چکیده:
Self-regulation is the ability to regulate one’s cognition, behavior, actions, and motivation strategically and autonomously in order to achieve self-set goals including the learning of academic skills and knowledge. Accordingly, self-regulated learning involves self-generated and systematic thoughts and behaviors with the aim of attaining learning goals. With that in mind, this study aimed to examine the effect of self-regulation instruction to the intermediate EFL readers on their ability to make within-text inferences while reading. Zimmerman’s model of self-regulation with its three cyclic phases of forethought, performance and self-reflection constituted the theoretical basis of this study. Two intact intermediate classes in an English language institute were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group was trained in self-regulatory processes which were directed at EFL reading comprehension for ten sessions, while the control group received the routine, traditional reading instruction involving pre-, while-, and post-reading tasks and activities. The results of parametric one-way between-group ANCOVA showed that the experimental group outperformed the control group on the post-test of EFL reading comprehension, particularly in term of within-text inferencing. This finding revealed that self-regulation instruction aimed at EFL reading comprehension significantly contributed to learners’ ability to make correct within-text inferences while reading in English as a foreign language.
خلاصه ماشینی:
As one of the strategies used in the process of second/foreign language reading (Chamot & Kupper, 1989; Martínez, 2011), making inferences refers to a cognitive process to create meaning through going beyond the text as a result of generalization and explanation (Hammadou Sullivan, 1991).
On the whole, successful reading comprehension depends on the effective use of such strategies as making inferences, predicting, looking for relationships, understanding meanings, rephrasing text, and monitoring (Chamot & Kupper, 1989; Martínez, 2011) which are regarded as self-regulated learning strategies by Byrnes (2008) and Zimmerman and Campillo (2003).
Furthermore, given the importance of reading strategies, particularly inferencing in both L1 (Dole, Duffy, Roehler, & Person, 1991; Keene & Zimmerman, 1997) and second/foreign language (Grabe & Stoller, 2002), there seems to be a paucity of research on the ways training EFL learners in self- regulatory reading strategies could lead to their making better inferences while reading.
In other words, while it seems plausible to believe that self-regulated second/foreign language learners tend to use reading strategies more effectively (Byrnes, 2008; Davis & Gray, 2007; Mulcahy-Ernt & Caverly, 2009; Zimmerman, 1999; Zimmerman & Campillo, 2003), to the best of our knowledge, the effect of self-regulation on the EFL learners’ ability to make inferences seems to be under-researched.
This study, therefore, seeks to answer the following question: Does training in self-regulatory reading strategies and processes on the basis of Zimmerman’s (2000) model of self-regulation enhance within-text inferencing ability of intermediate EFL learners?