the reading comprehension skills of students. Meta Comprehension Strategy Index (MCSI) by Schmitt (1990) was used to assess the level of awareness and the use of reading comprehension strategies. Data was analyzed using SPSS and was graphically presented to provide a clear understanding of results which indicated the lack of awareness about reading comprehension strategies as a key factor leading to the poor performance of students in the reading comprehension test. The study contributes scholarly in the existing literature by accentuating the need to make instruction about reading strategies compulsory in English language classrooms. It will increase the academic success of students and will also provide them with better job opportunities in future.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Functional Reading Activities to Motivate and Empower (FRAME) on use of reading comprehension strategies in intellectually and/or developmentally disabled young adults. A single-case, multiple-probe design across functional literacy stimuli (e.g., text messages, e-mails) was replicated across three intellectually or developmentally disabled 23- to 26-year-old young adults, all of whom had a primary diagnosis of autism. Within FRAME, reading comprehension strategies were taught and practiced within the context of functional texts or activities of daily living that involve written language (e.g., text messages, e-mails). Each session followed the teach-model-coach-review approach and was conducted via telepractice. Participants' use of reading comprehension strategies was measured in baseline, intervention, maintenance, and with generalization probes. Visual analysis of the data indicated a functional relation between FRAME and the use of reading comprehension strategies for two of the three autistic young adults. All participants maintained increased use of reading comprehension strategies post-intervention. This study provides preliminary evidence that FRAME is associated with improved use of reading comprehension strategies that maintains over time. Thus, FRAME has the potential to support continued improvement of functional reading skills throughout the lifespan, which is critical as autistic individuals make the transition from adolescence to adult life. Further research is needed to evaluate the effects of the intervention on more distal outcomes of written language and to examine how to best tailor the intervention to individual differences to optimize outcomes. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.26882422.

Late elementary education constitutes a critical period in the development of reading comprehension strategies, a key competence in today's society. However, to date, appropriate measurements to map late elementary students' reading strategies are lacking. In this respect, the present article first describes the development and validation of the 26-item reading comprehension strategies questionnaire (RCSQ). To this aim, exploratory (sample 1: n = 1585 students) and confirmatory (sample 2: n = 1585 students) factor analyses were conducted. These analyses resulted in the RCSQ, consisting of five subscales: (1) overt cognitive reading strategies, (2) covert cognitive reading strategies, (3) monitoring, and (4) evaluating. For non-native and bilingual students, a fifth subscale 'using home language in view of comprehending texts' emerged. Second, multilevel analyses were performed to explore individual differences in late elementary students' reading comprehension strategy use. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Reading comprehension, or the ability to extract information accurately from reading narrative or content area textbooks, is critical for school success. Many students identified with learning disabilities struggle with comprehending or acquiring knowledge from text despite adequate word-recognition skills. These students experience greater difficulty as they move from elementary to middle school where the focus shifts from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.” Although the group of students with learning disabilities vary with respect to their challenges in reading, some general characteristics of this group include problems identifying central ideas of a text, including its relationship to supporting ideas, differentiating between important and unimportant details, asking questions, drawing inferences, creating a summary, and recalling textual ideas. Typically, these students are passive readers that do not spontaneously employ task appropriate cognitive strategies nor monitor their ongoing understanding of the text, resulting in limited understanding of both narrative and expository texts. An evidence-based approach to comprehension instruction is centered on teaching students the cognitive strategies used by proficient readers. Within the framework of reading comprehension, the goal of cognitive strategies is to teach students to actively engage with the text, to make connections with it and their prior knowledge, so that learning becomes more purposeful, deliberate, and self-regulated. Texts differ in the level of challenge that they present to students. Narrative texts are generally simpler to read as these are based on a temporal sequence of events and have a predictable story structure. In contrast, expository texts, such as social studies and science, can be particularly demanding as there are multiple and complex text structures based on the relationship of ideas about a particular concept or topic. Using principles of explicit instruction, all learners, including students with learning disabilities and English language learners, can be taught cognitive strategies that have been proven effective for increasing reading comprehension. Early research focused on the instruction in a single cognitive strategy to promote reading comprehension such as identifying story grammar elements and story mapping for narrative texts and identifying the main idea, summarizing, and text structure for expository texts. Later researchers embedded a metacognitive component, such as self-monitoring with a specific cognitive strategy, and also developed multicomponent reading packages, such as reciprocal teaching, that integrated the use of several cognitive strategies. Instruction in cognitive and metacognitive strategies is a promising approach for students with learning disabilities to support their independent use of reading comprehension strategies and for promoting academic achievement across content areas and grade levels.

