English As A Foreign Language Reading Comprehension Research Articles

Direct and Indirect Contributions of Three Aspects of Morphological Knowledge to Second Language Reading Comprehension

Growing attention has been devoted to the contribution of morphological knowledge to reading comprehension. Because of the complex nature of morphological knowledge, more fine-grained approaches are sought on this topic by exploring multiple aspects of morphological knowledge and multiple pathways through which each aspect contributes to reading comprehension. This study measured three aspects of affix knowledge (form, meaning, and use) and vocabulary breadth and examined how each aspect contributes to EFL (English as a foreign language) reading comprehension by modeling direct and indirect effects with vocabulary as a mediator. The participants were 211 Japanese university students. All variables were measured using standardized tests. Direct effects of meaning, use, and vocabulary and indirect effects of meaning and use via vocabulary were significant. However, form displayed no significant effect. The lack of significant effects for form may be due to the design of this study, which did not include word reading (a variable that may mediate form’s effect). In sum, although the form aspect did not show any effect, semantic and syntactic aspects demonstrated direct and indirect contributions. Overall, this study endorsed the criticality of a more fine-grained approach, shedding light on what and how morphological knowledge supports L2 reading comprehension.

Unveiling the Role of Explicit Metadiscourse Instruction, Language Proficiency, and Content Familiarity in EFL Reading Comprehension: A Comprehensive Review

This review comprehensively explores the integral role of explicit metadiscourse instruction and language proficiency and content familiarity in the context of reading comprehension among learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Drawing upon a wide-ranging analysis of empirical studies spanning two decades (2003-2023), the review illuminates the intricate dynamics between these key components. It underscores how metadiscourse markers, as vital linguistic devices, significantly impact the learners' processing, comprehension, and retention of information. The importance of language proficiency emerges as a decisive factor, shaping the degree to which EFL learners can effectively utilize metadiscourse markers to enhance their reading comprehension skills. Moreover, the review accentuates the critical synergistic relationship between content familiarity and the efficacy of metadiscourse instruction, shedding light on how prior knowledge can optimize learning outcomes. It identifies significant gaps in existing research, emphasizing the need for a more integrated approach that simultaneously considers metadiscourse instruction, language proficiency, and content familiarity. The review concludes by advocating for greater emphasis on explicit metadiscourse instruction in EFL pedagogy, positioning this work as a synthesis of current knowledge and a guidepost for future research and instructional innovation in EFL reading comprehension.

Incorporating Computer-Mediated Communications in EFL Reading

Purpose: The incorporation of computer-mediated communication (CMC) has been widely used in recent English as a foreign language (EFL) teaching and learning due to the rapid advancement of technology. Despite the prevalence of online CMC communications, previous research has yielded mixed results, and empirical evidence on how online communications affect student reading comprehension is limited. This study compares the effects of online asynchronous and synchronous communications on EFL reading comprehension in a Taiwanese collaborative learning context. Method: Ten reading comprehension tests and an online questionnaire survey were administered to 100 university students enrolled in two senior reading classes in Southern Taiwan. Independent-sample t-tests, descriptive statistics, and Pearson product-moment correlation analyses were computed to investigate the differences and relationships between perceived asynchronous and synchronous communication use on EFL reading comprehension performance. Results: The findings revealed that participants used the synchronous communication mode more frequently than the asynchronous mode. The reading score obtained through the synchronous group was slightly higher than that obtained through the asynchronous group; no statistically significant difference was found. As students practiced more in asynchronous and synchronous communication modes, their reading comprehension ability improved significantly. Conclusion: Although learners generally accept both online communication modes, the open-ended question results reveal several disadvantages and advantages of online communication environments. The study's limitations, as well as the implications for instructional pedagogy and future research, are presented and discussed.

