جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه « reading comprehension ability » در نشریات گروه « ادبیات و زبان ها »

Reading is one of the English skills that Iranian students need to be good for a variety of reasons. Also, no individual can underestimate the role of vocabulary in mastering English language. Integration multimodal technology in instructing vocabulary is a new era in ELT which has not been studied enough in Iran. Therefore, the study investigated the effect of multimodal and audio-visual vocabulary input in a MALL environment on Iranian EFL learners' Motivation and reading comprehension ability. In order to carry out this study, the current paper used a quantitative design. The researcher in an experimental design, examined the effect of two types of input, namely, multimodal and audio visual on reading ability and motivation of intermediate EFL learners. The participants were 80 EFL students at intermediate level that had 10 sessions of treatment. They were divided into two experimental groups and pretest was assigned to them. After receiving the inputs (treatment), the participants took part in reading comprehension test again as their posttest, and MRP-R reading survey to measure any changes in their motivation. The results revealed that the treatments (audio-visual vocabulary input & multimodal vocabulary input) of the study were effective, and the second group (Multimodal input group) had better results. Another result was the effectiveness of MALL environment in conducting such treatments. Findings can help the related literature to add the knowledge about the pedagogical methods of multimodality. In addition, teachers will be aware of the effects of multimodality on students’ vocabulary knowledge and reading skill.

The present study investigated the effectiveness of Flipped Language Classroom (FLC) in EFL learners’ reading course and their views. In doing so, a total number of 30 pre-intermediate students was selected based on the convenience sampling. A pre-test was administered to the participants at the beginning of the term to ensure that they had the same language background. Then, they were randomly assigned as experimental and control group (15 students in each group). FLC was implemented in 12 sessions with the experimental group, while the control group received traditional method of teaching reading skill. At the end of the experiment, a posttest of reading was assigned to both groups to determine the positive effect of FLC on the EFL learners' reading achievement. In addition, a related questionnaire was administered among the experimental group to explore their views on the mentioned method. By conducting this study, it was found that FLC had positive effect on the students' reading performance. The experimental study has also indicated the positive students’ views toward this communicative teaching method. On the whole, the participants’ overall satisfaction towards FCI method was achieved by this study. It is worthy to note that findings of the present work can provide the students and teachers with evidence that flipped classroom instruction could be used to improve EFL learners' reading comprehension skill.

The present study examined the impact of critical discourse analysis (CDA) on EFL undergraduates’ reading comprehension ability across different proficiency levels. Through Oxford Placement Test, 96 EFL undergraduates participating in this study were divided into three different proficiency levels of high, mid, and low. A journalistic reading comprehension test selected from a series of TOEFL tests were administered to all of them as a pretest. They received the same test after a treatment of van Dijk’s model instruction in the class. The analysis of results of the posttest through one-way ANCOVA indicated that CDA has a positive influence on learners’ reading comprehension. Then, a post hoc comparison using the Bonferroni test showed that the high proficiency group was significantly different from the low and mid proficiency groups. Also, the mid proficiency group significantly differed from the low one. Taken together, these findings suggested that CDA training had an effect on L2 learners’ reading comprehension for high and mid groups. Thus, language proficiency has a positive mediating role in the extent to which a CDA model awareness can improve learners’ reading comprehension ability. The findings of this study can inspire the curriculum designers as well as the teachers to include critical discourse analysis techniques both in students’ textbooks and in teacher training courses.

The primary aim of this study was to shed light on the impact of a new instruction model, reflective reciprocal teaching (RRT), on English as a foreign language learners' (EFL) reading comprehension ability. Its mode of inquiry was a mixed-method, and it took on a quasi-experimental design, including a pretest, treatment, and posttest paradigm. The sampling techniques were both convenience and random sampling by which 100 EFL freshman learners were selected and assigned into three groups of reflective reciprocal teaching (RRT), reciprocal teaching (RT), and control. Two tests, namely Oxford Quick Placement Test and Michigan English Language Assessment Battery, were used to measure EFL learners' proficiency level and reading comprehension ability in its quantitative phase. ANOVA was utilized to analyze the collected data. Also, during the next step, which aimed to explore the learners' perceptions of RRT instruction, semi-structured interviews were used to collect qualitative data. The results indicated that the RRT group outperformed the control group regarding their reading comprehension ability; however, the RT instruction did not significantly impact this issue. Accordingly, the qualitative data analysis findings indicated that self-regulated learning, perceived competence, metacognitive awareness, confidence, and intrinsic motivation were the significant results of the RRT instruction model, contributing to the learners' reading comprehension ability.

