Foreign Language Reading Comprehension Research Articles

Investigating the effect of visualization-based activities on developing the 6th grade Jordanian female pupils’ reading comprehension skills

This study investigated the effects of visualization-based activities on improving the reading comprehension skills of 6th grade Jordanian female pupils. The study was applied to a sample of 46 pupils taken from Al-Qatrana Primary School for Girls, Education Directorate of Al-Karak Governorate. Two groups were formed; control and experimental groups; with 22 and 24 participants respectively. The quantitative method was used to investigate this study. Moreover, data was collected through the pre-test and the post-test of female pupils’ reading comprehension skills which were conducted for this purpose. The analysis of data relied on independent t-tests applied with the aim of identifying the statistical significance associated with the two groups’ achievement in reading comprehension. The results reflected the significant effect of using visualization-based activities in developing the reading comprehension skills of the 6th-grade Jordanian female pupils. This study concluded that visualization-based activities were more effective in teaching Foreign Language (FL) reading comprehension compared to the traditional method. Thus, this study helped to improve different skills among the current sample of students (of Al-Qatrana primary school for girls and would be applicable to other schools to study a foreign language with less difficulty and remove any challenges and difficulties that may come their way in learning a FL.

Amalgamation of Technology Use and Collocation-focused Tasks in the Expansion of Reading Comprehension Capability of Turkish EFL Learners after Covid-19 Period Biographical Information

Drastic changes in education like depending on remote and online education during and after Corona Virus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) have been undergone globally. As a result, instructors and learners were convinced to pursue their objectives despite the complications of pandemic disease. To this end, this study focuses on the effect of extra-curricular collocation-basedassignments on reading comprehension skill and the utilization of technology in the context of education. Thus, in this quasi-experimental study two homogeneous groups including sixty intermediate students from a state university in Turkey were selected. Reading comprehension instruction was given to both groups who participated in online education run by a Moodle Application.While the experimental group received additional collocation-focused education and assignments, the control group had traditional reading comprehension education without noticing the importance and conducive effect of collocations. To compare the means of the two groups pre and post-tests, and two independent T-tests were used. Ameaningful difference in the means of the groups on the post-test of reading comprehension performance was obvious in the results section. Last but not the least, assignment, as an academic extra-curricular activity, had a considerable impact on Turkish intermediate EFL learners’ foreign language reading comprehension ability after the pandemic lockdown period.

Using digital web forms as a tool for interactive stories to promote second language reading

ABSTRACT In the context of online stories and games, web forms can be an excellent instrument for generating interactive narratives. Using web forms, authors can enable readers to make decisions that influence the story’s progression. Additionally, web forms can be used for interactive reading tasks, not only to increase reading but also to promote foreign language reading comprehension. The purpose of this study is to determine whether foreign language learners prefer using interactive narratives on web forms to read traditional texts. This was tested across 32 participants between the ages of 18 and 35 years with varying linguistic backgrounds. The participants were foreign language learners of English, and they were asked to read a version of Shakespeare’s Hamlet that was adapted to an interactive narrative using Microsoft Forms. The participants were divided into three groups (low-, medium-, and high-frequency readers) to see whether their reading habits influenced their reading motivation at the conclusion of the study. The results show that all three groups were equally motivated. Additionally, the participants reported they enjoyed reading the text in this manner, and they generally showed a preference for reading the interactive digital narrative over traditional texts.

Integrating reading strategy and phonics instruction to enhance foreign language reading comprehension: A complex approach to a complex phenomenon

This article argues that the skillful integration of reading strategy instruction with phonics instruction is highly useful for the enhancement of foreign language reading comprehension. There is a vast amount of evidence which clearly suggests that reading strategy instruction improves learners’ ability to understand foreign language texts. However, some researchers have argued that foreign language learners need a critical amount of lexical and grammatical knowledge to make use of reading strategy instruction; in other words, lower proficiency readers are unable to profit from reading strategy instruction. Yet, a detailed analysis of relevant published and unpublished research indicates that while more proficient readers are able to take full advantage of reading strategy instruction on its own, less skilled readers require an integrated phonics component in order to fully benefit from reading strategy instruction. This conclusion is in line with our current understanding of the complex process of reading which suggests that reading proficiency is the product of linguistic knowledge and strategic behaviour.

