The Impact of Learning Strategies on English as a Foreign Language Learners’ Reading Comprehension Skills Development

Authors

Desta Wendaferew Wachemo University, Hoseana, Ethiopia. https://orcid.org/0009-0007-3192-5558
Abebe Damtew Berlie Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5568-5436

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34142/2709-7986.2024.29.1.16

Keywords:

English Reading, Comprehension Skills, Reading Strategies, Explicit Teaching, CALLA

Abstract

Purpose. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of explicit reading strategy teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) on Ethiopian grade eleven learners’ reading comprehension skills, particularly, reading for the gist, detail, vocabulary, inference, and reference skills.

Methodology. A quasi-experimental design was used, involving eighty-seven students (43 students in the control and 44 students in the experimental group). The students of the experimental class were exposed to four months of explicit reading strategy training, but no training was given to the students in the control group. Reading comprehension tests were given to both groups before and after training.

Results. The independent sample t–test revealed that there was no significant difference between the control and the experimental group in overall reading comprehension before the training, whereas the results of multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) for the post-test indicated students in the experimental group significantly outperformed their counterparts in terms of overall reading comprehension as well as the three reading comprehension skills, namely, reading for the gist, detail, and vocabulary. The post means of inference and reference skills for the experimental group were also higher than the post means of the control group though the differences were not statistically significant.

Conclusions. The study concluded that explicit reading strategy training promotes Ethiopian students' reading comprehension skills; hence, EFL students should be adequately supported and encouraged to use reading strategies to circumvent their reading comprehension difficulties.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Desta Wendaferew, Wachemo University, Hoseana, Ethiopia.

PhD candidate, Department of English Language and Literature, Wachemo University, Hoseana, Ethiopia.

Abebe Damtew Berlie, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Dr., Department of Foreign Languages and Literature, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

References

Abdelhalim, S. M. (2017). Developing EFL Students’ Reading Comprehension and Reading Engagement: Effects of a Proposed Instructional Strategy. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 7(1), 37-48. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.0701.05

Afflerbach, P., Pearson, P. D., & Paris, S. G. (2008). Clarifying differences between reading skills and reading strategies. The Reading Teacher, 61(5), 364–373, https://doi.org/10.1598/RT.61.5.1

Azizi, Z., Namaziandost, E., & Rezai, A. (2022). Potential of podcasting and blogging in cultivating Iranian advanced EFL learners’ reading comprehension. Heliyon, 8(5), e09473. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09473

Baker, J., Stringer, H., & McKean, C. (2023). Ensuring treatment fidelity in intervention studies: Developing a checklist and scoring system within a behaviour change paradigm. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 59(1), 379–395. https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12955

Barrios Núñez, A. R. (2018). Explicit reading strategies instruction for the improvement of reading skills of 11 grade learners [Master’s Thesis]. Universidad del Norte.

Biresaw, A., & Bogale, B. (2023). Web-based feedback system and the development of reading skills. Education and Information Technologies, 29, 4745–4761, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-023-12019-6

Brown, R. (2017). Comprehension strategies instruction for learners of English: Where we have been, where we are now, where we still might go. In S. E. Israeli (Ed.), Handbook of research on reading comprehension (pp. 543–567). The Guilford Press.

Chamot, A. U. (2005). Language learning strategy instruction: Current issues and research. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 25, 112–130, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190505000061

Chamot, A. U., & Robbins, J. (2005). The CALLA Model: Strategies for ELL student success. Workshop for Region 10. New York City Board of Education.

Cohen, A. D. (2018). Moving from Theory to Practice. In R. L. Oxford &, C. M. Amerstorfer (Eds.), Language Learning Strategies and Individual Learner Characteristics: Situating Strategy Use in Diverse Contexts. Bloomsbury.

Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.

