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7/25/2019 Enhancing ESL reading.pdf
1/8
Enhancing
ESL
reading
through
reader sbategy training
Abstract
Reader Strategy Training
for ESL
students in practice
and theory
is in its
infancy.
Recent
research
aIthough in the
most part
successful, has not
reported the major gains expected from
this method.
Many researchers
have
put
t is
down
to
contextual
factors.
In this investigation
seven
E L
high-school studentsunderwent
a short course of reading
strategy train-
ing. Important
factors
in
the
training
were
pre-assessment of
learners
needs,
a
focus on
the
whf and when of the strategies
as
well
as
the
what , and carefully
selected reading texts
ix
out of
the
seven students
showed improvement in reading comprehension in at
least
one
of
the two
measures
used.
Resultssuppoxt the notion
that reading
strategy
training
can
be
effective
in enhancing
second-languagereading.
Introduction
Reading
in
one s mother
tongue
is
a
complex
skill
involving the coordination
of
attention,
memory
perception
and
comprehension processes
such
as test-
U,
ing
hypotheses, separating main ideas from details, searching for cohesive
u
elements
and
contextual
guessing Kern 1989;
RusciolelIi
1995 . he native
reader uses three
main cueingsystems to gain meaning
from the written text:
graphophonic, syntactic
and
semantic.
A
reader
expedencinga
deficit
in
one
cueing system
relies
more
heavily
on
the
others as
well
as
employing com-
pensatory
strategies
(Robinson
1993 .
r
For the
second
language
reader
the
process is
further complicated
by
differences in the reading
structures of
L and
the
target language, in par-
ticular,
differences
in
the
graphophonic,
syntactic
and
semantic systems, as
well
s
diverse
clhcourse,
cultural
elf
merits
and e x ~ l a i l o n i .
Moreover,
if
il
a
is minority
Language, s in the careof
ESI students,
there
are many affective
0
elements that
will
be
influencing th e
LZ reading process for nstance;
emo-
tions
due
to
culture
shock,
motivation
to Iearn the target language and the
status
of
L in the community . So not only is
it possible tha t
the L2
eader
has problems with all
three cueing
systems but they may not be able
to
acti-
vate effective compensatory processes (Robinson
1993).
Second language reading research has revealed that many
L2 readers are
Iinguistically bound
to text
using all their resources o n word recognition,
relying solely on a
word
for
word translation strategy and
performing
few
higher order interpretation
processes
Kern
1989;
Rusciolelli 1995). While
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7/25/2019 Enhancing ESL reading.pdf
2/8
16 Pm~pe c t ol
12
No 3 December 1997
ENH NCING SL READING THROUGH READER STRATEGY TRAINING
7
for many students this
may
be a temporary state, some students, even after
many years of exposure to LZ, find it difficult to progress beyond this point
(Grabe
1995).
Factors found
to be significant in the development
of L2
reading include
the importance of vocabulary in language learning, the need for
language
awareness and attending to language and genre form, the need for extensive
reading and the importanceof metacognitive awareness and strategy training
(Grabe 1995 .The latter two factors are the
focus
of this study.
L2 re ding
strategy
tr ining
research
Learning strategy has been defined
as
t h e
long-rangeart
of learning more easily
and
effectivelyby
using major
clusters
of behavioursfor forming concepts
and
hypotheses, testing hy-
potheses, personalising linkages, embedding
material
in
long-term
mem-
ory,
understanding
one s
affective state,
managing
the
learning
process
and producing language while lacking adequate linguistic knowledge
Oxford
and
Cohen
2992: 4).
Learner strategy training, a
teaching methodology
which aims to im-
prove learner s
efficiency
and to direct ownership
and
control into the pupil s
hand, is
new
to the second language field. Catalysed
by
descriptiveresearch
on the characteristicsand learning behaviours of good language learners
eg
Rubin 1975 , the fundamental assumption underlying strategy training i s
that identified strategies used by successful learners can be taught to all
learners (Rees-Miller 1993).
The main f m s of research in this area over the iast decade has
been
the
identification
of a
conceptuai framework for
learner
strategies incorporating
descriptions of successful language learning strategies
and
construction of
typologies and taxonomies (Wenden and Rubin
1987).
Only recently have
studies emerged Iooking at the effectiveness of strategy training, and in par-
ticular, reading strategy training.
While
ost
recent
research
shows
that
LZ
reading
strategy
training
has
had some
success,the
expecteddramaticgains
of
strategy training
as proposed
by O MaIley an d Chamot
1990
and Oxford 1990)have
not been
recorded.
Hosenfield
(1985,
cited
by
RuscioleIli
1995)
aught word guessing tech-
niques to
t2
students
a n d
found an improvement in reading texts after
training. A comparison
of
traditional and strategic approaches to teaching
reading by HarnpLyons (1985)
gave
favourable results to the latter. Bialystok
1987) trained high school students in inferencing techniques and found
them to be expedient in L2 eading comprehension; additionally students
were able
to
generalise the technique (cited by Wenden and Rubin 1987).
