Upgrading reading comprehension skill level of EFL students via assessment of portfolio by drawing concept maps

By advancement of learning theories throughout the world, educationalists, teachers and researchers in this field are willing and eager to test new approaches in the classroom. Among all the new theories of teaching and assessment, it seems that portfolio as a constructivist learning approach has gained popularity in reinforcing different aspects of learning. This research aims to investigate the effect of portfolio assessment on university students’ L2 reading comprehension. The participants included two groups of BA students majoring in English Literature. The results of statistical analysis and content analysis of semi structured oral interview revealed that constructing portfolios with concept maps as their artifacts has been useful for students. The result of this research suggests the use of portfolio as a learning instrument in the advancement of learning process and empowering reading comprehension skill, in addition to increasing content knowledge of the students.