Use Of Comprehension Strategies Research Articles

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.

Crisis Management and Communication in Public Relations

In the era of globalization, the implementation of crisis management has become essential for ensuring the long-term viability of any organization. This paper seeks to provide novel qualitative findings regarding the significance of public relations in crisis communications strategies within organizations. This paper makes a significant contribution by offering a comprehensive review of the use of comprehensive crisis communication strategies throughout the governmental and corporate sectors across specific disciplines. The researcher employs a theoretical framework on problem management to examine the function of public relations in the context of strategic communication planning. The essay examines the function of public relations in strategic crisis communication, focusing on the viewpoints of public relations managers inside these businesses. The study included the use of 19 comprehensive electronic interviews to gather data from public relations managers working as public relations business consultants as well as in the governmental and commercial sectors. This study examines the many possibilities and problems associated with the implementation of strategic crisis communication planning within public relations departments. The article suggests that there is room for improvement in the implementation of crisis communication planning inside organizations. It emphasizes the need to integrate crisis communication planning with proactive communication techniques in the field of public relations, as opposed to relying only on reactive methods. In summary, the essay provides a comprehensive theoretical analysis and practical insights on the enhancement of public relations' role in strategic crisis communication planning inside an organization.

Expert Consensus on Comprehensive Early Rhythm Control in Addition to Guideline-Based Care for Atrial Fibrillation: A Modified Delphi Survey

Atrial fibrillation (AF) practice guidelines recommend a rhythm-control strategy to improve symptoms and quality of life, noting the side effects of antiarrhythmic drugs and catheter ablation. Emerging evidence indicates that comprehensive early rhythm control with antiarrhythmic drugs or catheter ablation is associated with a lower risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes versus the usual care. Using an online modified Delphi survey approach, perspectives and expert consensus among electrophysiologists were examined through a series of ranking and likelihood questions around treatment decision-making on (1) the use of comprehensive early rhythm-control strategies in patients with AF based on guidelines and emerging research and (2) treatment selection factors. A panel of 17 electrophysiologists reached a consensus on using early rhythm control (median 90, interquartile range 14) based on the view that early intervention improved cardiovascular outcomes (mean rank 1.6 of 3, 82% within 1 SD) and symptoms (1.8 of 3, 41%). AF-related symptoms were identified as the most important in making a treatment initiation decision (1.1 of 7, 88%), followed by AF type (2.5 of 7, 82%). Participants were most likely to initiate treatment at AF symptom onset (median 80; interquartile range 6). In making treatment selection decisions, participants ranked short-term/long-term safety (1.9 of 7, 88%) and efficacy (1.8 of 7, 53%) as the top 2 considerations. In conclusion, experts were in favor of early rhythm control; however, additional research is needed to address the role that early rhythm-control strategies play in current AF treatment management algorithms.

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.

Guidance for individual and social projection in youth and adult education: a mixed study on life projects

The future projection of personality and its contribution to personal development are essential components within lifelong learning, especially for emerging young adults. This aspect is accentuated in non-traditional education due to the unique life trajectories and characteristics of its students. Therefore, it is crucial to establish solid foundations to enhance appropriate guidance for young individuals at this level of education. To assess the guidance needs, a mixed-method approach was utilized, with phenomenological design at the core of the research strategy. The main findings indicate significant challenges in consciously establishing the guidance needs of the youth, both from the students and faculty perspectives. Notable limitations were observed in the faculty's preparedness to support students' individual and social projection, as well as in the use of comprehensive strategies to address life project planning.

Stress and resilience to migrant entrepreneur-managers of small and medium enterprises during COVID-19 pandemic

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to investigate the stressors faced by migrant entrepreneur-managers of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as their resilience strategies for reviving their businesses.Design/methodology/approachThis study employs a qualitative research design based on grounded theory. Semi-structured interview questionnaire was used for one-to-one interviews with 20 migrant entrepreneur-managers, representing ten different business sectors during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 and 2021. Interviews were transcribed, coded into open code, axial code and selective code to identify the major themes, and analysis was done into three levels to explore the stressors and initial strategies implemented to cope with the crisis. Trustworthiness of the findings was ensured by credibility, transferability, dependability and conformability, and reflexivity.FindingsThis study explored three types of stressors: finance-related stressors, supplies-related stressors and human resources-related stressors in migrant SME entrepreneur-managers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study revealed the use of comprehensive supply chain strategies followed by migrant SME entrepreneur-managers to be resilient enough to cope with a crisis situation like the COVID-19 pandemic.Originality/valueThis study covers an under-researched area of research related to stressors and resilience strategies in migrant SME entrepreneur-managers during the pandemic situation. A large body of prior research contributes to employees' stress and coping behaviors, while this paper focuses on stressors in migrant entrepreneur-managers in the special context of pandemics and their strategies to be resilient during a crisis situation. Thus, the findings of this study contribute to SME entrepreneur-managers, policy makers and academicians so that a large number of migrant entrepreneurs can develop resilient strategies for crisis situations. Furthermore, this study contributes to the supply chain resilience literature and resource dependency theory.

