Development Of Reading Comprehension Research Articles

The Effect of Using Web-Quest strategy on Developing Reading Comprehension Performance for EFL Students, October 6 University

Abstract: The main aim of this study is to measure the effect of using web-quest strategy on developing reading comprehension performance for EFL students. The study participants were English majors at the Faculty of Education, October 6 University. The study participants involved only third year English language majors who are expected to be highly aware of reading comprehension performance. To collect the required data, a reading test was designed, validated and administered. The administration of the study instruments happened in their second term of the academic year 2019-2020. The participants of the present study were asked to respond to a reading comprehension test (RCT) through using web-quest strategy. Results showed that 45,5% of the study participants were unable to pass the reading comprehension test (RCT) while, 54.5% were able to pass the reading comprehension test (RCT).Finally, some suggestions and recommendations were proposed to improve reading comprehension performance through using web-quest strategy.

The Effect of Intensive Authentic Reading Tasks on Reading Performance of Academic IELTS Test Takers

This study aimed at investigating the effect of employing intensive reading (IR) authentic tasks as supplementary materials on reading comprehension development of Academic IELTS test takers within the framework of schema theory and three instructional models of reading strategies suggested by Pearson and Duke (2009). Participants of this study consist of 81 individuals comprising 41 male and 40 female language learners at pre-advanced level of English proficiency with the age range of 25 to 37 among which 42 were categorized as the experimental group which received IR treatment and the rest of 39 ,who are considered as control group, that did not receive IR treatment. The experimental group was further divided into two subgroups which each received the same IR authentic tasks with different instructional methods to teaching reading strategies. The results of an ANCOVA analysis illustrated a significant positive influence of authentic IR treatments on the development of participants' reading comprehension skills. However, an independent one-way t-test revealed that Pearson's and Duke's (2009) various instructional methods were not significantly influential on participants' final reading proficiency development.

An online instrument assessing the relationship between morphological structure awareness and reading comprehension in Hungarian 2-4 graders

The significant contribution of morphological awareness to reading comprehension has been shown in studies with deep orthographies. The aim of the study was to develop an online instrument in Hungarian, an agglutinative language with a transparent orthography and a rich morphology, for assessing different aspects of morphological awareness and reading comprehension and to examine the development and relationship of the two constructs in grades 2-4. Participants were second (N=124), third (N=137), and fourth-grade students (N=97), age means were 8.7, 9.6 and 10.4 respectively. We found growth in the development of morphological awareness and reading comprehension in grades 2-4; however, the mean score in grade 4 did not significantly differ from the results in grade 3. Significant moderate correlations were found between morphological structure awareness and reading comprehension skills in all grades.

Improving students’ source integration skills: Does a focus on reading comprehension and vocabulary development work?

Previous research has explored the reasons for the overreliance on patchwriting in L2 writing. Fewer studies have examined pedagogical interventions designed to help these writers improve source integration skills, and these studies have mainly focused on teaching citation and/or paraphrasing skills. There is no research examining whether improving students’ accurate understanding of the source text and the vocabulary needed to discuss the ideas lead to fewer instances of patchwriting. The current study examined this issue in a quasi-experimental study. Sixty students in three experimental and one control group and their instructors participated in the study. Following a language use test, instructors focused on developing students’ accurate understanding of source information and the language needed to discuss the ideas. Results from an ANCOVA with language use scores as the covariate revealed that essays in the Experimental Group 3 received significantly higher source use scores on the source-based final exam. Further analysis showed statistically significant correlations between source use scores on the final exam and a lower percentage of source use and a smaller number of source use instances. In interviews, students characterized the intervention as useful but also time-consuming. Implications of the results will be discussed.

Developing Reading Comprehension Materials For Reading 1st Course In The Second Semester Of Social And Politic Science Faculty At Mahendradatta University