Reading for college courses places considerable cognitive-processing demands on students. Drawing on descriptive studies of highly-skilled adult readers, a questionnaire was constructed to determine if the use of reading strategies improved everyday college course performance. Three-hundred and twenty-four college undergraduates responded to an open-ended question about reading goals, an open-ended question about reading comprehension strategy use, and rated 35 reading comprehension strategies for frequency of use. The number of goals and the number of strategies that students gave as answers for the open-ended questions, and the ratings for the 35 strategies as a whole, reliably discriminated between participants with higher and lower grade-point averages. Additional tests with a freshman sample showed that the strategy ratings also discriminated between participants with higher and lower ACT (American College Testing) Reading and English scores. Statistical tests for individual strategies revealed that the strategies that consistently differentiated participants were related to setting and responding to reading goals. Overall the results showed the benefits of comprehension strategy use on college students' academic performance. They contrast with a common characterization of college readers as unsophisticated, inefficient, and ineffective. Future research should focus on developing instructional settings that readily evoke comprehension strategies and encourage students to use them.

Considerable research has shown that the use of reading comprehension strategies (RCS) inthe learning of second language (L2) has positive effects on students’ reading comprehension (RC)performance. However, the development of L2 reading comprehension has been a challenge to Year6 classes in Brunei that take place in an English as a foreign language (EFL) societal environmentwhere both students and teachers have to achieve and work through English as a medium ofinstruction (EMI). In this complex environment, English reading comprehension amongst studentsin Brunei has been identified as an area that needs to be improved. The purpose of this study was todevelop a deeper understanding of the complex relationships between the learning and teaching ofRCS and the lived experience of Bruneian Year 6 students and teachers in EFL/EMI settings. Thiswas achieved through an investigation of the facilitating or hindering factors involved in learningand teaching of RCS in L2 RC EFL/EMI classrooms, and an exploration of ways students andteachers manage EFL and EMI in the learning and teaching of RCS in L2 RC lessons. Engestrom’sSecond Generation Activity Theory (2001) was used both as a theoretical framework and a methodfor analysis to generate a rich description of the complex environment in which the learning andteaching of RCS occurs.This study employed an instrumental case study using a sequential exploratory design and amixed method approach. A total of 477 Year 6 students and 57 teachers participated in this study. Inthe first phase, data were collected from the students and teachers using RCS self-report surveys.This was followed by students undertaking a reading comprehension stimulation task, students’group interviews, teachers’ interviews and classroom observations. Quantitative data were analysedusing SPSS and thematic analysis was undertaken for the qualitative data.This study found that students and teachers were aware of the role of RCS in enhancingreading comprehension. However, the facilitating or hindering factors of EMI in EFL environmentwithin an examination orientated education system such as students’ perceived Englishcompetencies, limited instructional resources, and teacher directed pedagogical practices led tocomplexities in implementing RCS in the learning and teaching of L2 RC. The findings of thisresearch provided evidence of some of the facilitators and hindrances of the learning and teachingof L2 RC, specifically the impact of EFL/EMI in the use of RCS in the bilingual classroom, and theways students and teachers manage the learning and teaching of L2 RC within a complex system.This study further suggests that the learning and teaching of RCS in L2 RC lessons should be seen as complex as it is closely related to EMI policies in EFL setting within an examination orientatededucation system.The study adds to our understanding of RCS teaching and learning through the explorationof a context new to language learning strategies (LLS) research, that is, the use of RCS in Brunei. Itcontributes to the existing body of knowledge in the field of second language acquisition andteaching; and more specifically to understanding how activity theory can assist in exploring issuesin second language learning. This study enriches the existing evidence about how social aspect oflearning and teaching of RCS facilitate L2 reading comprehension for primary students and teachersin EFL/EMI contexts. This study also contributes to the understanding of factors and implicationsthat may be involved in the strategies used by students and teachers within a complex system. Thefindings provide information for policy makers, teachers and other stakeholders in Brunei, andbeyond, about the importance of RCS in delivering effective learning and teaching of L2 readingcomprehension.

Adults with mild to moderate acquired brain injury (ABI) often pursue post-secondary or professional education after their injuries in order to enter or re-enter the job market. An increasing number of these adults report problems with reading-to-learn. The problem is particularly concerning given the growing population of adult survivors of ABI. Despite the rising need, empirical evaluation of reading comprehension interventions for adults with ABI is scarce. This study used a within-subject design to evaluate whether adult college students with ABI with no more than moderate cognitive impairments benefited from using reading comprehension strategies to improve comprehension of expository text. Integrating empirical support from the cognitive rehabilitation and special education literature, the researchers designed a multi-component reading comprehension strategy package. Participants read chapters from an introductory-level college anthropology textbook in two different conditions: strategy and no-strategy. The results indicated that reading comprehension strategy use was associated with recall of more correct information units in immediate and delayed free recall tasks; more efficient recall in the delayed free recall task; and increased accuracy recognising statements from a sentence verification task designed to reflect the local and global coherence of the text. The findings support further research into using reading comprehension strategies as an intervention approach for the adult ABI population. Future research needs include identifying how to match particular reading comprehension strategies to individuals, examining whether reading comprehension performance improves further through the incorporation of systematic training, and evaluating texts from a range of disciplines and genres.