Similarly, Kern
(1989)
found tha t direct teaching
of
reading strategies had
a strong positive effect o n
L2
readers comprehension. Carrell, Pharis and
Liberto
(1989)
found metacognitive strategy training i n semantic mapping
an d experience-text-relationship
to be
effective in enhancing second
Ian-
guage reading.
Other studies
have
reported
negligible or
mixed
results
where ESL
stu-
dents
have
shown
only slight
gains
in
a subset
of
the strategies taught
Barnett
1988; Cotterall 1993). Oxford and
Cohen
(1992) suggest these esults
may
bedue to
improper
methodoIogies eg
too short
a
period for txaining,
too
easy
or
difficult a
task,
inadequate pretraining assessment of learners needs,
lack of integrationof strategy training in to regular
class
activit ies. Rees-Miller
(1993)
cautions that strategies themselves may not be sufficient to
lead
to
success in learning tasks. Instead teachers need to communicate
the
useful-
ness
of the
strategy
to
the students.
Many researchers and teachers have stressed the importance of consid-
ering contextual
variabIes such
as
learning styles, life experiences, students
and
teachers beliefs about
language
learning and demographic features eg
gender,
age,
ethn ic differences) (McMahon 1992; Oxford
2993:
Rees-Miller
1993;
Sharkey 1995 .
These contextual variables
mean
that not all strategies
will prove equally helpful to a11 learners.
Metacognition
Cotterall (1993) reports that the most successful strategy-training
programs
have been those
which
have exploited learners metacognitive awareness.
Metacognition in the context of reading
has
two dimensions (Carrel1 t nl
1989; Cotterall
1993 :
1 Understanding one s knowledge
of
strategiesfor comprehension
2.
Controlling this knowIedge (or effectively using the strategies while read-
ing for different purposes)
A crucial
concept
underlying strategy training is th e notion that the dis-
cussion of the
mental processes involved in learning will lead to
an
increase
in the learner s awareness
of these processes
(Cotterall 1993).
Such
an in-
formed reader,
it
is postulated,
will be
able to
access
and
apply these
pmesses
in
future similar situations (Carrel1
et a
1989).
The
ultimate goal
s to turn
students
into strategic readers rather than just to teach them reading strat-
egies (Grabe 1995 .
Cotterall (1993:
76)
identifies s x conditions that must co-occur
with
metacognitive behaviour:
1.
sufficient exposure to problems in texts
2.
repeated application of problem-solving strategies
3.
efficient strategy
use
4
instruction concerning the
usefulness
and appIication
of
strategies
5.
prompts
to adopt
particular strategies
6.
an ability to shift
attention
from particular instances
of
difficulty o higher
levels of strategy performance.
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7/25/2019 Enhancing ESL reading.pdf
3/8
8 Prospect Vcl. 1 2
No.
3 December 997
Further, research suggests
h a t
transfer of strategy training to new tasks
can
be
maximised
by
pairing compatible metacognitive
and
cognitive strate-
gies (O Malley and Chamot 1990).
This investigation
In the light
of
the above research, the study described elow
looked
at read-
ing strategy training under the following conditions:
A needs assessment of students prior to training and dete rmining train-
ing content
+
Instruction
concerning the usefuIness
of
the
strategy
zt Allowing sufficient time and appropriate activities
for
students to become
familiar with, practise, and experiment with strategies
+ Careful selection of texts used in order to motivate students
O Pairing of metacognitive and cognitive strategies
The
study addressed the following research questions:
O Does
explicit
reading
strategy training enhance comprehension of texts?
Q Are gains
made
in
a
measurable sense ie score on a reading compre-
hension test?
Do the students perceive that th e training has been beneficial?
Method
articipants
The
participants
of
this research were initially selected by mainstream teachers
a t a
secondary boys
school.
Selection criteria were
as
follows:
I.
the
student is currently
in
year
10
2. the student has
a
non-English
speaking
background
3. the
student s
reading skills are interfering with his learning
identified students were then tested in reading, writing
and
listening by
the
ESL
teacher. A subset of these stude~lts
as
then invited to participate in
the course. Students not included were those who had
a
specific difficulty
contributing to the ianguage problems (eg mild intellectual impairment).
The
reason for excluding these students
was
two-foId. Firstly the type of
instruction and materials
used
in the training were not suitable for this group
(for nstance the reading texts used were at a year 10 level and many of the
students excluded wouldbenefit from using simpler materials) and secondly
the aim of
the
study was to evaluate
the
effectivenessof
a
methodology advo-
cated
for students whose difficulties arise from learning a second language.
ENHANCING
SL
READtNG
THROUGHREADER
STRATEGY
TRAINING
9
There was, however,
one
student
K
with an intellectual and social difficulty
who was accepted
into the course
for
political reasons.
A11
12 of the year
10students invited to participate were included in the
course, however
only
seven completed
a
phasesof the
research.
The demo-
graphics
of
the research group are summarised in Table I.
