Abstract
Background: Many first-year students find the reading of academic texts to be challenging and overwhelming. In particular, first-year students studying sociology at the South African institution where the study was conducted complain of comprehension challenges. This may be due to the presence of numerous theoretical and abstract concepts in sociology texts, which have to be unpacked in order to gain a greater understanding of social phenomena. A high level of reading proficiency is required in the reading of sociology texts; however, some students are poor readers and find it difficult to cope.Objectives: The article reports on a support programme aimed at improving first-year sociology students’ academic reading proficiency.Method: In addition to explicit strategy instruction, which has been used by many researchers to improve reading comprehension, role play was introduced to the reading of sociology texts during tutorials in order to promote deep reading and improve comprehension. Pre-tests and post-tests, together with closed-ended and open-ended questionnaires, were used to determine the efficacy of the intervention. The tests were analysed using t-tests, and the questionnaires were analysed using descriptive statistics for the closed-ended section and content analysis for the open-ended questions.Results: The findings showed that a significant number of students had improved their reading proficiency and reported both cognitive and affective benefits.Conclusion: Recommendations are made in relation to the use of role play in addition to explicit strategy instruction in order to maximise the improvement of students’ academic reading ability.
Highlights
Learning, studying and engaging in academic reading and writing activities at the tertiary level seems to be quite overwhelming for some students
The quantity and complexity of the texts they are required to read at the tertiary level and the level of writing required of them can be overwhelming for students at first-year level
The Sociology 110 module offered at the South African institution where the study was conducted, for example, requires students to read texts by authors such as Karl Marx, Max Webber and Emile Durkheim, which may not be understood by some first-year students
Summary
Learning, studying and engaging in academic reading and writing activities at the tertiary level seems to be quite overwhelming for some students. The quantity and complexity of the texts they are required to read at the tertiary level and the level of writing required of them can be overwhelming for students at first-year level This could be due to the fact that the school system did not place such high demands on them (Boakye & Linden 2018; Boakye & Mai 2016), and because they are no longer closely guided and monitored by their teachers and parents. According to Roberts and Roberts (2008), some first-year sociology students do not read their assigned texts due to the quantity and complexity of the assigned readings, as well as the difficult vocabulary, much of which consists of technical, subject-specific words that are not familiar to the students (Boakye & Mai 2016) These high academic reading demands and writing expectations of first-year students mean that they need to be proficient readers in order to be successful in their academic activities. A high level of reading proficiency is required in the reading of sociology texts; some students are poor readers and find it difficult to cope
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
