Reading Comprehension Strategies Research Articles

The Impacts of Explicit Strategy Instruction on Reading Performance from Students Perspective: A Case Study

This paper reported on part of a larger study to explore how Vietnamese non-English major students perceived the impacts of explicit strategy instruction (ESI) on reading comprehension. Instruction on reading strategies was conducted for 6 weeks in which students were taught explicitly previewing and predicting, skimming, scanning, guessing the meaning of the unknown words from the context and summarizing strategies. Data were collected from forty-five non-English major students at a university in Vietnam through group interviews and learning reflections. Three semi-structured interviews were conducted in groups of three to four students, and thirty-nine learning reflections were collected to obtain in-depth information about the impact of the ESI. The findings revealed that, after the instruction, the students reported using various reading strategies in four strategy categories, namely problem-solving, global, support and local strategies. In addition, the ESI was perceived to be cognitively beneficial, as students reported heightened awareness of using reading strategies in reading comprehension, expanded reading strategy repertoire, greater reading fluency, and higher reading scores. From a non-cognitive affective perspective, students reported that the ESI motivated them to read with a higher level of confidence and become more autonomous in reading in English. The study offers implications for teachers, students and materials writers in teaching and learning English reading skills in non-English major learning contexts and perhaps in other settings.

Developing Learner Positive Attitudes Towards Reading Comprehension: A Strategy Instruction Approach

This quantitative study sought to explore how Strategy Instructions Approach (SIA) as reading comprehension technique can help develop positive attitudes in learners towards reading. This study was necessitated by the fact that most South African children do not have positive attitudes towards reading and, as such, are not motivated to do reading on their own. To develop a positive attitude towards reading, learners must acquire a rich vocabulary. To acquire a rich vocabulary, learners must be acquainted with the strategies required for decoding meaning from texts. Researchers revealed that English First Additional Language teachers do not have adequate skills to teach learners to effectively comprehend what they read. This study used SIA, which was found to be an effective way of teaching reading comprehension, to grade 8 learners in Elliotdale Circuit Management Centre (CMC) in the Amathole East District of the Eastern Cape of the Republic of South Africa. The aim of this study was to find out if SIA could be used to develop positive attitudes in the learners towards reading. Sixty learners were sampled from three schools, twenty per school, to take part in the study. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyse the data. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize and describe the data collected before and after the interventions. The study revealed that the use of SIA to teach reading comprehension developed positive attitudes of the learner participants towards reading. The study also recommends that school-based staff induction programs should equip teachers on how to use SIA as a strategy for reading comprehension. Teacher training should also equip pre-service teachers on SIA and other reading comprehension strategies.

How does peer tutoring contribute to the development of reading comprehension? Evidence from ten years of practice

This study investigates the development of reading comprehension in primary school students who took part in a peer tutoring programme. Data were collected from 8,128 students (aged 6–12) from 58 schools that participated in the programme between 2012 and 2022. Adopting a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design, two research aims are addressed: 1) to detect changes in reading comprehension in a pretest-posttest, and 2) to analyse the interaction of a subsample of pairs to explain these changes. Pretest-posttest subgroup analyses show a significant improvement in reading comprehension for all levels, tutoring options, and roles (i.e., same-age tutors and tutees, same-age reciprocal role, cross-age tutors and tutees) (.43 ≤ ES ≤. 97). A linear mixed model shows that grade level and the interaction between this variable and tutoring option may moderate the increase in reading comprehension, after controlling for initial score. Interaction analysis points to key elements that can explain this improvement, mainly students’ explicit use of strategies for reading comprehension, repeated episodes of reading the text aloud, and joint construction of answers. Overall, these findings support the use of peer tutoring for the development of reading comprehension throughout primary education. Limitations of the study as well as implications for research and practice are discussed.