Using Motivational Strategies to Develop University EFL Students’ Reading Skills

This study aims at examining the effectiveness of motivational strategies in promoting the reading performance of Saudi female students learning English as a foreign language (EFL). The quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group design was employed. Two university EFL classes were randomly selected. One class, the experimental group, was taught reading through motivational strategies. Another class, the control group, had regular reading instruction. Results showed that the experimental group outperformed the control group on the post-test in overall reading performance as well as in each reading skill after the implementation of the teaching strategy based on motivational strategies. It can be concluded that motivation is vital in learning EFL reading comprehension through making students positive and enthusiastic in their classrooms. Teaching motivational strategies should have its place in Saudi EFL reading classes. EFL teachers should devote sufficient time and make their efforts to exploit these strategies with their different types.

Distinctions between mobile-assisted and paper-based EFL reading comprehension performance: reading cognitive load as a mediator

Previous research has documented that students’ reading comprehension performance in learning English as a foreign language (EFL) differs greatly between mobile-assisted and paper-based reading. The present study extends previous work by investigating whether reading cognitive load differs between mobile-assisted and paper-based EFL reading processes and exploring whether cognitive load mediates the relationship between reading medium and EFL reading comprehension performance. The instruments used are reading comprehension tests and questionnaire surveys administered to a sample of 191 first-year college students. A repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicates that cognitive load is significantly greater for mobile-assisted EFL reading than for paper-based EFL reading. In addition, structural equation modeling analyses indicate that cognitive load fully mediates the relationships between medium and reading comprehension performance; these mediation effects are independent of the level of English language proficiency. These results imply that cognitive load is a pivotal factor influencing students’ reading comprehension across media. Reasons for differences in reading cognitive load and its role as a mediator are discussed. Recommendations for promoting students’ reading experience on mobile phones are provided.

Design of a dual-hierarchy scaffolding board game-based learning activity for EFL reading comprehension

Promoting English as a foreign language (EFL) students’ reading comprehension, improving their reading motivation, and reducing their anxiety have always been the focus of EFL researchers. Educational board games have gradually received attention from educators. Various studies have found that board game-based teaching can improve students’ learning performance, motivation, and classroom engagement, and contribute to increasing discussion. However, there are few discussions on board games in the field of EFL, so further discussion is necessary to fill the research gap of board games in EFL reading comprehension. This study developed a dual-hierarchical scaffolding board game activity framework integrating game-based learning (GBL) and scaffolding strategies, and used card board games as teaching materials to promote EFL students’ reading comprehension. The game activity framework provides a scaffolded language learning environment with dual-hierarchy concepts to support students in building successful reading strategies. Moreover, the verbal and visual representations are displayed together on the cards game component. Game mechanics can help students to link verbal and image information. On the other hand, this framework emphasizes allowing students to first use the group discussion and collaborative reading mode to conduct self-directed and game-based learning activities with the dual-hierarchy scaffolding strategy. Then the teacher guides the students to use the concepts learned in the game activities to analyse and read the text so that they can understand the text content. A quasi-experimental design was conducted in a high school English reading course to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed framework. The experimental results showed that the proposed framework not only significantly promoted the EFL students’ reading comprehension and learning motivation and decreased their learning anxiety, but also helped them maintain a high level of learning motivation in the process of the activities. It is expected that the proposed structure can lead to better EFL teaching practices.

Assessing and validating young Kazakhstanis’ reading skills in English, the impact of classroom climate, and their engagement on reading skills

Improving reading skills in English for young Kazakhstani learners is a challenging process, but it was unfortunate that teachers in Kazakhstan do not frequently apply and implement assessments in the context of a school or classroom. Following a pilot study conducted in 2018, a continuous assessment was considered necessary to highlight the errors and challenges related to such unfortunate condition. This study performed validation and assessment of reading skills in English as a foreign language (EFL) within a classroom climate and in relation to the engagement of students in grades 6 and 8 in Kazakhstan. The participants were chosen randomly from seven secondary schools in a major city. The first language of all the participants (N = 1,206) was either Kazakh or Russian. Data from 906 students following data screening were analyzed. EFL Reading comprehension tests and a questionnaire regarding the students’ classroom climate and engagement were administered via the eDia online assessment platform. The analysis involved an exploratory factor analysis, a confirmatory factor analysis, and an internal consistency test using Cronbach’s alpha, composite reliability, and construct validity. To determine the effects of factors detected from the background variables on students’ reading results in EFL, a regression analysis was conducted. As results, no gender differences were found for either grade. However, in grade 6, students whose first language was Kazakh performed better than the students whose first language and/or language spoken at home was Russian. In grade 8, the differences between Kazakh and Russian students were negative but non-significant. Nevertheless, despite the weak relationship between the latent factors and reading skills, both grades showed a good model fit to the data and good factor loadings. Implication of the study and further research are also discussed.