The effects of text structure on students’ use of comprehension strategies and cognitive outcomes during science text processing

This study investigated the effect of refutation text structure on reading processes and learning. Undergraduate biology students (n = 116) who had high or moderate misconceptions were randomly assigned to read either a non-refutation text, a simple refutation text, or an elaborated refutation text that addressed commonly held misconceptions about genetic biology. Participants’ were prompted to think-aloud and type their thoughts as they read the text. Typed verbal responses were coded for the use of paraphrasing, bridging inferences, and elaborations. The results showed that the simple and elaborated refutation texts promoted the use of bridging inferences, and the elaborated refutation text promoted the use of elaborations compared to the non-refutation text. Neither text type nor misconception status had a significant effect on post learning outcomes. These results suggest that refutations with illustrative examples can increase the use of cognitive processes that support comprehension.

The use of idiom comprehension strategies by adolescent English as a foreign language learners who are native speakers of Estonian

The use of idiom comprehension strategies by adolescent English as a foreign language learners who are native speakers of Estonian

Development of the Reading Comprehension Strategies Questionnaire (RCSQ) for late elementary school students.

Late elementary education constitutes a critical period in the development of reading comprehension strategies, a key competence in today's society. However, to date, appropriate measurements to map late elementary students' reading strategies are lacking. In this respect, the present article first describes the development and validation of the 26-item reading comprehension strategies questionnaire (RCSQ). To this aim, exploratory (sample 1: n = 1585 students) and confirmatory (sample 2: n = 1585 students) factor analyses were conducted. These analyses resulted in the RCSQ, consisting of five subscales: (1) overt cognitive reading strategies, (2) covert cognitive reading strategies, (3) monitoring, and (4) evaluating. For non-native and bilingual students, a fifth subscale 'using home language in view of comprehending texts' emerged. Second, multilevel analyses were performed to explore individual differences in late elementary students' reading comprehension strategy use. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Does the Mode of Testing Matter in Reading Comprehension? When Learners’ Perception Enters into the Picture

Over the last few years, technology has offered new ways of teaching and learning. Accordingly, educational systems are adopting what technology has purveyed to education. The abrupt upsurge of the COVID-19 pandemic also expedited this employment and impelled educational systems to shift to online teaching and learning. Consequently, the offline and paper-based mode of testing has been being replaced with the online and remote mode. Whether the testing mode itself, in its nature, affects the use of reading comprehension strategies and whether learners follow the same patterns of strategies during offline and online reading comprehension tests have not been paid enough attention by scholars, and the findings of few studies in this regard in the literature are also disparate. Thus, the present paper investigated and compared the use of strategies and their patterns of use in offline and online reading comprehension testing. The quantitative analysis of the data revealed that learners apply reading comprehension strategies more in the offline testing mode although they employ the same patterns of strategies in offline and online reading comprehension testing. The qualitative phase of the study uncovered the reasons. That is learners’ perception, shaped by their experience and familiarization with the mode of testing; individual differences; washback and reverse washback effects; and affective and emotional factors, yields this difference. Implications and suggestions for future research are also discussed.

Reading comprehension and strategy use: Comparing bilingual children to their monolingual peers and to bilingual adults.

The current study investigated the predictive ability of language knowledge and reported strategy use on reading comprehension performance in English-speaking monolingual and bilingual students. One hundred fifty-five children in grade 4 through 6 (93 bilinguals and 62 monolinguals) were assessed on receptive vocabulary, word reading fluency, reading comprehension, and reading strategy use in English. An additional 38 adult bilinguals (i.e., English Language Learners) were assessed on the same measures. Although, the bilingual adult group and bilingual children had significantly lower English vocabulary knowledge relative to the monolingual children, the bilingual adults exhibited reading comprehension performance that was on par with the monolingual children; both groups outperformed the bilingual children. This discrepancy was accounted for by reported strategy use, wherein bilingual adults reported more inferencing, more connecting between sections of text and more reference to the text structure than the children. Reported strategy use also accounted for unique variance in reading comprehension performance above and beyond the contributions of English vocabulary knowledge and word reading fluency. Findings highlight the strategies that successful readers report and emphasize the value of promoting effective strategy selection in addition to language instruction in the development of reading comprehension skill.