The present research was an endeavor to determine whether or not the adoption of Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) can be an effective means of increasing the students’ reading comprehension ability. Also, this paper explored the students' views towards the mentioned method. To fulfil the purposes of the study, a mixed method research was employed and 80 advanced EFL learners of university participated in the study that were assigned randomly to the experimental and control groups. Having instructed the two groups with the same texts but different methods of teaching during a term, the learners’ reading performance results were compared through administering a reading posttest to both groups. The researchers in the control group class followed her regular teaching practice through the conventional book-based method, but, she applied task based method in three stages in the experimental group class.  The obtained data were analyzed using t-test to examine the effectiveness of TBLT method as on students’ reading performance. Moreover, the students' views of the experimental group were investigated through related questionnaire and interview. The findings revealed that the experimental group remarkably performed better than the control group. Therefore, TBLT had a significant effect on learners’ reading performance compared to traditional reading instruction. On top of that, findings of the interviews and questionnaires demonstrated the participants' satisfaction with implementing TBLT method, and also revealed that they had positive views towards it.

The current study was an attempt to investigate the relationship among L2 Motivational Self-System, Reading Comprehension Ability, and Gender of Iranian EFL Learners. 70 participants of both male and female at intermediate level at Shokooh Institute in Kashmar-Iran were randomly selected. The instruments of the study were a L2 motivational self-system questionnaire by Yan(2011), and a reading comprehension test. The questionnaire consists of 61 questions, based on six-point scale from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree". The reading comprehension test was extracted from the texts in VOA special English website. The obtained data were analyzed through descriptive analysis and Pearson Correlation coefficient. The data were fed into SPSS 22, followed by employing T-test, Shapiro-Wilk and Levene's test. The findings revealed a positive relationship between L2 motivational self-system and reading comprehension ability and also a negative relationship between L2 Motivational self-system and the gender of EFL learners. The findings have some useful pedagogical implications for language teachers and syllabus designers that can be taken into account in teacher-training programs.

Test method is deemed to affect test scores along with examinee ability (Bachman, 1996). In this research the role of method facet in reading comprehension tests is studied. Bachman divided method facet into five categories, one category is the nature of input and the nature of expected response. This study examined the role of method effect in the Iranian University Entrance Exam (UEE). Research showed the current test method of assessing reading can highly impact test takers‟ performance and thereby examinees‟ test scores. Hence, different test formats may extract various traits and therefore, contaminate test scores and threaten validity. The researchers using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) extracted a second method factor in the reading comprehension section of the UEE which is composed of a multiple-choice cloze passage and multiple choice questions based on sustained texts. Results of the analysis showed that cloze test can create construct-irrelevant method variance, contaminating test scores, and led to violation of the unidimensionality assumption of the test.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of pre-teaching new vocabulary items via audio-visuals on Iranian EFL learners’ reading comprehension ability. The question this study tried to answer is if pre-teaching new vocabulary items via audio-visuals have any effect on Iranian EFL learners’ reading comprehension ability. To find the answer to the question, 30 intermediate level students from Rasht language institutes were selected via administrating OPT which divided them into two groups. They were both male and female. Intermediate level students were used for the current study because they were learning all skills of language at the same time, they were familiar with some words, and their English proficiency was enough to speak English and understand the importance of reading comprehension. The students were one experimental group (pre-teaching new vocabulary items via audio-visuals) and one control group (a placebo, teaching L2 reading comprehension via the existing method). The research was conducted during learners’ classes within 5 sessions in summer course, 2016. The results indicated that pre-teaching new vocabulary items via audio-visuals affected positively the participant Iranian EFL learners’ reading comprehension ability.

The present study was an attempt to investigate the effect of IT system-based instruction vs. traditional instruction of teaching English on Iranian low-intermediate EFL learners’ reading comprehension ability in a smart school in Tonekabon, Mazandaran, Iran. To collect the data, 60 low-intermediate high school learners took part in the study. As to the homogeneity of the participants, they took Solution Placement Test (SPT). The participants were divided into one experimental group (i.e. receiving the treatment in terms of using smart tools) and one control group (i.e. receiving no treatment and being traditionally taught through white board). A reading comprehension test (pre-test) was given to examine the participants’ initial knowledge of reading comprehension. Similar to the pre-test, a reading comprehension test (post-test) was utilized to check the participants’ performance of reading comprehension and look into their probable progress as a result of receiving the treatment. Findings revealed that the experimental group outperformed the control group after the treatment highlighting the success of instruction in enhancing the students’ reading comprehension ability. The results suggest the application of smart tools to promote interaction among the learners and assist them to freely express their thoughts in the e-learning environment.

