The Effect of Read-Aloud Method on Iranian EFL Learners Reading Comprehension

The Effect of Read-Aloud Method on Iranian EFL Learners Reading Comprehension

Reading and reading comprehension in a second language is a very important skill which affects students success in academic settings. Poor English performance among Japanese EFL learners led Shinozuka, Mizusawa, and Shibata (2014) to design the read-aloud instruction package. This study investigated the effectiveness of this method to the improvement of Iranian EFL Learners reading comprehension. The aforementioned method consists of four major activities: Slash/chunked reading practice (S/CRP), repeated read-aloud practice (RRAP), cloze test, and simultaneous read-aloud and write-out practice (SRAWOP). Participants of this research were 140 undergraduate students whose English reading comprehension was considered as Low based on the pretest. The subjects were divided into two groups. Group 1 served as the experimental group (N=100) and received 8 teaching sessions, and group 2 served as the control group (N=40). Using a pretest post-test design we attempted to see if read-aloud method turns out to affect participants reading comprehension. Therefore, some T-tests were conducted. The results of the statistical analysis demarcated that the experimental group outperformed the control group in the post-test. The pedagogical implication of this research is that ESL/EFL instructors can implement the read-aloud instruction package in their classes to improve their students reading comprehension.

Reading and reading comprehension in a second language is a very important skill which affects students success in academic settings. Poor English performance among Japanese EFL learners led Shinozuka, Mizusawa, and Shibata (2014) to design the read-aloud instruction package. This study investigated the effectiveness of this method to the improvement of Iranian EFL Learners reading comprehension. The aforementioned method consists of four major activities: Slash/chunked reading practice (S/CRP), repeated read-aloud practice (RRAP), cloze test, and simultaneous read-aloud and write-out practice (SRAWOP). Participants of this research were 140 undergraduate students whose English reading comprehension was considered as Low based on the pretest. The subjects were divided into two groups. Group 1 served as the experimental group (N=100) and received 8 teaching sessions, and group 2 served as the control group (N=40). Using a pretest post-test design we attempted to see if read-aloud method turns out to affect participants reading comprehension. Therefore, some T-tests were conducted. The results of the statistical analysis demarcated that the experimental group outperformed the control group in the post-test. The pedagogical implication of this research is that ESL/EFL instructors can implement the read-aloud instruction package in their classes to improve their students reading comprehension.