Exploring the Balance of Using Dispositional and Situational Attribution in Reading

The boom in education industry is further supported by the added convenience of distance and online learning has encouraged adult learners to pursue their studies. Reading is the most important skill for undergraduates in higher institutions. Reading skills are required to access knowledge for learning. Reading skills are needed to write assignments in higher institutions of learning. This study is therefore done to investigate adult learners’ perception of reading strategies used. The use of strategies portrays the attribution portrayed by the learners- dispositional and situational attributions. This quantitative pilot study is done to investigate adult learners’ perception on their use of reading comprehension strategies. 38 adult learners taking online undergraduate courses took part in this study. The instrument used is a survey with 5 Likert scales. The survey has 2 main sections; dispositional and situational attribution. A summary of findings revealed that the dispositional attribution that is evident during reading comprehension activity are the readers’ perception of difficulties they encounter and also their perception of their use of metacognitive strategies. Next, for situational attribution, this study focused on the use of (a) cognitive and (b) social-affective reading strategies among academic readers. Findings in this study bear interesting implications in the teaching of academic reading for adult learners.

The effect of audio-support on strategy, time, and performance on reading comprehension in secondary school students with dyslexia

The use of adequate reading comprehension strategies is important to read efficiently. Students with dyslexia not only read slower and less accurately, they also use fewer reading comprehension strategies. To compensate for their decoding problems, they often receive audio-support (narration written text). However, audio-support linearly guides readers from beginning to end through texts, possibly hindering the use of reading comprehension strategies in expository texts and negatively impacting reading time and reading comprehension performance. We examined to what extent audio-support affects reading comprehension strategies, reading times, and reading comprehension performance in 21 secondary school students with dyslexia and 22 typically developing controls. Participants were provided with three types of assignments (summarizing, open-ended questions, statement questions) in each condition (written text with and without audio-support). SMI RED-500 eye tracker captured eye movements during reading. The standard deviation of the weighted fixation duration times on the three paragraphs was considered indicative of the disparity of readers’ attention within the text. Following a discrimination based on experts’ reading behavior and hand-coded validation, these scores visualized whether students used the intensive reading strategy (reading whole text) or selective reading strategy (focusing on part of the text). In open-ended assignments, students divided their attention more over the whole text instead of focusing on one specific part when audio was added. In addition, audio-support increased reading time in students with and without dyslexia in most tasks, while in neither of the tasks audio-support affected reading comprehension performance. Audio-support impacts reading comprehension strategy and reading time in all students.

You've got some explaining to do: Effects of explanation prompts on science text comprehension

SummaryThe use of active comprehension strategies that encourage students to explain what they have read can improve students' comprehension of complex scientific texts. Most research has focused on either strategies that are engaged during reading (online) or those used after reading (offline)—often ignoring potential interactions that might occur in authentic learning. This study uses a 2(online: think‐aloud, self‐explain) 3(offline: reread, free recall, explanatory retrieval) design with a 7‐day delayed comprehension test to examine how online and offline explanation strategies affect comprehension. Linear mixed effects modeling will be used to examine both main effects and interactions.

The effects of web-based text structure strategy instruction on adult Chinese ELLs’ reading comprehension and reading strategy use

Underdeveloped reading comprehension skills can limit academic success; a particular challenge for English language learners (ELLs). The current study investigated whether a web-based text structure strategy, delivered via the Intelligent Tutoring of Structure Strategy (ITSS) program to adult Chinese ELLs, improved students’ use of reading strategies and/or overall reading comprehension. Using a quasi-experimental nonequivalent control group design, 207 adult Chinese ELLs from four classes were assigned to intervention or control groups. The intervention group utilized the ITSS to support their English reading instruction, whereas the control group was exposed to only traditional instruction. Our results indicate that the ITSS intervention had a statistically significant positive effect on adult Chinese ELLs’ reading comprehension ( β = 3.07, p < 0.001) with Cohen’s d = 0.43, as measured by the College English Test-4 (CET-4). Furthermore, we found that Chinese ELLs reported using more higher-order reading strategies ( p < 0.01) after the intervention and there was no significant change of reported reading strategy usage for the control group from pretest and post-test. However, the current study did not provide evidence that the change in use of reading strategies mediated the relationship between the intervention/control condition and Chinese ELLs’ reading comprehension.

The Effect of Self-assessment on the Development of EFL Reading Comprehension Skills

Using self-assessment as part of reading courses is key to improving reading comprehension skills. This study aims at exploring how self-assessment develops EFL students’ reading comprehension skills. It was conducted with a sample of 40 students enrolled in the English Department, University of Algiers 2 during the first semester of the academic year 2020/2021. To collect data, an embedded mixed-methods research paradigm was used which involved collecting both quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative data were test scores collected as part of a pre-experiment. The pre-experiment involved administering a pre and post reading test and implementing a treatment. The treatment implemented was a self-assessment of reading strategies checklist. The qualitative data were obtained by means of an open-ended interview on participants’ reading strategies. Quantitative data were analysed by calculating the mean score and the t-test, while qualitative data were analysed using content analysis. The findings indicated that self-assessment helped the students to increase test scores and to develop their reading strategies. It enabled them to plan, monitor, and evaluate their reading process by implementing different strategies and techniques. Drawing on these findings, it is suggested that English teachers use self-assessment of reading strategies as part of reading courses, since it can improve students’ reading comprehension skills and strategy use.

