Boosting Reading Achievement by Employing Learner Autonomy Curriculum: Effects of Strategy Instruction (Research Paper)

Models proposed to enhance learner autonomy facilitate creating autonomy-supportive environments and promote learning achievement. This study intended to provide empirical evidence for the effect of employing Benson’s (2001) and Blin’s (2010) instructional models of learner autonomy on Iranian EFL learners’ reading achievement and strategy use. To this end, three intact classes with 75 sophomores majoring in TEFL were selected based on convenience sampling and received the strategy-based reading instruction in the models’ framework. They were randomly assigned to the experimental groups that practiced Benson’s Instructional Model (BEN-M, n=26), Blin’s Instructional Model (BLN-M, n=24), and the control group that followed Conventional Teaching Methods (CTM, n=25). An explanatory mixed methods research was used. After the treatment, the participants took a reading post-test. They also participated in semi-structured interviews. They took a reading strategy questionnaire (RSQ) before and after the treatment as well. Tests of one-way Analysis of Variance were exploited to scrutinize the changes between the means of groups and specify the effectiveness of intervention programs in improving the reading skills and strategy usage. Post-hoc Scheffe test located where precisely the differences laid. For qualitative data analysis, semi-structured interviews were transcribed and coded and then underwent content analysis. The results indicated that instructional intervention led to a higher level of reading achievement. The experimental groups outperformed the control group regarding the application of reading strategies. The semi-structured interviews also revealed that the participants held favorable perceptions of the instructional models.