Boosting Students’ Reading Comprehension Using REAP Method

This research highlights the vital role of English reading skills in students'' literacy and comprehension. Implementing the REAP technique enhances reading comprehension by fostering interactive study-reading methods. Addressing issues like lack of interest, it offers a promising approach to enhance English education at SMA Institut Indonesia Semarang, as evidenced by its effectiveness in improving 11th-grade students' reading abilities. This quasi pre-experimental research employs a one-group pretest-posttest design, chosen for its convenience in obtaining internal samples. Class XI-3 was selected based on teacher recommendations. With 31 students, the study adopts a quantitative approach, focusing on reading comprehension tests administered before and after classroom instruction using multiple-choice questions as the assessment instrument. The pre-test, revealing a range of scores from 44 to 76 with a mean of 64.12, highlights initial reading struggles. Post-treatment, the post-test exhibits diverse scores, averaging 76.38, indicating improvement. The REAP method effectively enhances comprehension, as evidenced by the significant score increase from pre-test (64.12) to post-test (76.38), validating its efficacy. The research findings reveal a notable improvement in students'' reading comprehension abilities following the implementation of the REAP Method, despite initial unsatisfactory grades. The approach effectively enhances students' understanding and analytical skills, demonstrating its high effectiveness as a reading comprehension strategy. Overall, the significant difference between pre-test and post-test scores underscores the success of the REAP Method in advancing students' reading comprehension abilities, affirming its efficacy as a teaching approach

Students' skills in mathematical word problems and their reading comprehension level: Basis for intervention program (June 2023)

This study aims to investigate the relationship between reading comprehension and solving mathematical word problems. Mathematics can be enjoyable yet challenging for many students. Solving word problems is a common struggle. To solve these problems, students must have strong reading comprehension skills to fully understand the mathematical information presented in text form. The researchers were motivated to conduct the study to ascertain the level of the students' reading comprehension and its impact on their performance in problem-solving. The researchers used a quantitative method in the study. The respondents were Grade 11 Senior High School students in Don Manuel Rivera Memorial Integrated National School, Pila, Laguna. The researchers calculated the sample size using Slovin's Formula which has a 5% margin of error. As a result, the researchers obtained a sample size of 118 Grade 11 students from HUMSS and STEM strand. The researchers used an adapted test questionnaire from the Project Reach Program of DepEd to measure the reading comprehension level of the respondents. On the other hand, the researchers created test questions to measure the skills of the students in solving mathematical word problems. After the data was collected, tallied, and analyzed, results revealed a significant correlation between students' reading comprehension and problem-solving skills at Don Manuel Rivera Memorial Integrated National High School. The majority of the respondents were categorized as "instructional" and "beginner," with a mean of 18.88 and 10.48. Pearson r correlation analysis revealed that pupils’ reading comprehension level is significantly correlated with their problem-solving skills. It means that students who belong to the independent level tend to have higher proficiency in solving mathematical word problems. The researchers created an intervention program in order to improve students' reading comprehension level and problem-solving skills. The researchers came up with the "CompreMath" intervention program. The "CompreMath" intervention program provides a rationale for integrating reading comprehension strategies into mathematics instruction, enabling students to develop a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts, enhance their problem-solving abilities, and make meaningful connections between mathematics and the real world.

EFL Omani Foundation Programme Students’ Attitudes Towards Reading in English and Their Knowledge of Reading Comprehension Strategies

This study investigated the importance of reading in English for EFL Foundation Programme students at a private college university in Oman. It discussed the students' attitudes towards reading in English and their knowledge of reading comprehension strategies. The instruments used included a short questionnaire and a reading achievement test. They were handed to sixteen mixed-age and gender students from level one and sixteen mixed-age and gender students from level two. The findings of the study instruments' data showed that gender and English language proficiency had no statistically significant effect on the level of knowledge of reading comprehension strategies in English. They also revealed that age had no statistically significant effect on attitudes towards reading in English.Moreover, they showed no statistically significant correlation between the knowledge of reading comprehension strategies and attitudes toward reading in English. Although there were positive reading attitudes, students showed weak knowledge of reading comprehension strategies. The study recommends that EFL teachers develop their students' knowledge of reading comprehension strategies.

An Assessment of The English Reading Comprehension Strategies Utilized by Level-One Students at A South African University

An Assessment of The English Reading Comprehension Strategies Utilized by Level-One Students at A South African University

Digital reading comprehension instruction in English for children with English as an additional language: A systematic review

