The Effect of Comprehension Strategy Instruction on EFL Learners’ Reading Comprehension

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) on Taiwanese university students' reading comprehension with reference to specific types of reading comprehension questions. The participants were 110 students from two intact classes who had low-intermediate to intermediate level of English. This study adopted a pre-test and post-test design with a control group. The data mainly came from statistical results of One-Way ANOVA, but would be triangulated by multiple data sets including the questionnaire responses and transcripts of group discussions during CSR. The findings indicated that CSR had a positive effect on the Taiwanese university learners' reading comprehension particularly in relation to the comprehension questions on getting the main idea and finding the supporting details. However, the statistical analysis did not show that CSR significantly promoted the EFL learners' strategic reading competence in regard to predicting, making inferences and dealing with vocabulary problems. The findings of the study suggest that implementing comprehension strategy instruction for one semester may help learners adopt some degree of strategic reading behaviours, but it takes long-term efforts and practices for EFL learners to fully develop their strategic reading abilities.

Collaborative Strategic Reading and Critical Reading Ability of Intermediate Iranian Learners

“…Among various reading' strategy approaches, Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) rendered by Klingner and Vaughn (1998) has been widely used in different research studies. Many studies on CSR (Klingner, 1998;Standish, 2005;Fan, 2010;Ziyaeemehr, 2012;Novita, 2012;Karabuga, 2012) have shown that CSR has an effective impact on reading comprehension of EFL and ESL students .CSR provides the opportunity for readers to apply most of the strategies needed for the reading skill. Through the collaborative approach emphasized with CSR, student learning is supported by both teachers and peers (Vaghaun et al, 2011).…”

Efficacy of a reading intervention for first-year university students

“…Highly motivated readers are said to be strategic and employ deep conceptual strategies to comprehend (Wigfield, Guthrie, Perencevich, Taboada, Lutz Klauda, McRae & Barbosa, 2008: 432). Fan (2010) found that the use of collaborative strategies had a positive impact on students' reading comprehension and learning motivation. Various means of motivating students have been advocated, with learner autonomy and student choices being the most significant.…”

An Explicit Pragmatic Approach to Integrative Data Analysis Strategies for Mixed Methods Research

“…Many researchers have investigated Language Learning Strategies (LLS) 1 and Strategy Instruction (SI) 2 using mixed methods research, or they may have used pragmatism implicitly as a theoretical approach to guide the design and implementation of their studies (e.g., Bai, 2015;Fan 2010;Hong-Nam and Leavell 2011). However, using pragmatism explicitly in shaping LLS and SI research can provide the backbone of the research and a more complete understanding of the results during data integration because it allows abductive reflection on the knowledge-reasoning phase by moving back and forth through induction and deduction (Morgan 2007).…”