Do EFL Teachers Reduce the Reading Gap in Qatar? A Study of Strategy Instruction in Government Schools

Teachers’ instructional practices are crucial to students’ achievement in reading comprehension. Students’ low English reading competence in Qatar’s government schools raises concerns about not only reading comprehension strategy instruction, but also, subsequently, learning as a natural outcome of teachers’ praxis. This quantitative survey investigated English as a foreign language (EFL) reading comprehension strategy instruction of a broad cross-sectional sample of (1-12) EFL teachers (n=754) of government schools in Qatar. The study examines teachers’ most frequently used strategies and explicit strategy instruction. To relate the findings of an exploratory data analysis, descriptive statistics, including means, standard deviations, and frequencies, were calculated for each 5-point Likert scale questionnaire item using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS-Version 24) statistics software. Results revealed that participant teachers reported a generally moderate and high frequency of using comprehension strategies (lowest mean 3.56 and highest mean 4.52). The seven most used strategies (mean score ≥4) were: Identify main ideas, set purpose for reading, predictions, preview text, monitor comprehension, prior knowledge activation, and handle unfamiliar words. Conversely, the five strategies reported a comparatively lower use frequency (mean score ˂4) were: Text structure, questioning, visualizing, summarizing, and think aloud. The major findings on explicit strategy instruction indicated that teachers ignored the gradual release of responsibility to students. The implications of these findings suggest that EFL teachers demonstrate moderate use of reading comprehension strategy instruction. Further recommendations for the Ministry of Education, school principals, and teachers are offered.

Investigating reading comprehension strategies used by teachers during English First Additional Language reading instruction

Since the purpose of reading is comprehension, the major goal of reading comprehension instruction is to help learners develop knowledge, skills, and strategies so that they become strategic readers who read for comprehension. Language teachers use reading comprehension strategies as an instruction tool to assist learners to develop into strategic readers. However, the range of strategies used by teachers is crucial. This paper presents classroom observations of reading comprehension strategy instruction used by four purposively selected English First Additional Language (FAL) teachers. The study was qualitative in nature and a case study design was chosen. The findings of the study reveal that teachers did not provide opportunity to support learners’ independent comprehension strategy use. Furthermore, the study has disclosed that the teachers’ inability to engage learners in reading comprehension strategies might signify the teachers’ lack of knowledge of how to incorporate reading comprehension strategies as an instructional tool during reading comprehension lessons. The authors recommend that the Department of Basic Education institute interventions to empower teachers on how to teach reading comprehension strategies.

LISTENING COMPREHENSION STRATEGY INSTRUCTION: A REVIEW OF PREVIOUS STUDIES

Bài báo nhằm mục đích tổng hợp những nghiên cứu có giá trị về hiệu quả của việc hướng dẫn các chiến lược nghe đối với khả năng nghe hiểu và cách thức sử dụng các chiến lược này của người học. Bài báo tập trung phân tích những nghiên cứu liên quan đến các loại chiến lược nghe của người học và sự khác biệt của họ sau quá trình nghiên cứu. Những nghiên cứu được nhắc đến trong báo cáo này đã được thực hiện ở Việt Nam và trên thế giới. Dựa trên so sánh, đối chiếu các nghiên cứu, bài báo đưa ra một số kết luận sư phạm và gợi ý cho hướng nghiên cứu trong tương lai đối với lĩnh vực này

An Article Review on “Reading Comprehension Strategy Instruction in a First-Year Course: An Instructor's Self-Study”

In an effort to provide insight for others who might wish to provide instruction’s self-study, this paper concludes by discussing emerging themes related to student learning and strategy instruction at the postsecondary level. This present article tries to deliver a review one of the research articles regarding reading comprehension strategies and self-study written by Chyntia Parr and Vera Woloshyn (2013), entitled "Reading Comprehension Strategy Instruction in a First-Year Course: An Instructor's Self-Study". The research was conducted in the first year of the university course. This paper doesn’t deliver objectives adequately but it's very good at analyzing the previous literature and the design of the research will make readers understand generally. Connecting their findings with previous literature, give seminal and contemporary meaning to the context even though the flow is not consistent. In addition, the content of this article is valid (all references accurately) and well-documented. Not only giving a discussion of reading comprehension and strategy instruction, but this paper also contains a theoretical framework that provides an opportunity to reflect the understanding of instruction, challenges, and limitations associated with the application of explicit strategy instruction in the first year class. Therefore, this paper looks at independent learning instruction as a strategy in delivering a repertoire of evidence-based understanding strategies in the context of the first year of the university's English language study program designed to introduce convention students to reading and writing academics. This study will be special entice to researchers and educators because this study describes the efforts of the instructor to integrate understanding instruction in limited postsecondary settings. In addition, this study can be a benchmark for lecturers to provide reading comprehension strategy in a first years course, especially reading skill.

The Impact of Explicit Comprehension Strategy Instruction on First- and Second-Grade At-Risk Students

This study examined the impact of explicit comprehension strategy instruction supported by guided reading and partner reading on at-risk students’ strategy knowledge and reading comprehension. Participants were 47 first graders (25 in the treatment group; 22 in the control group) and 44 second graders (19 in the treatment group; 25 in the control group). Treatment group participants developed more specific knowledge of strategies, were more likely to apply those strategies during reading, and demonstrated statistically significant growth in reading comprehension. Strong correlations appeared between students’ strategic knowledge and overall comprehension. Implications are addressed at length following the discussion of results.

An Article Review on “Reading Comprehension Strategy Instruction in a First-Year Course: An Instructor's Self-Study”

In an effort to provide insight for others who might wish to provide instruction’s self-study, this paper concludes by discussing emerging themes related to student learning and strategy instruction at the postsecondary level. This present article tries to deliver a review one of the research articles regarding reading comprehension strategies and self-study written by Chyntia Parr and Vera Woloshyn (2013), entitled "Reading Comprehension Strategy Instruction in a First-Year Course: An Instructor's Self-Study". The research was conducted in the first year of the university course. This paper doesn’t deliver objectives adequately but it's very good at analyzing the previous literature and the design of the research will make readers understand generally. Connecting their findings with previous literature, give seminal and contemporary meaning to the context even though the flow is not consistent. In addition, the content of this article is valid (all references accurately) and well-documented. Not only giving a discussion of reading comprehension and strategy instruction, but this paper also contains a theoretical framework that provides an opportunity to reflect understanding of instruction, challenges and limitations associated with the application of explicit strategy instruction in the first year class. Therefore, this paper looks at independent learning instruction as a strategy in delivering a repertoire of evidence-based understanding strategies in the context of the first year of the university's English language study program designed to introduce convention students to reading and writing academics. Because this study describes the efforts of professors to integrate understanding instruction in limited postsecondary settings, we believe that this will be of special entice to researchers and educators.

Reading Instruction for Students With Learning Disabilities in Grades 4 and 5: An Observation Study

Researchers conducted an observation study to explore the instructional practices of special education teachers ( N = 20) responsible for teaching reading to students with learning disabilities in Grades 4 and 5. With this study, researchers addressed gaps in previous related literature and improved understanding of how teachers spend their time teaching reading. Researchers observed 80 lessons and found that special educators addressed a wide range of instructional skills. The majority of teachers provided targeted phonics instruction, and overall, minimal instructional time was lost due to off-task behavior. Consistent with previous studies, teachers predominantly monitored reading comprehension by asking questions after reading, while reading comprehension strategy instruction accounted for a smaller proportion of instructional time. Researchers conducted focus groups to explore teachers’ perceptions of professional development and determine needs for future teacher training and research.