This study aimed at developing good reading comprehension materials for reading 1st course in second semester of Social and Politic Science Faculty at Mahen- dradatta University. It was developed by using the Research and Development proposed by Sugiyono (2010). The content of the product was based on Competency Standard and Basic Competency mentioned in the syllabus. The reading materials which have been provided for the second grade of reading 1st course in second grade of Social and Poli- tic Science Faculty at Mahendradatta University based on the criteria of a good reading material, involved the reading comprehension materials for reading 1st course that are relevant to convey the topic of (1) Grief and Escape, (2) Speech Production, (3) Career Women, (4) Visiting Bali, (5) “Ada Apa dengan Cinta?”, and (6) How to make Ice Cream. The reading comprehension materials, which should be developed, involved the skill of(1) understanding text organization, (2) inferring, (3) evaluating the text, (4) predicting,(5) understanding the writer’s style, and (6) dealing with unfamiliar words. The reading materials were corrected by the expert judges and field tested. The product, which was in the form of reading materials, was tried out twice. Firstly, it was tried out to the twenty students of the second semester and one lecturer Mahendradatta University. The result of the analysis showed that there were some invalid items. Then, the product was revised. Secondly, it was tried out in the second semester and two lecturers Mahendradatta Uni- versity. The results of the analysis showed that all of the items were valid. The product did not need to be revised again. Therefore, it could be used for reading 1st course in second semester of Social and Politic Science Faculty at Mahendradatta University.

The Cruciality of Using Literature to Enhance Reading Comprehension Skills

This paper attempted to shade the light upon “The cruciality of teaching Literature to enhance reading comprehension skills”, is conducted to find out the role and importance of teaching literature in developing comprehension skills in tertiary level. The researcher adopted descriptive analysis method, the population of this study of (30) English language teachers from different Sudanese universities. Date was gathered by questionnaire. The researcher used a statistical package for social studies (SPSS package). The study comes up with followings: Teaching literature in language courses helps students to develop Reading Comprehension skills, teaching literature in reading lessons helps students to develop skimming and scanning techniques, literature presents valuable material to teach reading comprehension lesson, literature is a good way to practice acquiring quick information from the texts, and teaching literature develops students’ interpretative abilities.

Exploring the relationship between dialogic teacher talk and students’ persuasive writing

Studies have documented the importance of dialogic classroom discourse for supporting academic outcomes such as reading comprehension and vocabulary development. This study examines the relationship between teacher talk during whole-classroom discussions in 42 classrooms and post-discussion persuasive essays from students in grades four through seven (n = 471). Teacher talk was coded by type of question (contestable, semi-open, or quiz-like) and teachers' follow-ups (prompting, pressing for reasoning, active listening), and further categorized as indicating either high or low levels of dialogic talk. Multilevel modeling that accounts for student participation rate, discussion topic, and students' demographic information shows that high dialogic teacher talk positively predicts students’ persuasive essay scores, while low dialogic teacher talk negatively predicts their scores. The study supports existing hypotheses about the role of teacher dialogic talk in whole-class settings.

Newspaper Reading Comprehension Development through Vocabulary or Structure Instruction

The purpose of this study is investigating the effect of specific vocabularies and structures instruction on the upper intermediate EFL learners’ newspaper reading comprehension development. For this purpose, fifty four female upper intermediate EFL learners were selected and randomly assigned in three groups each consisting of eighteen learners, two experimental and one control. At the first session,a researcher-made newspaper reading comprehension test was applied as the pretest. The learners of one experimental group received instruction of newspaper structures and the other one received related vocabularies instruction and the control one received just translation of newspaper content by the teacher. In the last session, another researcher-made comprehension test was administered for three groups as the post test. The findings indicate thatstructure instruction is significantly the most beneficial one and the mere translation of newspaper content is the least beneficial in developing learner's newspaper reading comprehension.The results of interviews confirmed the study findings as well.

Developing Reading, Reading Comprehension and Motivation: An Action Research Study

The aim of this study was to develop the reading, reading comprehension and reading motivation levels of a second grade elementary school student diagnosed with a specific learning disability and experiencing reading difficulty. In this context, the main research problem can be stated as “How can reading, reading comprehension and reading motivation be developed in a second grade elementary school student who has difficulty with reading?” One of the qualitative research designs, the action research design, was used in the study, which was carried out during the first semester of the 2018-2019 academic year. Following determination of the problem status, an action plan covering 30 lesson periods was created and implemented. For development of reading skills, repetitive reading, echo reading and syllable-word exercises were utilised; to develop reading comprehension skills, pre-reading, while-reading and post-reading strategies were employed; while for improvement of reading motivation, interesting texts, rewarding and praising were used. For determination of reading and reading comprehension levels, the Informal Reading Inventory was used, while for determining reading motivation level, the Motivation to Read Profile scale was used. As a result of the implementations, the student’s reading and reading comprehension levels increased from frustration level to instructional level, and a significant improvement in her reading motivation level also occurred.

