The role of explicit teaching of reading comprehension strategies to an English as a second language learner

Abstract

Background: Reading comprehension is one of the most important skills a learner needs for academic achievement and is something which many South African learners lack. Studies suggest that explicit teaching of comprehension strategies has the potential to improve literacy. Aim:The aim of this article is to determine the role of explicit teaching of reading comprehension strategies to an English as a second language (ESL) learner.Setting: This study was conducted at a dual-medium quintile 5 primary school in the Western Cape. Quintile 5 are affluent schools (fee-paying schools) which receive less funding from the government. This is a single case study with a Grade 4 ESL learner. The medium of instruction was English.Methods: This is a qualitative interpretive study in which the researcher used an observation and interview schedules to collect data. Pre-and post-tests were conducted before and after the intervention programme (IP).Results: It was evident from the findings that the explicit teaching of three reading comprehension strategies and one-on-one interactions and guidance from the teacher enabled the learner, who is in Grade 4, to acquire critical thinking skills. The learner's literacy improved, which boosted her self-confidence. Conclusion:As the three reading comprehension strategies were constantly and explicitly taught throughout the IP, these collaborative, multitiered approaches began to develop the learner's habit of thinking in a higher-order manner. She began to develop a mindset of critical thinking, even in her second language.

Metacognition as a Reading Strategy in Incoming University Students

“…Significant effects were observed in reading skills and interpretation of keywords, where the student uses the different reading strategies whose effects are increases in academic performance as well as better comprehension of texts (Moir et al, 2020), an analysis of strategies aloud suggests that the reading employed by students is a problem of metacognitive strategies Therefore, it is suggested to look for other ways to teach how to read a text and to fully understand reading (Deri & Shamsudin, 2018), such as the strategy of one-to-one dialogue and the advice of the tutor help to improve the understanding of the text and especially to develop critical thinking and to generate greater selfconfidence (Elston et al, 2022), for which feedback is needed to strengthen the text, whose function is exclusive to the teacher (Reynaga-Chávez et al, 2023).…”

“…eing a good reader implies decoding the text and its correct understanding, to achieve this it is necessary to apply a strategic reading since the scientific literature indicates that the use of multiple reading strategies generates better results in terms of reading comprehension (Moir et al, 2020), in addition, reading, by nature leads to the understanding of texts and plays a fundamental role during the learning process and the acquisition of knowledge (Deri & Shamsudin, 2018), therefore, it is vitally important to use reading strategies when reviewing academic information (Cogmen & Saracaloglu, 2009). Good reading comprehension is the basis for correct academic performance and yet many students worldwide lack it (Elston et al, 2022), so for some decades it has been believed that primary and secondary school teachers should include reading techniques or strategies within their instruction plans (Wilson-Lopez et al, 2016), given that instruction on reading comprehension strategies by teachers towards students is an effective tool In the learning process (Karizak & Khojasteh, 2016), likewise, the teaching of reading strategies by teachers is a great support for students when developing reading and text comprehension skills (Varga, 2017), additionally, there is solid evidence of the improvement in the grades of students who employ reading strategies (Ulu & Ulusoy, 2019). Instruction in reading strategies is recognized as a fundamental pillar for the development of literacy and reading programs, therefore, in many countries time has been invested in improving the teaching of these strategies at different levels of academic training (Al Khaiyali, 2014), in turn, there are studies that affirm that metacognitive reading strategies are more used than general reading strategies (Rianto, 2022), However, most studies on the subject associate the use of reading strategies with students' high reading comprehension performance (Garcia y Benitez, 2017).…”

No-fee school consistently outperforms Progress in International Reading and Literacy benchmarks: Presenting early grade reading data from a case in Makhanda, Eastern Cape

“…The WSS curricula are designed around the notion that children must first go through the process of learning to read and reach the fluent reading stage before they are able to fully engage with and extract meaning from text. Once children have reached the fluent reading stage, the learning and teaching programme is designed around the belief that children need to be explicitly taught how to bridge the gap between learning to read and reading to learn through the explicit teaching of comprehension skills and strategies (Elston, Tiba & Condy 2022;Mehrpour et al 2022).…”