BackgroundDigital literacy instruction is increasingly common in contemporary practices and can accommodate learners with a range of needs. This systematic review explores the use and effects of technology during reading comprehension instruction involving school‐aged children learning English as an additional language (EAL). Our aim was to provide broad, global coverage that reflects the state of research in the field.MethodsWe searched databases using terms related to EAL, reading comprehension and digital literacy instruction to identify relevant studies published on the topic between 2010 and 2023. Data were extracted regarding study context, participant characteristics, methodology, instruction characteristics and outcomes. We quantified the outcomes of instruction using standardised measures of effect size where possible and appraised the research quality of each study.ResultsA total of 4382 studies were identified. Of these, 53 met our inclusion criteria. Studies were conducted across a variety of low‐ and high‐resource environments, including countries where English is a majority language and those where it is a non‐majority language. Learners from kindergarten through 11th grade were included across the studies. A range of reading comprehension strategies were utilised within the context of digital instruction, with multiple‐strategy instruction the most common. Digital instruction resulted in statistically significant gains in reading comprehension in 32 studies (small to large effect sizes). Our research quality analysis revealed variability in terms of rigour, further adding to the diversity across studies. We conducted a sub‐analysis of eight studies that met the highest standards of research quality. Like the full set of 53 studies, these eight studies reported on diverse types of digital instruction and diverse reading comprehension outcomes but tended to result in smaller effect sizes.ConclusionsDigital reading comprehension instruction can result in reading comprehension gains for children learning EAL, though findings are mixed. Further high‐quality research is needed.

A Critical Analysis of Reading Comprehension Tactics: Theoretical and Educational Implications

The review paper addresses classroom and non-classroom reading comprehension strategies and their theoretical foundations. Reading techniques include critical analysis and reflection on text structure and content to expand vocabulary and help readers integrate new material with their past knowledge. Secondary sources were used to collect data such as books, journals, facts, reports, publications, and research papers. The study uses four primary reading strategies: core diversified tactics, cognitive techniques, socialist-affective tactics, and metacognitive ways to emphasise the learner instructional value. The study results focused on reading strategies that teachers and students’ value, which ones they ignore, and how educational directives and assessment influence these approaches to create collaborative and revolutionary teaching and learning. The findings of the research demonstrated that each of these techniques is provided owing to the fact that they all make use of orthographic identification and cognitive patterns to enhance memory and retention in order to connect new information with previously acquired knowledge in order to accomplish conceptual transformation.

Design of a reading comprehension program based on Neurolinguistic Programming

The research addresses the challenge of improving reading comprehension in high school students, considering educational gaps. The "Leo y comprendo" program was implemented in an educational institution using a quantitative approach and a quasi-experimental design. This program develops didactic reading comprehension strategies enhanced with principles of Neurolinguistic Programming. The population consisted of fourth-grade high school students from Piura in Peru, with a non-probabilistic sample. Data collection was conducted through reading comprehension tests with 20 questions. The results indicated that the experimental group outperformed the control group. In conclusion, the program demonstrated a significant effect in improving reading comprehension, supported by statistical analysis. The research highlights the relevance of specific strategies for addressing reading comprehension in educational settings.

Reading Comprehension in the Medical Education Curriculum during the covid 19: A global Perspective

The coronavirus caused the global effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in early 2020. Due to the emergence of various infectious illnesses, it is essential for medical students to possess the skills to investigate and treat them. Therefore, it is essential for medical students to peruse the materials provided by the World Health Organisation in order to get a comprehensive understanding of the many symptoms associated with the recently emerged illness, as well as the need for early detection and prevention. Hence, the objective of this study is to emphasise the significance of medical students engaging with novel sources of information and how their proficiency in doing so, whether effective or ineffective, is contingent upon their reading comprehension strategies. Many medical students globally lack sufficient understanding of the recommended infection control practices. Their reading impairments also hindered their comprehension of their medical condition, resulting in delayed diagnosis and inadequate use of preventive medications. The study findings show that, due to the limited scope of medical education programmes, the curriculum for medical colleges did not provide comprehensive instruction on reading comprehension techniques. Currently, there is a lack of comprehensive academic literacy training for medical research in these curricula. Thus, anyone pursuing a medical education should acquire knowledge by studying the resources provided by the World Health Organisation.

