Abstract:
AbstractThe present study investigated the potential of implementing reading strategy instruction in raising learner readers' awareness of reading strategies, extending the range ofstrategies they employed and enhancing their readingcomprehension ability. To conduct the study, 90 female pre- university students majoring in Natural Sciences were selected based on a convenient sampling procedure. After the students' existing strategy awareness and use were determined, the researchers started to teach them reading comprehension strategies explicitely. During this period of instruction, the students' strategy use was improved and reviewed at regular intervals through review exercises and interviews. To collect the necessary data, two types of instruments were employed, a reading comprehension test and two questionnaires. A group of 53 students (experimental) was taught to employ reading comprehension strategies in reading some English texts during a period of 15 sessions while the other group of 37 students (control) was taught reading comprehension traditionally. The findings of the study pointed to the problematic nature ofreading strategy instruction. While strategy training appeared to raise students' awareness of reading strategies and could encourage strategy use by some students, some strategies were found to be harder to be acquired. Moreover, the reading strategy instruction was not able to enhance the students' reading performance significantly based on the results of a reading comprehension test given to the participants at the end of the program.
Machine summary:
com AbstractThe present study investigated the potential of implementing reading strategy instruction in raising learner readers' awareness of reading strategies, extending the range ofstrategies they employed and enhancing their readingcomprehension ability.
Moreover, the reading strategy instruction was not able to enhance the students' reading performance significantly based on the results of a reading comprehension test given to the participants at the end of the program.
From among various types of learning strategies, reading comprehension strategies have long been recognized by researchers of second/foreign language reading (Brantmeier, 2002; Janzen, 1996; and Slataci & Akyel, 2002).
Many reaserches have indicated that teachers can teach reading strategies to students and when they are learned, this can help them enhance their performance on tests which invlove comprehension and recall of what is read (Carrell, 1985; Brown & Palincsar, 1989; Carrell, Pharis, & Liberto, 1989; Pearson & Fielding, 1991).
Shokrpour and Fotovatian (2009) conducted an experimental study to determine the effects of consciousness-raising of metacognitive strategies on a group of Iranian EFL students' reading comprehension.
05), suggesting that reading strategy instruction was not able to exert a significant influence on the reading comprehension performance of the students in the experimental group on the post-test.
The findings of this part of the study seeking the effect of teaching reading strategies on raising the awareness of the strategies on the students' part are consistent with those carried out by Wright and Brown (2006), Soonthornmanee (2002), Al-Melhi (2000), Carrell (1998), Auerbach and Paxton (1997), Benito et.