Developing Reading Comprehension in L2 with respect to Text Genre and Form

Self-development in terms of reading comprehension in a second foreign language is often practiced to a small extent in foreign language education. In the L2 (German language) educational process, the teacher focuses mainly on teaching basic grammatical phenomena and vocabulary. The development of reading comprehension in L2, as to text genres and forms, provides a new dimension in terms of self-development, as it mainly supports metacognitive processes and thus self-efficacy and success in a foreign language text understanding. The goal of the presented research was to find out connections between students success in reading comprehension with regard to different categories of text genres (adventure books, historical novels, fairy tales, poems, legends, and science fiction, and others) and text forms (either printed - magazines, newspapers, books, textbooks or electronic - e-books, websites, e-textbooks, and others). We were interested in whether a particular (concrete) genre or form of text does (or does not) contribute to the success in L2 reading comprehension or whether reading of any genre or form of text does (or does not) contribute to the success in L2 reading comprehension. The research was carried out in secondary vocational and grammar schools in Slovakia on a sample of 126 respondents. Statistically significant correlations were found between specific (concrete) genres and forms of texts and success in reading comprehension. It turns out that short stories, legends and books about nature predict better understanding of texts in the German language, and reading of printed books and magazines promotes success in L2 reading comprehension.

Student's Categorization Activities in the Educational Process of Second Foreign Language Reading Comprehension

Student's Categorization Activities in the Educational Process of Second Foreign Language Reading Comprehension

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.

Going beyond the Text: Interactional Competence in Reading Comprehension Class

Drawing on the principles underlying conversation analysis (CA), this paper is a single case analysis of interaction in an English as a foreign language (EFL) reading comprehension classroom in Saudi Arabia. It looks at learning from a sociocultural perspective and uses constructs from this theoretical perspective. It focuses on Classroom Interactional Competence (CIC) (Walsh, 2013), showing classroom interaction features that are considered CIC. The paper reflects how an understanding of the concept can lead to more dialogic, engaged learning environments. The paper also connects CIC to teachers’ ability to manipulate simple classroom interactional resources to make the teaching process more effective. The paper demonstrates how teachers can induce CIC by utilizing interactional techniques, such as relaxing the mechanism and speed through which turns are taken or given, use of active listenership devices, extending wait time, and use of open-ended questions to expand topics under development. The paper argues that those techniques will help teachers, as evidenced from the cited examples, further enhance classroom participation so that it is convergent with their pedagogical goals. Finally, the paper has pedagogical implementations as it sheds light on techniques that help promote classroom interaction as an indication of learning among students with limited linguistic resources.

Do EFL Teachers Reduce the Reading Gap in Qatar? A Study of Strategy Instruction in Government Schools

Teachers’ instructional practices are crucial to students’ achievement in reading comprehension. Students’ low English reading competence in Qatar’s government schools raises concerns about not only reading comprehension strategy instruction, but also, subsequently, learning as a natural outcome of teachers’ praxis. This quantitative survey investigated English as a foreign language (EFL) reading comprehension strategy instruction of a broad cross-sectional sample of (1-12) EFL teachers (n=754) of government schools in Qatar. The study examines teachers’ most frequently used strategies and explicit strategy instruction. To relate the findings of an exploratory data analysis, descriptive statistics, including means, standard deviations, and frequencies, were calculated for each 5-point Likert scale questionnaire item using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS-Version 24) statistics software. Results revealed that participant teachers reported a generally moderate and high frequency of using comprehension strategies (lowest mean 3.56 and highest mean 4.52). The seven most used strategies (mean score ≥4) were: Identify main ideas, set purpose for reading, predictions, preview text, monitor comprehension, prior knowledge activation, and handle unfamiliar words. Conversely, the five strategies reported a comparatively lower use frequency (mean score ˂4) were: Text structure, questioning, visualizing, summarizing, and think aloud. The major findings on explicit strategy instruction indicated that teachers ignored the gradual release of responsibility to students. The implications of these findings suggest that EFL teachers demonstrate moderate use of reading comprehension strategy instruction. Further recommendations for the Ministry of Education, school principals, and teachers are offered.

