Iranian EFL Young Learners’ Responses to the Implementation of Collaborative and Individual Reading Activities in Reading Sessions

Subject Areas : Research in English Language Pedagogy

Mania Koohafkan ¹ , Faramarz Azizmalayeri ² , Hossein Ahmadi ³

1 - Department of English language, Malayer Branch, Islamic Azad University, Malayer, Iran.
2 - Department of English language, Malayer Branch, Islamic Azad University, Malayer, Iran.
3 - Department of English language, Malayer Branch, Islamic Azad University, Malayer, Iran.

Received: 2021-05-11 Accepted : 2021-08-03 Published : 2022-06-01

Keywords: collaborative learning, Reading activities, reading comprehension, Reflective journals,

Abstract :

This qualitative study investigated EFL young learners’ responses to reading activities in reading sessions. It was an attempt to examine students’ responses towards the implementation of individual and collaborative reading activities in teaching reading as a foreign language in reading sessions. To this purpose, 16 Iranian EFL young learners at a primary bilingual school in Tehran together with their English teachers contributed to the study. They were both randomly selected from available teachers and students in Tehran. The learners were around eight years old. The study lasted for 12 weeks. The method used in this study was qualitative. Teachers’ reflective journals, some participant observations, and face-to-face interviews with teachers were the instruments used in this study. The data elicited from the interview transcripts and observations transcription were analyzed inductively. The narrative analysis of interview transcription was coded into themes. The results indicated that collaborative and individual reading activities in reading sessions have a positive effect on young learners’ reading comprehension. Moreover, the students showed noticeable responses to the implementation of collaborative reading activities in reading sessions.

References:

Borich, G. (1996). Effective teaching methods. Englewood, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Capen, R. (2010). The role of the teacher and classroom environment in reading motivation. Illinois Reading Council Journal, 38(4), 20-25.

Chalak, A. (2015). The effect of task-based instruction on reading comprehension of Iranian EFL learners. Applied Research on English Language, 4(1), 19-30.

Chalak, A., & Nasr Esfahani, N. (2012). The effects of text-structure awareness on reading comprehension of Iranian EFL learners. Journal of Language, Culture, and Translation, 1(2), 35-48.

Chalak, A. & Tahmasebi, M. (in press). Contributory role of collaborative strategic reading in improving Iranian EFL learners’ reading comprehension. Journal of Language and Translation.

Chou, C. P., Wang, S., & Ching, G. S. (2012). Balanced reading instructions: An action research on elementary cram school students. International Journal of Research Studies in Language Learning, 1(1), 3-20.

Coltrane, B. (2003). Working with Young English Language Learners: Some Considerations. ERIC Digest.

Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2008). Strategies of qualitative inquiry (Vol. 2): London: Sage.

Fan, Y.-C. (2010). The effect of comprehension strategy instruction on EFL learners’ reading comprehension. Source: Asian Social Science, 6(8). 19-29.

Fitri, A. (2010). The effectiveness of Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) on the reading comprehension achievement of the fourth-semester students of PGSD Suryalaya, West Java, Indonesia [Unpublished master's thesis]. University of Malang, Malang.

Fotovatian, S., & Shokrpour, N. (2007). Comparison of the efficiency of reading comprehension strategies on Iranian university students' comprehension. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 37(2), 47-63.

Gani, S. A., Yusuf, Y. Q., & Susiani, R. (2016). Progressive outcomes of collaborative strategic reading to EFL learners. Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences, 37(3), 144-149.

Grabe, W. (2009). Reading in a second language: Moving from theory to practice. Cambridge: CUP.

Harmer, J. (2001). The practice of English language teaching: London: Longman.

Hu, B. Y., Wu, H., Curby, T. W., Wu, Z., & Zhang, X. (2018). Teacher–child interaction quality, attitudes toward reading, and literacy achievement of Chinese preschool children: Mediation and moderation analysis. Learning and Individual Differences, 68, 1-11.

Hsu, S. (2009). Reading strategies used by technical students. English Teaching e-Monthly, 22. 37-49.

Johnson, Y. (2012). Attitudes towards EFL learning and extensive reading in Japanese engineering students. Journal of Language and Culture of Hokkaido, 10, 65-81.

Khonamri, F., & Karimabadi, M. (2015). Collaborative strategic reading and critical reading ability of intermediate Iranian learners. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 5(7), 1375.

Logan, S., Medford, E., & Hughes, N. (2011). The importance of intrinsic motivation for high and low ability readers' reading comprehension performance. Learning and Individual Differences, 21(1), 124-128.

Masgoret, A.-M., Bernaus, M., & Gardner, R. C. (2001). Examining the role of attitudes and motivation outside of the formal classroom: A test of the mini-AMTB for children. Motivation and Second Language Acquisition, 12, 281-295.

 Maulana, R., Helms-Lorenz, M., Irnidayanti, Y., & van de Grift, W. (2016). Autonomous motivation in the Indonesian classroom: Relationship with teacher support through the lens of self-determination theory. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 25(3), 441-451.

Novita, D. (2012). The Effectiveness of Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) for Teaching Reading Comprehension at Muhammadiyah University of Sidoarjo. Educate, 1(1).

Saville-Troike, M., & Barto, K. (2016). Introducing second language acquisition. Cambridge: CPU.

Stake, R. E. (2005). Qualitative Case Studies. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The Sage handbook of qualitative research (p. 443–466). Sage Publications Ltd.

 Tembe, J. (2008). August, D., & Shanahan, T.(Eds.). (2006). Developing literacy in second- language learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel in Language-Minority Children and Youth. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 30(1), 116-117. 

Vygotsky, L. S. (1980). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard university press.

Wang, M.-T., & Eccles, J. S. (2013). School context, achievement motivation, and academic engagement: A longitudinal study of school engagement using a multidimensional perspective. Learning and Instruction, 28, 12-23.