This article illustrates the development and use of a situated assessment tool in the context of a collaborative (university–school district) literacy reform effort in British Columbia, Canada. The three-year project was focused on improving literacy, including reading comprehension strategy use, among students in grades 4 through 8. It began in the 2002–2003 school year, with approximately 100 teachers and 2,500 students participating. The authors describe development of the Informal Reading Inventory of Strategies (IRIS) to assess students' use of comprehension strategies, including making connections, engaging with the text, active meaning construction, monitoring understanding, analysis and synthesis, and critical reading. They then explain the implementation of the IRIS to support and enhance project goals, including informing teachers' instructional decision making. Based on what they call “on-the-ground, collaborative theorizing,” the authors argue that measures of projects such as the IRIS need to be valid not only in terms of content but also in terms of their consequences and uses in particular settings. Such approaches have the potential to respond to the growing demand for assessment approaches that are sensitive to contexts in which they are used and that support teachers and school administrators as they set their own goals for accountability and improvement in literacy.

"Schoolchildren who have reading comprehension difficulties are out of step with their class group. This lag tends to increase over time, as curricular contents increase in quantity and complexity with the passage of school grades. Therefore, it is necessary that these difficulties are remedied so that these schoolchildren can develop academically. This study aimed to compare the performance of schoolchildren from the 3rd to the 5th of Elementary School in the application of two intervention programs in reading comprehension, one informative and the other instructional. A total of 211 schoolchildren from municipal public schools participated, of both genders, aged between eight and ten years and 11 months of age, divided into three groups, GI, GII and GIII. The schoolchildren were submitted to an assessment of reading comprehension and the results were statistically analyzed. The schoolchildren were placed in three types of program, one of control and two of intervention. The schoolchildren in the Control program did not receive specific activities aimed at the use of reading comprehension strategies. Those from the Informative program received mediation from the teacher in the application of strategies and those from the Instructional program were mediated by the teacher and the researcher. These schoolchildren received work-related activities with literal and inferential information on micro and macrostructure. The statistical results indicated that the schoolchildren of the Informative and Instructional programs, submitted to the application of the interventions, obtained superior performance in relation to the schoolchildren of the Control program, not submitted to the Intervention. The results indicated that the schoolchildren presented a lower performance, mainly for the macrostructure inferential questions, as well as indicating that after the application of the programs, the schoolchildren submitted to the intervention activities presented superior performance in reading comprehension regardless of the way in which the programs were applied. Based on the results analyzed, it was possible to conclude that the use of specific strategies aimed at reading comprehension provided significant results for the schoolchildren, since in both programs it was observed that there was an improvement in reading comprehension, although not all groups could benefit. of all proposed activities. There is, therefore, the need for revisions for applications in future studies."

The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between levels of reading comprehension strategy use, reading attitudes, and the amount of reading per year among elementary school students. The study was conducted with 1316 students (649 girls and 667 boys) attending the fourth and fifth grades of 15 elementary schools in Denizli, Turkey. Stratified Sampling Method was employed to obtain data using Reading Attitude Scale (RAS) and Reading Comprehension Strategies Scale (RCSS). The analyses indicate that reading attitude is a significant predictor of the level of reading comprehension strategies used by students (R2 = 0.44). The findings show that there is a negative and low-level relationship (r = −0.054) between daily time spent reading and the level of strategy used, and a positive and low-level relationship (r = 0.01) between the level of strategy used and the number of books that a child reads per year.

Reading is one of the four language skills taught in the English language learning process besides listening, speaking, and writing. This research aims to know the students’ difficulties in reading comprehension at SMA Negeri 1 Sukodadi and to know the factors of students’ difficulties in reading comprehension at SMA Negeri 1 Sukodadi. This research is descriptive qualitative research. The research was conducted in march 2020. The subject of research was the tenth-grade MIPA 5 of SMA Negeri 1 Sukodadi who were detected that they had difficulties in reading comprehension. The techniques for collecting the data were interviews and documents. the researcher collected the data such as students’ worksheet. The second was data reduction. The researcher classified and reduced the data based on focus. The researcher deleted several data that did not relate to the difficulties in reading comprehension. The third was the data display, the researcher arranged the information to conclude. The researcher presented the data from the difficulties in reading comprehension, and the last is the conclusion. The result of the research showed that some students had difficulties in reading comprehension and they had difficulty in different levels, namely literal comprehension, inferential comprehension, critical comprehension, and creative comprehension. The most difficulties experienced by students were at the level of creative comprehension. The factor of the students’ difficulties in comprehension at tenth grade, there was an inadequate instruction presented by the teacher, lack of pupils’ interest, and the vocabulary difficulties. Keywords: Students’ Difficulties, Reading Comprehension