Foreign Language Reading Comprehension in the Context of Internet Use

Reading comprehension is a complex mental performance of an individual, which is strongly influenced by the modern phenomenon of the use of the Internet. The main goal of the study is to examine the relationship between foreign language reading comprehension (in English and German) and the Internet use (time spent on the Internet, the Internet addiction). The results of the research confirmed negative relationship between the time spent online and reading comprehension in German. Internet addiction is positively correlated with reading comprehension in English, this relationship is influenced by demographic variables of students’ gender and the type of school attended.

Online Collaborative Kit-Build Concept Map: Learning Effect and Conversation Analysis in Collaborative Learning of English as a Foreign Language Reading Comprehension

Online Collaborative Kit-Build Concept Map: Learning Effect and Conversation Analysis in Collaborative Learning of English as a Foreign Language Reading Comprehension

Intervention in teaching reading in a foreign language:

Aim. The paper presents partial results of research aimed at the development of foreign language reading comprehension using the specially developed intervention programme. Concept. The English Reading Comprehension Intervention Program has been developed within the research project Support for reading literacy in the mother tongue and foreign language. It consists of 10 intervention units and is based on 10 identified predictors, the conscious development of which contributes to students’ success in reading comprehension. Methodology. Assumptions presented in the paper are based on the cognitive theory of learning, identifying which cognitive processes precede the predictors with the greatest share of influence, and which higher cognitive processes follow them. Based on these scientific hypotheses and research results, we have determined the predictors positively influencing reading comprehension and worth intervening in the process of development of reading comprehension.Results and conclusions. In the paper, the English Reading Comprehension Intervention Program for B1 level of language proficiency is introduced, with both the content and methodology of its class application described. The predictors of divergent thinking and ambiguity tolerance are discussed in detail as the presented example of the intervention unit is focused on their development. Originality. While intervention programmes are not a new phenomenon, the recently developed reading comprehension intervention programmes for foreign languages are a valuable contribution to teaching foreign language reading comprehension in primary and secondary schools. They provide foreign language teachers with ready-made materials, which can be immediately used in their classes and will contribute to better learning results of their students.

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 Contribution of Syntactic and Lexical Knowledge to Foreign Language Reading Comprehension

The current study was designed to identify the relative significance of syntactic and lexical knowledge in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) reading comprehension of 254 adult Turkish university students. The role of two dimensions of lexical knowledge, lexical depth and breadth in L2 reading comprehension were also examined in the current study. A Syntactic Knowledge Test (SKT), Reading Comprehension Test (RCT) composed of TOEFL, Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT) and Word Associates Test (WAT) were used in the data collection process. Correlation and multiple regression analyses were utilized to analyze the data. The data analyses showed that all variables of the study positively and significantly correlated with each other. Moreover, all independent variables together significantly predicted RCT scores of the participants. However, when each variable was examined separately, syntactic knowledge was the most contributive variable to L2 reading comprehension. Lexical breadth also significantly explained L2 reading comprehension of EFL learners. The unique contribution of lexical depth to L2 reading comprehension was very low and not significant. Moreover, the independent variables were also correlated with each other. The findings of the current study were compared with the previous findings, discussed and justified in accordance with them. Pedagogical implications were offered.

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.