Relationship among EFL reading comprehension, silent reading rate, vocabulary, and reading motivation

As a subset of the large-scale research on several issues related to EFL reading comprehension and instruction, this study investigates the potential relationship among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) reading comprehension, silent reading rate, vocabulary knowledge (i.e., receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge), and reading motivation (i.e., intrinsic and extrinsic reading motivation), as well as the relative contribution of each of these factors to EFL reading comprehension. Data were collected through a reading comprehension and rate test, receptive and productive vocabulary tests, and a reading motivation questionnaire administered to university level EFL learners enrolled in a state university in Turkey. Findings indicated a positive, moderately significant correlation between receptive and controlled productive vocabulary knowledge (p < 0.05) and a weak but significantly positive correlation between silent reading rate and reading motivation (p < 0.05). Findings also showed that silent reading rate and intrinsic reading motivation significantly predicted EFL reading comprehension (p < 0.05). Implications for pedagogy and suggestions for future EFL reading research are discussed.

Technological Solutions for Sustainable Development: Effects of a Visual Prompt Scaffolding-Based Virtual Reality Approach on EFL Learners’ Reading Comprehension, Learning Attitude, Motivation, and Anxiety

As is indicated by the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 4, it is crucial to have access to inclusive and quality education for all. For English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners, reading English is a basic skill for learners to acquire and exchange information and to have lifelong learning experiences. To provide a vivid EFL learning environment, a visual prompt scaffolding-based VR (VPS-VR) approach was proposed to enhance students’ reading comprehension skills. To investigate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, an experiment was conducted in an English reading course at a Chinese university. Students from experimental group A (N = 31) learned with the VPS-VR approach, experimental group B (N = 32) learned with the virtual reality (VR) approach, and the control group learned with the traditional instruction (TI) approach. The results revealed the positive effects of the VPS-VR approach on students’ EFL reading comprehension, learning motivation, and English learning anxiety. Furthermore, it was also found that experimental students’ lower-level skills of reading comprehension, such as information location and text comprehension, were significantly improved, rather than the higher-level skills of reflection and evaluation. Fifteen students participated in interviews, and their learning experience and technology acceptance are also discussed.

Cognitive and Linguistic Skills Associated With Cross-Linguistic Transfer in the Production of Oral Narratives in English as a Foreign Language by Arabic- and Hebrew-Speaking Children: Finding Common Denominators.

Many studies have examined literacy and related skills among learners of English as a foreign language (EFL), but little attention has been given to the role of oral language within a cross-linguistic framework despite the fact that English is the most widely spoken additional language today. Oral narratives rely on lexical, morphosyntactic, and conceptual knowledge. An in-depth examination of this modality can shed light on specific associations between cognitive and linguistic L1 and EFL skills and suggest possible mediating variables that assist multilingual speakers in producing complete oral narratives in EFL. The present study examined L1 and EFL contributors to EFL oral narratives produced by native Arabic (n = 85) and Hebrew (n = 86) speaking sixth graders seeking to identify cross-linguistic influences. We assessed general cognitive skills, phonological memory (PM), lexical, morphosyntactic knowledge, and reading comprehension in L1 (Hebrew speakers), Modern Standard Arabic (MSA, L2), L3 Hebrew (for Arabic speakers) and EFL. The “Cookie Theft” task assessed EFL elicited narratives using modified narrative analysis scales to account for microstructure (lexical and morphosyntactic complexity) and macrostructure (understanding story elements), generating a Total Narrative score. Our results yielded different patterns of underlying psycholinguistic profiles, and cross and within language associations for each group. Strong interactions between L1, L2/L3, and EFL morphological awareness and reading comprehension suggested cross-linguistic transfer. Regression analysis identified the most influential skills supporting EFL narratives for each linguistic group: English reading comprehension (ERC) was essential for Hebrew speakers and English morphological awareness (EMA) for Arabic ones. These results suggested different allocations of cognitive and linguistic resources in EFL narratives. The results also allowed to identify a common mediating skill for both groups. Findings are discussed within the theoretical framework of the Interdependence Hypothesis, the Linguistic Proximity Model, as well as accounts of direct and indirect transfer, which illuminate the impact of typological distance, general language proficiency and components of linguistic knowledge on cross-linguistic transfer in EFL oral language production.