Investigating reading comprehension strategies used by teachers during English First Additional Language reading instruction

Since the purpose of reading is comprehension, the major goal of reading comprehension instruction is to help learners develop knowledge, skills, and strategies so that they become strategic readers who read for comprehension. Language teachers use reading comprehension strategies as an instruction tool to assist learners to develop into strategic readers. However, the range of strategies used by teachers is crucial. This paper presents classroom observations of reading comprehension strategy instruction used by four purposively selected English First Additional Language (FAL) teachers. The study was qualitative in nature and a case study design was chosen. The findings of the study reveal that teachers did not provide opportunity to support learners’ independent comprehension strategy use. Furthermore, the study has disclosed that the teachers’ inability to engage learners in reading comprehension strategies might signify the teachers’ lack of knowledge of how to incorporate reading comprehension strategies as an instructional tool during reading comprehension lessons. The authors recommend that the Department of Basic Education institute interventions to empower teachers on how to teach reading comprehension strategies.

Inculcating Learners’ Listening Motivation in English Language Teaching: A Case Study of British Education and Training System

Motivation plays a significant and crucial role in ELT and it boosts up the level of aplomb and interaction during learning English language. It creates sense of respect inside learners and makes them on the right direction. This research attempted to identify the impact of motivation on listening skills of students enrolled in English Language Course at British Education and Training System (BETS) Lahore, Pakistan during January to February, 2020. The learners for this class look forward to hone their speaking skills by listening as much as they can. The results show that there is a positive correlation between listening strategy instruction and motivation. Listening motivation was recorded utilizing the English Listening Comprehension Motivation Scale (ELCMS) and strategy use was tracked with the Metacognitive Awareness Listening Questionnaire (MALQ). Pre- and post-test scores of 36 participants (control group, n=20; experiment group, n=16) were analyzed using a mixed-effects regression and paired t-test to determine differences after a four-week treatment period. The results revealed that the participants’ motivation level in both groups decreased over the treatment period, with the experiment group seeing a smaller decrease than the control group.

Inculcating Learners’ Listening Motivation in English Language Teaching: A Case Study of British Education and Training System

Motivation plays a significant and crucial role in ELT and it boosts up the level of aplomb and interaction during learning English language. It creates sense of respect inside learners and makes them on the right direction. This research attempted to identify the impact of motivation on listening skills of students enrolled in English Language Course at British Education and Training System (BETS) Lahore, Pakistan during January to February, 2020. The learners for this class look forward to hone their speaking skills by listening as much as they can. The results show that there is a positive correlation between listening strategy instruction and motivation. Listening motivation was recorded utilizing the English Listening Comprehension Motivation Scale (ELCMS) and strategy use was tracked with the Metacognitive Awareness Listening Questionnaire (MALQ). Pre- and post-test scores of 36 participants (control group, n=20; experiment group, n=16) were analyzed using a mixed-effects regression and paired t-test to determine differences after a four-week treatment period. The results revealed that the participants’ motivation level in both groups decreased over the treatment period, with the experiment group seeing a smaller decrease than the control group.

Developing higher‐order reading skills in mainstream primary schools: A metacognitive and self‐regulatory approach

The ability to read relies upon not just decoding, but also comprehending text. Being a good comprehender requires strategic reading and implies the use of comprehension strategies. Research indicates that readers who are taught several reading comprehension strategies have better reading skills than those only taught a single strategy. One multiple strategy reading comprehension intervention was evaluated using a mixed‐model quasi‐experimental design. Intervention and control conditions groups were assessed at pre‐ and post‐test points with standardised reading comprehension abilities, measured as the primary outcome measure. Implementation science principles were observed and evaluated. The schools all served areas of low socio‐economic status. 74 pupils (aged 9–10) in five classes in four primary‐level mainstream schools in a Scottish local authority were recruited as participants. Training was provided to participating schools by the first author and the programme was delivered in four sessions of 45 minutes per week for 8 weeks. An ANCOVA revealed a statistically significant effect of condition. Statistically significant scores were also evident in the secondary outcome measures of decoding of target word skills, children’s self‐reports of their reading strategy use and recreational reading frequency. Implementation tools indicated that the intervention was acceptable and feasible to implement. Implications of introducing this multiple strategy reading comprehension programme and of the evaluation of implementation are discussed.