The Effects of Reciprocal Teaching Versus Skill-based Teaching on Reading Comprehension of Iranian EFL Learners

This study aimed at investigating the effects of reciprocal teaching on the English reading comprehension and metacognitive reading strategies of Iranian EFL learners. The participants were purposively selected and randomly assigned into two groups: an experimental and a control group. The experimental group was taught through reciprocal teaching while the control group was taught through skill-based teaching.. In order to find out the proficiency level of the participants the PET test was utilized. Other instruments employed were a pre-test, a questionnaire on metacognitive reading strategies, and Reading Think Aloud Sheet to collect the relevant data. The results of the study indicated that reciprocal teaching had a significantly positive effect on the English reading comprehension and usage of the four main metacognitive reading strategies of the students. The posttest mean score of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group at 0.05 level. Reciprocal teaching also enhanced the reading ability of both the proficient and less proficient students. Moreover, the results from the questionnaire showed that the students in the experimental group employed significantly more metacognitive reading strategies after reciprocal teaching, at 0.05 level.