Semi-Automatic Concept Map Generation Approach of Web-Based Kit-Build Concept Map Authoring Tool

Apart from contributing to students’ learning outcomes, learning activities with digital concept maps were useful, fun, and engaging. Kit-Build concept map is a learning framework that incorporated concept map recomposition as its essential activity. It has been used to learn English as a Foreign Language (EFL) reading comprehension. Students learn through recomposing digital concept maps from a set of teacher’s concept map components; hence, the teacher’s concept map is essential in Kit-Build. A teacher’s concept map should reflect the learning context and strategy, the teacher’s purpose and intention, students’ understanding level, and focus questions. However, automatic-generated concept maps with Concept Map Mining (CMM) can only produce general concept maps that are not fit and difficult to correspond to said reasons. As teacher’s concept maps are essential in learning with Kit-Build, improving teachers’ productivity in composing concept maps of a particular learning material becomes necessary. This study proposed a semi-automatic concept map generation approach of EFL reading comprehension texts with CMM to assist teachers composed their concept maps. The proposed concept map generation approach was integrated into the current Kit-Build concept map authoring tool as an authoring support feature. The accuracy of the support feature in generating concept map components is presented in this research. The result suggested that the proposed authoring support tool is better used to refine a concept map.

The Effects of Situational and Perceived Interest on EFL Reading Comprehension: A Gender-Based Study at the University of Algiers 2

This study aims to investigate gender differences in English as a foreign language (EFL) reading comprehension, situational and perceived interest for gender-oriented passages. It also examines whether any gender variances in situational or perceived interest in those passages cause gender differences in EFL reading comprehension. Throughout this research, clear insights about individual differences and the unexplained variance in foreign language reading are provided. Two main research questions were formulated: (a) Do gender differences in EFL students’ situational interest explain gender differences in EFL students’ reading comprehension? (b) Do gender differences in EFL students’ PI explain gender differences in EFL students’ reading comprehension? In this concern, EFL freshmen students at the University of Algiers 2, including 35 females and 24 males, were conveniently selected. The selected materials were two tests of reading comprehension with male and female texts. Each of these tests was followed by the questionnaires of sources of interest and perceived interest, adapted from Brantmeier (2006). Findings revealed significant gender differences in tests with male and female passages. Besides, significant gender differences found in cohesion, prior knowledge, ease of recollection, and perceived interest for both male and female passages in addition to engagement for the female text did not account for gender differences in reading comprehension of their respective tests. In this way, other factors than situational and perceived interest would explain gender differences in reading comprehension.

The Effects of Situational and Perceived Interest on EFL Reading Comprehension: A Gender-Based Study at the University of Algiers 2