The Interplay Between Students’ Learning-Related Beliefs, Reading Comprehension Strategies and Academic Success

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

Seeking Remedy for Improving International College Students’ Reading Comprehension

This report reflects on the findings of one of the projects within a series of research studies in the field of multimodality conducted by the author of the current paper with different samples of participants in the US university settings. The principal investigator (PI) designed this qualitative case study and had it approved by the IRB committee. Vygotsky’s socio-cultural constructivism theory has been found most appropriate to lay the ground for this research as the sample was purposefully assembled of 14 International English language learning (ELL) students newly arrived in the United States from their significantly diverging social and academic backgrounds. The PI’s practical teaching experiences and the results of her previously conducted studies with the other groups of participants urged this researcher to further search for some efficient strategies and means of learning, which might help these specific student populations with their deeper reading comprehension of complicated academic texts they were otherwise struggling to comprehend. As claimed by this investigator, usage of multimodality might have a strong potential to assist the International ELL college students with their reading comprehension. Within this current project, data were collected via participant and site observations, surveys, artifacts in the form of the comprehension tests, and individual interviews with participants. All the data were coded, analyzed, and triangulated aiming to find recurring themes. This research found that participants recognized the visual mode of multimodality most helpful to them, followed by the auditory, and print-based ones. In the surveys and interviews, the participating students outlined a range of multimodal reading comprehension strategies, which they perceived as most efficient while their working on this project tasks. The comprehension test results served as the evidence in support of the interview- and survey-based data. High significance of the findings of this research is in their applicability to the wide populations of the International ELL college students in the US colleges and world-wide.

The Effect of Learning Environments Enriched with Multisensory Reading Activities on Reading Comprehension, Reading Comprehension Strategies and Reading Motivation

The aim of the study is to determine the effect of learning environments enriched with multi-sensory reading activities on reading comprehension skills. Within the framework of this general objective, it was also aimed to investigate the effect of learning environments enriched with multi-sensory reading activities on reading comprehension strategies and reading motivation. For these purposes, a quasi-experimental model with a pre-and post-test control group was used in the research model. In the 2020-2021 academic year, the existing Turkish curriculum was used in the control group while the Turkish courses of a private primary school were conducted with the Turkish curriculum enriched with multi-sensory activities prepared by the researcher in the experimental group. The research lasted for 6 weeks. Considering the results obtained from the research, the following results were reached. “The Turkish curriculum enriched with multi-sensory reading activities is more effective than the existing Turkish curriculum in the development of Reading Comprehension Skills.” “In the development of Reading Comprehension Strategies, the Turkish curriculum enriched with multi-sensory reading activities is more effective than the existing Turkish curriculum.” and “The Turkish curriculum enriched with multi-sensory reading activities is more effective than the existing Turkish curriculum in the development of Reading Motivation.”

Reading Comprehension Problems among First and Second Year EFL Students at Shaikh Zayed University in Afghanistan

It is obviously clear that strong reading comprehension has a significant influence on students’ success at university. This study aims to investigate reading comprehension problems among first and second year EFL students at Shaikh Zayed University in Afghanistan. Fifty EFL first and second year students from the Department of English participated in the survey. The study used a random sampling design of a quantitative approach. The data were gathered through a five-point Likert scale style questionnaire adopted from Abu Abeeleh, Al-Ghazo, and Al-Sobh (2021). The data were analyzed through SPSS V.23 software to calculate the descriptive statistics, frequency, percentage and mean score. The results indicated that great majority of respondents agreed on the reading comprehension problems. Students had problems in understanding the meaning of new words, feeling anxious and upset were also their problems when they read something in English and cannot understand it. Identifying the aim, no confident, extraction of main and detailed ideas from the text also hindered reading comprehension. Understanding the text's overall meaning and translating every word individually, summarizing the main ideas, distinguishing between the main idea and supporting ideas and stressed were their major reading comprehension problems as well. The findings of the study are essential for English language professors in Afghan EFL classrooms in responding to the problem above. This study proposes that students should be taught reading comprehension strategies such as skimming, scanning, making inferences, looking for main idea, making predictions, improving vocabulary, etc.

AL-QURAN LEARNING MODEL FOR SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING

The focus of the SALaM (Self-directed al-Quran Learning Model) is to provide a conducive platform for al-Quran readers to perform tadabbur or self-study of al-Quran involving mainly reading comprehension process of al-Quran. The development of the model is divided into two main stages involving the development of a coherent structure of al-Quran contents as a whole. The second stage is the development of the model itself. The first stage is developed based on the formalization of the Nazm al-Quran principle proposed by Farahi and Islahi. The model itself is based on the implementation of reading comprehension strategies based on two main reading comprehension theories namely the Construction-Integration theory of Kintsch and Constructionist model of Graesser. A learner evaluation on the application of the model was done to assess the perception of learners using the SALaM. This stage was implemented by utilizing a Likert scale-based questionnaire to 39 learners who follows several sessions of the al-Quran walkthrough sessions which implemented the SALaM model. The study further focuses on the learning aspect of al-Quran rather than the tafsir methodology of al-Quran, therefore we described it as the ulum ta’alim al-Quran (Science of learning al-Quran) aspect, not the traditional ‘ulum al-Quran (science of exegesis of al-Quran). The assessment of SALaM model application yielded a favorable acceptance of al-Quran learners. Most 39 respondents (about 96.9%) found that the use of the main theme (‘amud) is very helpful in the comprehension of al-Quran. In conclusion, the model has provided significant help in the reading comprehension process of al-Quran and is very potential to provide the platform or basis for self-learning al-Quran in general.

The Role of Questioning the Author Strategy in Improving Students` Comprehension of Poetic Texts

Comprehension is a real challenge that might affect EFL university students’ achievement in comprehending texts. Further, many students apply reading activities in the class with limited strategies such as reading silently, or following after the teacher, then attempting to answer questions of comprehension. It is important to equip students with several skills and strategies in reading comprehension and make the reading class an interesting place. Questioning the author's strategy has a good effect on the student’s reading comprehension achievement. The sample consists of (40) students who are randomly chosen from second-year/ Morning studies in English Department / Tikrit University for the academic year (2021-2022). Pre and post-tests have been applied. The data has been collected and treated statistically. The obtained results sound good.

An application of cognitive diagnostic models in the evaluation of reading comprehension in Chilean university students

Reading Comprehension skills are fundamental to the academic performance of university students. These abilities are not innate; therefore, systematic training is required before entering university. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the reading comprehension skills of Chilean University Students. Method: A sample of 579 students participated in the study, responding to four texts that comprise the Reading Comprehension Strategies for University Students (ELCU). An automated platform was used to apply and correct the test with immediate results and feedback. The tool allowed the use of a broad and representative sample of the various regions of Chile. The ELCU was developed using a cognitive diagnostic assessment (CDA) considering cognitive, metacognitive and linguistic strategies. The analyses were performed using two different approaches: The Linear Logistic Test Model (LLTM) and the deterministic inputs, noisy “and” gate (DINA) model. Results: The rejection of the LLTM implies that the strategies do not differ in cognitive complexity (difficulty) while the adequate goodness of fit to the DINA model allows to characterise the students according to their reading abilities. Conclusion: The ELCU test provides reliable and valid information on the reading comprehension ability and metacognitive awareness of university students.

The Effects of Using Task-Based Activities to Teach Reading Comprehension via Online Classes

Task-based activities aids the fluency and self-assurance in learning a foreign or second language. This strategy emphasizes giving students practical assignments they must finish in order to learn. In order to increase their overall language ability, students are required to focus on specific language abilities. Researchers and teachers of second and foreign languages have discovered that TBLT can be a helpful teaching and learning method. Investigating how task-based reading instruction affects EFL students' reading proficiency in Kurdistan Region of Iraq schools was the motivation behind carrying out this research. (92) Advanced Kurdish English language learners were the subjects of the study and were randomly allocated to 2 sets: the experimental set and the control set. While the control group engaged in more conventional exercises to hone their reading skills, the experimental group engaged in task-based teaching techniques. In order to gather pre-test and post-test data from students who completed two paper-based IELTS reading test , the researcher created a reading test. Social Research Statistical Package was used to examine the data and determine each student's unique skills and talents. The current study procedure made use of statistic tools, T-test and variation analysis was employed to examine the obtained data. After one month of vocabulary education (February 2023) in which the lessons were delivered for three hours per day, six days per week, the reading test was given. While the experimental group received instruction that relied on pampering the learners with reading comprehension strategies, the control set simply received conventional direction. The analysis of data showed that, at every single level of the Subsequent testing reading skills, there was a considerable variance between the mean scores of the 2 sets, favoring the experimental set. The researcher makes several recommendations in light of those findings that are intended to be useful for ELT, supervisors, and syllabus designers.

The Evaluation of the S1 Students’ Frequency Use of Reading Comprehension Strategies and Familiarity with them: A Case Study at the Faculty of Languages, Literature and Art, Ibn Tofail University, Kenitra, Morocco

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