A proposed strategy effectiveness of teaching literary texts based on the assumptions of NLP in developing reading comprehension levels and improving reading self-efficacy for second-grade secondary students

This current research aims to measure the effectiveness of using a proposed strategy for teaching literary texts based on the main assumptions of NLP in developing reading comprehension levels and improving reading self-efficacy for second-grade students, and to achieve this goal the researcher has prepared a list of reading comprehension levels and their behavioral indicators (Skills) required for second year secondary school students, as well as the appropriate reading self dimensions for secondary school students related to literary texts, and the researcher prepared a test that measures reading levels of comprehension, and a measure of the dimensions of the reading self, As well as preparing student worksheets and a teacher’s guide explaining how to use the proposed strategy. The results revealed that there were statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the experimental group and the scores of the control group in the test of post-comprehension reading and the dimensional reading self-measure in favor of the experimental group. The results also indicated the effectiveness of using the proposed strategy based on hypotheses of NLP in developing reading comprehension levels and improving The dimensions of the reading self of the experimental group students.

Interactive Digital Videos and Their Impact on Sixth Graders' English Reading and Vocabulary Skills and Retention

This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of using interactive digital videos on developing sixth graders' English reading skills and vocabulary learning and its retention. To achieve this aim, the researcher adopted the experimental approach and recruited a sample of 82 6th grade EFL male learners. The researcher used 5 instruments to collect data: 1) A content analysis card of 24 items for the reading comprehension texts of English for Palestine 6B, Holsti's equation was used to count the reliability of the analysis; 2) A checklist for teachers to determine the most important reading comprehension skills; 3) A pre and post reading comprehension test; 4) A pre and post vocabulary test; 5) A delayed vocabulary retention test held after two weeks of the post vocabulary rest. The study results revealed that IDVs were effective in developing reading comprehension, and in learning and retaining vocabulary.

P18 The Use of Guided Reading Questions as a Scaffolding Technique in a Flipped Graduate Metabolism Class

<h3>Objective</h3> Evaluate the use of guided reading questions (GRQ) as a scaffolding technique in a flipped classroom among graduate dietetic interns. <h3>Use of Theory</h3> The Staged Self-Directed Learning Model conceptualizes how students move towards self-directed learning in 4 stages. As students become more responsible for their own learning, they need different guidance or support from the teacher. In a previous study, students were initially resistant to flipped learning. It was hypothesized that if the instructor provided scaffolding techniques, such as GRQ, to help students learn on their own, the resistance to flipped learning may be minimized. <h3>Target Audience</h3> Graduate Dietetic Interns (n = 10) enrolled in a graduate-level metabolism course during their first semester at a midsize, private Midwestern university. <h3>Course/Curriculum Description</h3> In this flipped class, students read textbook chapters and/or watch videos prior to coming to class, then engage in activities (ie, case studies) to apply the information using team-based learning in class. GRQ were provided for students to use when reading the textbook for the first 5 weeks of the semester. <h3>Evaluation Methods</h3> Students completed 8 written learning reflections throughout the semester, which occurred approximately every other week. Content analysis was applied to these reflections to discover themes. <h3>Results</h3> Students viewed the GRQ as instructor support. Students reflected that they appreciated the GRQ at the beginning of the semester, but understood why they would not receive them for the entirety of the course. They reported that the GRQ helped them develop reading comprehension and note-taking skills. At the end of the semester, students reported that they would not need them. <h3>Conclusions</h3> Providing students GRQ in a flipped class, especially at the beginning of the semester, may be a useful scaffolding technique to help students gain skills in learning on their own and reading comprehension.

فاعليّة إستراتيجية روبنسون (SQ3R) في تنمية مهارات الفهم القرائي لدى طالبات الصف الثامن الأساسي بسلطنة عمان

This study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of Robinson's strategy (SQ3R) on developing reading comprehension skills of basic eighth grade students. The researchers prepared a list of reading comprehension skills for eighth grade students, a reading comprehension test, and a strategy guide to help teachers implement the strategy. The sample of the study was divided into two groups; experimental group, which studied reading using Robinson’s strategy and a control group which studied reading in the regular way. The results indicated that there was a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the students in the experimental and control groups in the post- test of the reading comprehension skills in favor to the experimental in five levels of reading comprehension, namely, literal, deductive, reasoning, critical, and creative. In addition, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups at the explanatory and sense levels.