This study aims to investigate gender differences in English as a foreign language (EFL) reading comprehension, situational and perceived interest for gender-oriented passages. It also examines whether any gender variances in situational or perceived interest in those passages cause gender differences in EFL reading comprehension. Throughout this research, clear insights about individual differences and the unexplained variance in foreign language reading are provided. Two main research questions were formulated: (a) Do gender differences in EFL students’ situational interest explain gender differences in EFL students’ reading comprehension? (b) Do gender differences in EFL students’ PI explain gender differences in EFL students’ reading comprehension? In this concern, EFL freshmen students at the University of Algiers 2, including 35 females and 24 males, were conveniently selected. The selected materials were two tests of reading comprehension with male and female texts. Each of these tests was followed by the questionnaires of sources of interest and perceived interest, adapted from Brantmeier (2006). Findings revealed significant gender differences in tests with male and female passages. Besides, significant gender differences found in cohesion, prior knowledge, ease of recollection, and perceived interest for both male and female passages in addition to engagement for the female text did not account for gender differences in reading comprehension of their respective tests. In this way, other factors than situational and perceived interest would explain gender differences in reading comprehension.

Multimedia Gloss Presentation: Learners' Preference and the Effects on EFL Vocabulary Learning and Reading Comprehension.

Drawing on Moreno's cognitive-affective theory of learning with media, this research aims to investigate the effectiveness of different multimedia glosses on learners' vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension in a CALL environment. A total of 160 university students who learnt English as a foreign language (EFL) in four classes participated in the study and were exposed to one of the four conditions: (a) L2 definition only, (b) L2 definition coupled with audio, (c) L2 definition plus video, and (d) L2 definition with picture. Participants were asked to read eight hypermediated reading texts. Reading comprehension as well as vocabulary acquisition were measured using a pretest–posttest design. The results show first that all these four conditions led to students' vocabulary gains. More specifically, participants who had access to L2 definition plus picture and plus videos achieved significantly higher scores than the other two groups, L2 definition coupled with audio and L2 definition only. Concerning reading comprehension, all multimedia glossing presentation led to better reading comprehension, but no differences were found among all the glossing groups. The questionnaire and interview data indicate that students preferred L2 definition coupled with video and picture glosses, followed by audio and L2 definition only. The results reflect that multimedia glossing presentation creates a different effect on students' vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension, respectively. They also provide pedagogical implications for learning in times of COVID-19.

Morphological knowledge in second language reading comprehension: examining mediation through vocabulary knowledge and lexical inference

The study aimed to examine the relationship between morphological knowledge and reading comprehension ability among college-level English as a foreign language (EFL) students. One hundred and twenty-one students participated in this study and they completed two morphological knowledge measures (morpheme-form knowledge and morpheme-meaning knowledge), reading vocabulary knowledge, lexical inference and reading comprehension. Drawing upon hierarchical regression and path analysis, the study found that morphological knowledge explained a unique proportion of variance in reading comprehension after word-meaning knowledge was accounted for. In addition, morphological knowledge had direct and indirect effects on EFL reading comprehension via reading vocabulary breadth and lexical inference ability. To be more specific, the mediating effect of morpheme-meaning knowledge seemed to be salient in EFL reading comprehension. Conceptual and methodological interpretations were discussed based on the findings.

Simple view of reading among Slovenian English foreign language learners: A latent interaction modeling approach

An estimated 700 million people learn how to read in English as a foreign language (EFL). This highlights the need to better understand the components influencing EFL reading. We tested to what degree EFL decoding and linguistic comprehension influenced EFL reading comprehension within the realm of three variants of the Simple View of Reading (SVR) model – the multiplicative, the additive, and the combined variants. Moreover, we estimated the extent to which first language reading contributed to EFL reading comprehension over and above EFL components. Participants were 690 Slovenian seventh graders (Mage = 12.76 years; SD = 0.43). Utilizing a latent interaction model, results supported the SVR additive variant. EFL decoding was a stronger contributor than EFL linguistic comprehension. First language reading did not seem to influence EFL reading comprehension. Our findings suggest that EFL instruction should focus on practicing EFL decoding and linguistic comprehension independently.