Testing young foreign language learners’ reading comprehension: Exploring the effects of working memory, grade level, and reading task

Extensive research has demonstrated the impact of working memory (WM) on first language (L1) reading comprehension across age groups (Peng et al., 2018), and on foreign language (FL) reading comprehension of adults and older adolescents (Linck et al., 2014). Comparatively little is known about the effect of WM on young FL readers’ comprehension, and even less within testing contexts. Young FL readers are still developing their L1 reading skills and general cognitive skills (e.g., attentional regulation abilities). Completing FL reading tests might be particularly taxing on their WM, and differences in WM capacity – as well as other learner and task characteristics – might create construct-irrelevant variance in test performance.In this study, we investigate the effects of WM, grade level, and reading task on young learners’ FL reading test performances. Ninety-four young English language learners (Grades 6–7) in Hungary completed the TOEFL®Junior™ Comprehensive’s reading test and a WM test battery. Our mixed-effects model predicted significantly higher comprehension accuracy among learners with higher WM capacity, and among learners in Grade 7 compared to learners in Grade 6. Reading task differences were not associated with significant comprehension accuracy differences. We discuss the implications of our findings for testing young learners’ FL reading comprehension.

Learners’ success and self-esteem in foreign language reading comprehension

Demands for a high-level development of foreign language reading comprehension skills and competences are now escalating and processing of foreign language text information is a matter of course. Pupils and teachers are faced with the need to work with textual information in more complicated ways, in which self-esteem plays an important role. This paper analyses learners’ success of reading comprehension in foreign language and real self-esteem in acquiring those skills. Self-esteem helps to promote language self-confidence, the learner’s level of aspiration, and adjustment to perception of foreign language structure. As long as the learner does not really perceive themselves (real “self”), it is difficult to talk about understanding lexical meanings and their real perception of grammatical structures in the text. The research goal was to find differences in self-esteem and success in foreign language reading comprehension skills with respect to categories of comprehension (specifically: I always understand everything; I have a lot of problems with text understanding; specifically: I experience difficulties with understanding unknown words; problem with understanding long sentences; difficulty with understanding the unfamiliar topic of the text; pictures help me in understanding; guiding questions help me in understanding). The research question was whether the self-image of learners in relation to the skill of foreign language reading comprehension is realistic given their real success in this skill. The research was carried out in the Slovak Republic on a sample of 327 respondents and found differences in subjective perception of understanding and success in reading comprehension skills. The research showed a low real self image of learners especially in categories of global character in respect to the average understanding of foreign language texts.

Converging Development of English as Foreign Language Listening and Reading Comprehension Skills in German Upper Secondary Schools

Receptive skills in English as a second language are important for students on the verge of entering higher education as this student group (aged 17–19) is expected to apply English regularly in their later life. Previous research in this age group in Germany already implied an increasing overlap between both skills in this age group, although robustness of this effect across student groups with different learning experiences was not tested. We used language assessment data collected from upper secondary schools (i.e., from 17 to 19-year-old students) in Germany to compare correlations at the beginning and the end of upper secondary education in groups of students from (1) language-related versus non-language-related study profiles and (2) from students with frequent versus less frequent self-reported English-language out-of-school learning activities. In all of these groups, correlations were increasing, indicating converging skills in upper secondary education. The results are discussed in terms of implications for current theories of language research.

READING AS A SUBJECT OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

This article is devoted to the problem of the formation of foreign language competence of reading in pupils of secondary school. The general characteristics of competence in foreign language reading comprehension are given. The aims of its formation at school are defined. The components of reading comprehension competence are named: skills, habits, knowledge and communicative ability. Stages of reading comprehension competence formation are given.
 The article analyzes the problem of forming foreign language competence in reading. Properly formed foreign language competence in reading helps pupils to work with textbooks and other educational books, contributes to the expansion of the pupils’ scientific knowledge and to the skills formation of independent cognitive activity. The properly formed skills of foreign language competence in reading also allow learners to expand and deepen their knowledge.
 In this work it is shown that the formation of foreign language competence of reading involves the acquisition of knowledge by learners, the formation of skills and development of reading skills, as well as the improvement of psychophysiological mechanisms of reading. Moreover, in this article it is proved that the ability to read allows pupils to use literature in a foreign language to find information on the speciality and to improve the skills of oral speech.
 For solving the problems were used following methods, namely general scientific methods of theoretical and empirical research. In addition, methods of comparison and generalization of facts analysis of psychological and pedagogical literature were used at the stage of theoretical research.