Preschool phonological, morphological and semantic skills explain it all: following reading development through a 9‐year period

BackgroundThere is increasing recognition of the contribution of morphological skills to the development of reading fluency. However, theoretical models and recent research raise questions about how different language skills influence reading development.MethodsThe present study was designed to follow the reading development of a large sample of Norwegian children (N = 323) from preschool to Grade 9, assessing their performance on a wide range of language‐related and reading skills including morphological awareness. We employed confirmatory factor analyses of the cognitive, linguistic and reading variables prior to modelling the contribution of the preschool language variables to reading comprehension in Grades 1, 2 and 9.ResultsPreschool measures of phonological, morphological and semantic skills were best represented by a single language latent variable. Reading in Grades 1 and 2, assessed by measures of both decoding and comprehension, was also best represented by a single latent variable. Preschool language skills have long‐range direct and indirect effects on the development of reading comprehension. Overall, preschool language abilities accounted for 69.2% of the variance in reading comprehension 9 years later.ConclusionsThe results demonstrate the powerful influence of early language on later reading and suggest that language intervention programmes, combining phonological, morphological and semantic activities, may help to reduce the incidence of reading problems.

COMPUTER ORIENTED LANGUAGE LEARNING APPROACH (COLLAP) FOR STRUGGLING READERS

This action research applies the concept of hybrid instruction, as an instrument in developing reading comprehension skills of 35 grade 6 struggling readers of Demesa Elementary School. The study adopts the descriptive quantitative, that gauges the positive effects of technology-based instruction using online learning modules, through the use of computers and or other available digital technology and platforms capable of performing prescribed learning activities. The identified struggling readers engage in 20 stories in whichever they prefer; distant learning or face-to-face instruction. They engage with the online modules through viewing, listening, reading, and comprehension check. To interpret comprehension level, the software generated scores of each pupil in every story are converted to a percentage. Once they had finished the online modules they have undergone a post-assessment test. The result of both pre and post assessment, comparison of data through T-Test Two-Sample Assuming Equal Variance reflects a 66% increase in reading comprehension. This technological approach in ameliorating comprehension skills through established techniques facilitate learners in processing ideas to be able to answer comprehensively. This also shows that digital technology is more motivating among learners especially that their age is inclined in digital media. Pupils are eager and easily learn in times they are interested in things they are doing; intrinsic motivation became part of the comprehension process. The increase in reading comprehension of target participants tells that COLLAP is a powerful tool in distance learning that it can be catered in times when face-to-face instruction is not applicable due to the absence of learners. This also shows that parents have an integral part in enriching their learners' academic performance, their participation, as well as their support, becomes the key factor of children's achievement in both distant learning and face-to-face instruction.

The effect of intensive authentic reading tasks on reading performance of academic ielts test takers

This study aimed at investigating the effect of employing intensive reading (IR) authentic tasks as supplementary materials on reading comprehension development of Academic IELTS test takers within the framework of schema theory and three instructional models of reading strategies suggested by Pearson and Duke (2009). Participants of this study consist of 81 individuals comprising 41 male and 40 female language learners at pre-advanced level of English proficiency with the age range of 25 to 37 among which 42 were categorized as the experimental group which received IR treatment and the rest of 39 ,who are considered as control group, that did not receive IR treatment. The experimental group was further divided into two subgroups which each received the same IR authentic tasks with different instructional methods to teaching reading strategies. The results of an ANCOVA analysis illustrated a significant positive influence of authentic IR treatments on the development of participants' reading comprehension skills. However, an independent one-way t-test revealed that Pearson's and Duke's (2009) various instructional methods were not significantly influential on participants' final reading proficiency development.

First and second language vocabulary affect early second language reading comprehension development

The aim of this study was to examine variation in early reading comprehension development for second language (L2) readers compared with first language (L1) readers and to investigate the impact of vocabulary knowledge in their first and second language. Participants were 75 Dutch monolingual children (L1 readers) and 71 Turkish–Dutch bilingual children (L2 readers), aged between 6 and 8 years old at the start of the study. In a longitudinal design, three waves of data were collected across second and third grades. The L2 readers had lower reading comprehension scores than the L1 readers on average, but this performance gap narrowed over time. To further investigate variation among the L2 readers, four categorical subgroups of L2 readers were identified with varying levels of L1 (Turkish) and L2 (Dutch) vocabulary knowledge by means of cluster analysis. Group membership was related to reading comprehension and showed an interaction with time, indicating that reading comprehension performance of the two L2 subgroups with high L1 vocabulary increased more over time compared with L1 readers. The L2 subgroup with high vocabulary in both languages even caught up with their monolingual peers in third grade. These findings demonstrate how individual differences in L1 and L2 vocabulary knowledge explain variation in early L2 reading comprehension development and highlight the importance of considering L2 readers' first language in research and education.