Comprehension Monitoring, Appraisal Confidence and Self-efficacy in EFL Reading: A Correlational Study from Nepal

The current study explored the relationships among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ comprehension monitoring, appraisal confidence, reading self-efficacy and EFL reading comprehension performance. First, 203 students reported their comprehension monitoring and reading self-efficacy. Then they took an EFL reading comprehension test and reported their appraisal confidence immediately after answering each question. Students’ comprehension monitoring, appraisal confidence and reading self-efficacy were found to be far higher than their average reading comprehension performance. Similarly, the students with a high level of reading comprehension tended to be better at monitoring comprehension and were more self-efficacious than those who performed poorly in the test. Finally, significantly positive correlations were found among comprehension monitoring, appraisal confidence, reading self-efficacy and EFL reading comprehension performance.

Code-switching Versus Target-language-only for English as a Foreign Language: Saudi Students’ Perceptions

Selecting the medium of instruction to teach English as a Foreign Language (EFL) has been a controversial issue for several years. This article explores the impact of code-switching (CS) versus target-language-only (TL-only) teaching strategies on the learning and affective sustenance of EFL reading comprehension beginner students based on their perceptions. It also investigates whether there is a significant difference between the participants’ perceptions of these two teaching strategies’ possible impact on their learning and affective sustenance. Fifty-two female Saudi college students participated in the study. A questionnaire and follow-up interviews were used to collect the data. The results indicate that the participants had positive perceptions about the impact of CS on their learning and affective sustenance in the EFL reading classes as opposed to negative perceptions about TL-only instruction. The results also show that there is a significant difference between their perceptions of TL-only instruction and CS, indicating that they prefer CS to TL-only instruction in their EFL reading classes. We recommend that reading comprehension teachers for beginners utilize CS as a facilitating instructional strategy for EFL beginners to give them affective support and make the input more comprehensible.

Interpretive Reading as a Strategy to Construct Meaning in EFL Reading Comprehension: A Case Study at King Khalid University

This study aims to investigate interpretive reading; as a strategy to construct meaning among English as a foreign language (EFL) beginner level students at the Faculty of Languages and Translation, King Khalid University(KKU). It will also suggest ways in which instructors can incorporate this strategy into their teaching. Reading appears to be one of the challenging skills for EFL Saudi students for various reasons; among them, the primary one can be that students are usually less motivated towards self-reading. The Interpretive reading strategy could go a long way to bridge the gaps in understanding comprehension passages, as it is a performance/rhetoric-related strategy and lies at a more intuitive level. Engaging and motivating students in learning requires a few essential factors, such as exciting tasks, the socio-cultural background of the learners, and people who manage the delivery of the course (Marshall,1992). An experimental and control group of students will be selected, enrolled in the reading course, at level 1. The test group will get training in the interpretive reading techniques through their EFL instructors, having excellent in-depth knowledge of the skill of interpretive reading techniques. After teaching for more than eight weeks, a proficiency test will gauge student's performance. The obtained results are compared using SPSS software to see the significant achievements and suggestions, and necessary recommendations are made.

Item-focused trees approach in differential item functioning (DIF) analysis: a case study of an EFL reading comprehension test

Recent years have witnessed an increasing interest in providing new insights into modern language testing method targeting test bias. In this study, item-focused trees (IFT) approach was applied to identify uniform and non-uniform differential item functioning (DIF) of an English as a foreign language (EFL) reading comprehension test. The multistage cluster sampling method was employed to randomly choose a large sample of 4937 students who took the entrance exam of MA program in English studies. The reading comprehension section of the general English test including 20 items was selected for the IFT analysis. Three categorical and continuous DIF source variables including gender and academic background were concomitantly taken into account for the IFT analysis, which is capable of handling more than one variable with both binary and continuous measurement. Then, in the final stage of IFT analysis within a logistic regression framework, uniform and non-uniform DIF was analyzed using DIF tree package of R. The results showed that 10 items had uniform DIF in which 2 items had 2 joint DIF predictor variables (2 splits) and 8 items had only one split. Additionally, 6 splits and 5 non-uniform DIF items were found in non-uniform DIF analysis in which only 1 item had 2 simultaneous DIF source variables. Furthermore, gender and background knowledge had significant relationships with EFL reading comprehension. This study promises practical implications for addressing gender and background knowledge differences in EFL reading comprehension studies on the one hand, and impacting language testing methodology on the other.