Dugasa, G., Olana, T., & Ali, S. (2022). Effects of Explicit Reading Strategy instruction on Grade 9 students’ achievement in reading comprehension. Education Research International, 2022, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/7872840

Getachew, R., Ferede, T., & Negash, A. (2018). The Effect of Explicit Reading Strategy Training on Students’ Reading Comprehension Achievement and Reading Self-Efficacy. The Ethiopian Journal of Social Sciences and Language Studies (EJSSLS), 5(1), 3–20. https://journals.ju.edu.et/index.php/ejssls/article/view/687

Grabe, W. (2004). 3. RESEARCH ON TEACHING READING. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 24, pp. 44-69. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190504000030

Grabe, W. (2009). Reading in a Second Language: Moving from Theory to Practice. Cambridge University Press.

Grabe, W., & Stoller, F. L. (2019). Teaching and Researching Reading (3rd ed.), Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315726274

Griffiths, C. (2004). Language-learning strategies: Theory and research (Vol. 1). Citeseer.

Gu, P. Y. (2019). 2. Approaches to learning Strategy instruction. In A. U. Chamot & V. Harris (Eds.), Learning Strategy Instruction in the Language Classroom: Issues and Implementation (pp. 22–37). Bristol, Blue Ridge Summit: Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781788923415-008

Jeon, E. H., & Yamashita, J. (2014). L2 Reading Comprehension and Its Correlates: A Meta-Analysis. Language Learning, 64(1), 160–212. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12034

Khellab, F., Demirel, Ö., & Mohammadzadeh, B. (2022). Effect of teaching metacognitive reading strategies on reading comprehension of engineering students. SAGE Open, 12(4), 215824402211380. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440221138069

Li, H., Gan, Z., Leung, S. O., & An, Z. (2022). The Impact of Reading Strategy Instruction on Reading Comprehension, Strategy Use, Motivation, and Self-Efficacy in Chinese University EFL Students. SAGE Open, 12(1), 215824402210866. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440221086659

Maeng, U. (2014). The Effectiveness of Reading Strategy Instruction: A Meta-Analysis. English Teaching, 69(3), 105-127. http://journal.kate.or.kr/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/kate_69_3_5.pdf

Muijs, D. (2022). Doing quantitative research in education with IBM SPSS (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications. http://digital.casalini.it/9781526472779

Mulatu, E., & Regassa, T. (2022). Teaching reading skills in EFL classes: Practice and procedures teachers use to help learners with low reading skills. Cogent Education, 9(1), 2093493. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2093493

Mulugeta, F. (2021). Addis Ababa University students’ strategy use in a reading-to-writing Task. The Ethiopian Journal of Education, 41(1), 75–111, http://ejol.aau.edu.et/index.php/EJE/article/view/1559

Nurie, Y. (2017). Pedagogical Practices in Teaching Reading Comprehension: A Case Study of Three EFL Teachers in a Secondary School in Ethiopia. PASAA: Journal of Language Teaching and Learning in Thailand, 54, 108–140, https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1171213

Raqqad, Y. M. A., Ismail, H. H., & Raqqad, K. M. A. (2019). The Impact of reading Strategies on EFL Students: A research review. International Journal of English, Literature and Social Science, 4(6), 2042–2048. https://doi.org/10.22161/ijels.46.65

Tefera, Y. (2013). A Survey of Secondary School Students’ Reading Strategy Use, Teachers’ Perceptions and Practices: The Case of Grade Nine. Ethiopian Journal of Education and Sciences, 8(2), 57–68, https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ejesc/article/view/101575

Wendaferew, D., & Damtew, A. (2023). The Effect of Explicit Strategy Instruction on Students’ Reading Comprehension Performance of Ethiopian Secondary School Students. Education Research International, 2023, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/1894026

Yadetta, B., Mereba, T., & Negash, A. (2017). The Effect of Reading Strategy Training on Students’ Academic Reading Achievement. The Ethiopian Journal of Social Sciences and Language Studies (EJSSLS), 4(2), 27–48, https://ejhs.ju.edu.et/index.php/ejssls/article/view/717

Downloads

PDF (English)

Published

2024-04-21

How to Cite

Wendaferew, D., & Berlie, A. D. (2024). The Impact of Learning Strategies on English as a Foreign Language Learners’ Reading Comprehension Skills Development . Educational Challenges, 29(1), 226-240. https://doi.org/10.34142/2709-7986.2024.29.1.16