The relationship between cognitive skills and reading comprehension of narrative and expository texts: A longitudinal study from Grade 1 to Grade 4

Following the increased emphasis on expository text in early grades, this study examined narrative and expository reading comprehension growth in a sample of children who were followed longitudinally from grades 1 to 4, with the goals of explaining potential differences in childrens overall performance and growth of narrative and expository text comprehension and identifying the cognitive factors that distinctly contribute to comprehension for each text type. We hypothesized that differences in reading comprehension growth of narrative and expository texts would be explained by various cognitive factors, specifically those related to executive functions (EF; e.g., working memory, planning/organization, shifting, and inhibition). At four annual time points, children (n = 94) read, retold (Recall), and answered questions (CompQ) about expository and narrative passages. Growth curve modeling was used to explore reading comprehension development across the two types of text. On average, results showed that children scored better on reading comprehension of narrative passages than they did on expository passages across all time points. After controlling for socioeconomic status (SES), vocabulary in 1st grade predicted 4th grade comprehension scores (Recall) for both narrative and expository passages, while word reading efficiency (WRE) in 1st grade predicted 4th grade comprehension scores (CompQ) for expository passages only. Additionally, WRE was associated with the growth of expository reading comprehension: children with higher WRE showed a faster growth rate for expository CompQ. The contribution of EF to text comprehension was largely confined to expository text, although planning and organization (measured using a direct cognitive assessment) in 1st grade also predicted 4th grade comprehension scores for narrative text Recall. For expository text comprehension, working memory, planning and organization, shifting, and inhibition (measured using a parent rating scale), predicted reading comprehension outcomes. Critically, 1st grade shifting and inhibition not only predicted 4th grade expository text comprehension (CompQ), but also modulated its growth rate: children with stronger shifting and inhibition had faster rates of growth. Together, these findings suggest that expository reading comprehension is (1) more difficult than narrative reading comprehension and (2) is associated with unique cognitive skills.

The Effects of Home Literacy Environment on Children’s Reading Comprehension Development: A Meta-analysis

A rich home literacy environment (HLE) fosters students’ academic achievement. However, the link between HLE and children’s reading comprehension is unclear. This study examined the effects of HLE factors on children’s reading comprehension through a meta-analysis of 59 studies conducted between 1998 and 2018. Results of the meta-analysis indicated three main findings. First, the overall positive correlation between HLE and children’s reading comprehension was moderate (z = .32). Second, sampling area, type of home literacy resource and parental involvement styles did not show a significant interaction effect between each HLE factor and children’s reading comprehension. Third, parents’ involvement and literacy expectations of children had a significantly higher correlation with children’s reading comprehension than home literacy resources did. Findings of this study suggest that parental literacy activities involvement and parental literacy expectations contribute more to children's literacy knowledge enhancement.

Developing EFL Reading Comprehension Skills through a suggested program based on the Communicative Language Teaching Approach among second year Faculty of Specific Education Students

The aim of this study was to develop EFL reading comprehension skills among Faculty of Specific Education students through a suggested program based on the communicative language teaching approach. The quasi-experimental design was used. The participants were 80students who were randomly divided into two groups: experimental (40) and control (40) from the Faculty of Specific Education, Zagazig University in the first term of the academic year 2019/2020.The instruments of the study were: a) reading comprehension skills checklist , b) reading comprehension test ,c) Rubric for grading the reading comprehension test and the program based on the communicative language teaching approach was taught for two months during the first semester of the academic year 2019/2020 .The experimental group was taught through the program based on the communicative language teaching approach (CLT).On the other hand , the control group was taught using the regular method. The results indicated that there was a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of both groups in the reading comprehension skills, in favor of the experimental group .It was concluded that the present study proved that the program based on the communicative language teaching approach had a positive effect on developing reading comprehension skills for the second year Faculty of Specific Education students.