The current study was intended to investigate the impact of Dynamic Assessment (DA) on promoting reading comprehension ability of Iranian male and female EFL learners, focusing on Guthke's Lerntest approach. In this study, the researcher used DA which unifies instruction with assessment to provide learners with mediation to promote their hidden potential during assessment. In this action research project, Guthke's Lerntest approach was used to develop the reading comprehension skill classes that integrated mediation with assessment to support 60 Iranian EFL learners' reading skill. The Guthke's lerntest approach and the mediation design are presented in detail in this article. The participants' reading scores are presented to show the effect of Guthke's Lerntest approach on promoting Iranian EFL learners' reading performance. In addition, the participants' pre and post-test scores were compared to determine whether the participants revealed significant progress after receiving Guthke's Lerntest approach in reading comprehension setting. The findings showed that participants of experimental group significantly outperformed the one in the static way. In conclusion, the results of the study revealed that employing the Guthke's Lerntest approach can offer a new condition to enhance the EFL learners' reading comprehension ability and that doing research in this field can be beneficial for EFL learners, English instructors and other researchers in other fields.

Dynamic Assessment, with its roots in Vygotsky’s theory of mind, takes the integration of assessment and instruction much further by enabling the teachers to promote learners’ abilities by continually adjusting their mediation to the learners’ changing needs (Poehner, 2008). This study was aimed at exploring the feasibility of development and implementation of dynamic assessment procedure in the areas of EFL reading comprehension and metacognitive awareness of reading strategy. In particular, the effectiveness of dynamic assessment compared with static assessment of readingabilities of Iranian EFL learners was investigated. In order to respond to the research questions of the study, a quasi-experimental research was conducted. The procedure included a pre-test, mediated learning phase, and a post-test. It was applied with 47 intermediate participants. They were allfemale, mostly aged 15-17, Iranians, L1 speakers of Persian, and high school students learning English in an EFL context. The instruments employed in this study included a PET proficiency test, metacognitive awareness of reading questionnaire, and a reading comprehension test. A statistically significant effect was found for the performance of the participants in the experimental group who had received mediation. The findings also revealed that the students’ gain scores in the experimental group were significantly higher than the students’ gain scores in the control group who underwent the static tests. The findings suggest that DA is an effective means of understanding the learners’ abilities and helping them to overcome reading comprehension problems. The approach is especially relevant to classrooms as a method for rendering formative assessment practices more systematically. It is therefore argued that DA should be taken seriously by Applied Linguistic researchers interested in language assessment, teaching, and reading.

The current study was intended to investigate the impact of Dynamic Assessment (DA) on promoting reading comprehension ability of Iranian male and female EFL learners, focusing on Guthke's Lerntest approach. In this study, the researcher used DA which unifies instruction with assessment to provide learners with mediation to promote their hidden potential during assessment. In this action research project, Guthke's Lerntest approach was used to develop the reading comprehension skill classes that integrated mediation with assessment to support 60 Iranian EFL learner's reading skill. The Guthke's lerntest approach and the mediation design are presented in detail in this article. The participant's reading scores are presented to show the effect of Guthke's Lerntest approach on promoting Iranian EFL learner's reading performance. In addition, the participant's pre and post-test scores were compared to determine whether the participants revealed significant progress after receiving Guthke's Lerntest approach in reading comprehension setting. The findings showed that participants of experimental group significantly outperformed the one in the static way. In conclusion, the results of the study revealed that employing the Guthke's Lerntest approach can offer a new condition to enhance the EFL learner's reading comprehension ability and that doing research in this field can be beneficial for EFL learners, English instructors and other researchers in other fields.

The ability to read is acknowledged to be the most stable and durable of the foreign language modalities. Learners may use productive skills, yet still be able to comprehend texts with some degree of proficiency. Reading, whether in second or foreign language context, involves the reader, the text, and the interaction between the reader and text (Bernhardt, 1991 ). The present study was aimed at exploring whether summarizing the text and making comprehension questions had any statistically significant impact on the improvement of Iranian EFL learners' reading comprehension ability or not and if they had, which one was more effective - summarizing or self-questioning. In order to arrive at a logical answer to the aforementioned problems 127 university students were chosen from a pool of 160 students majoring in English Language Translation in Islamic Azad University at Garmsar. Three homogenized groups of students, who were taking a Reading course, participated as the subjects in one control and two experimental groups. While the subjects in the experimental group of self-questioning were required to read the material and generate questions and the experimental group of summarizing were supposed to read the texts and write a summary, the subjects in the control group were asked to read the materials and use some other reading strategies. At the end of the term, a newly developed reliable test was administered to determine the influence of the treatments on the groups. The results signified that self-questioning did not have much impact on improvement of students' reading comprehension ability, while summarizing affected their reading comprehension ability. Therefore, it was concluded that using summarizing in teaching reading could have positive effects on reading comprehension ability of EFL learners.