Table
:
Partidpants
.pa
roatian
Lebanese
Cantonese
Arabic
Cantonese
Italian
Arabic
Years in
Australia
Language Read Write '
Learningstyle*
~ o t i v a t i o i
spoken
n L1 in
L1
at home
Little
tittle
Both Little
L1
Littie
Little
Both
No
Little
Communicative
Yes
Analytical
ittle Concrete
Little
Authority oriented
Little Communicative
Little Comihunicative
Fair
Fair
High
Fair
High
Low
Fair
L1 = First
language
= Approximate
leamlng styles group
assigned by
using
a quick questionnaire
Wlling
989 Appendix
B
Students motivation ranged
from low
to very high.
The
group as
a
whole had
a
low morale and many had little
language
esteem . All students
felt that
good
gradeswere linked t fu ture prospects.
Several sources
of
information were
examined in order
to identify the
particular reading needs
of
the group. These
sourcesincluded
student work
such as trial moderator papers, assessment tasks and classwork student ESL
profiles and the reading assessment task initially given a 2- ite m graded
multiple-choice task
on
a 750 word reading passage
at
an approximate read-
ing level
of
14
years).
Perhaps
the most illumjnating
data
resulted from an
informaloral reading comprehension task. Students read a current chapter of
their class
novel and
retold
key
events. This task was completed on an indi-
vidual basis and ook the fo rm of a n interview with the ESL teacher. While
there were no set questions each studen t
was
asked relevailt factual, inter-
pretive and evaluative questions
about
the
text
as
the opportunity
arose.
Additionally, students were asked to explain how they had
they
had Iocat
ed information.
Two main areas of difficulty were isolated: inferencing (particularly
noted i n the multiple choice
task
a n d novel discussion)
and
dealing with
unfamiliar vocabulary (for instance, in the
novel
discussion one
student
dis
missed half a page because he did not understand three words in the opening
sentence. He did not realise that t he meaning of
the
passage was attainable
without knowledge
of
those three particular
words).
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7/25/2019 Enhancing ESL reading.pdf
4/8
Prospect Vol. 12 No.
3
December 1997
ENHANCING
SL READING THROUGH READER VR TEGY TRAINING
2
Trairting materials
and
methods
Eight strategy training lessons of 50 minutes durat ion were held over a
two-
week period.
Four strategies were selected as a focus in accordance with the
above
needs assessment. These were the metacognitive strategiesof overviewing and
self-evaluation,and the cognitive strategiesof inferencing and deducing the
meaning of unknown words. X was hoped that
a
by-product of conscious
strategy use would be increased learner autonomy.
The
strategies were introduced to the students one
at a
time, every
second lesson. The introductory sessionscommenced with a reading aaivity
forwhich the focus strategy would
be
particularly useful. Studentswere then
invited t o discuss
how
they went about the
task
and the new strategy- would
be introduced.
A
short explanatory
paragraph
about the strategy
was
con-
structed by various
means
(suchas dictogIoss, text reconstruction, cloze) and
then the strategy was modelled using the initial reading activity. A discussion
about the usefulness of the strategy continued throughout the lesson
as
students
completed
practice activities. ,
The lessons
between
the
introductory
sessions consisted of specific prac-
tice activities for particular strategiesand combinations of strategies,
as
well
as
a
variety of genera1 reading activities where t he student had the oppor-
tunity t o use
the
strategiesof
their choice. These sessions
concluded with
a
class
debriefing regarding the most appropriate contexts to use particular
strategies.
Most activitieswere tailor-made forth e students with reading
texts
from
magazines, popular fiction and newspapers.Activities were also
drawn
and
adapted
from
the following texts: Cooper 2991), Garbutt and O Sullivan
(1991) and Grellet 1981).
Tasks similar to the assessment tests were avoided
during
training to
prevent corruption
of
results.
ssessment procedures ~ n daterials
Diagnostic assessment of students occurred three
weeks
prior to training.
Students were given a pre-test one week prior to the onset of training and
given
the same
test
as a
post-test. Informal
measures to gain
information
a b u t students beliefs, learning styles, and perceptions occurred throughout
the course.
These
included a questionnaire, learning style inventory, diary
entries
and
post-course interview with the student.
The pre-test/post-test
Section
A. Three-lwelguide
TLG)
Text: An
autobiographical recount of approximately
1200words.
Task: A truetfalse response task using three levels of statements: factual,
interpretive and evaluative.
Section
B
Response
to
litmature RL]
Text: A narrative of approximately
5
words.
Task: A
written
response
to
the following
question:
This passage introducesa man
called Thomas.
What do you learn about
Thomas in the passage {eghis personality, his life,
his
feelings, what
others
think
of him)?
The
formal components
of
the pre-
and
post-test were identical.
This
was to
allow direct
comparison by
students
and
mainstream teachers.
Scoring
An
independent judge scored each test.
ach
section within the
TLG
(factua1,
interpretive and evaluative)was given a percentage score in order to allow
direct comparison between sections, for individual students and the group.
Then each student s TLG
was
given a total scoreout
of
100 This matched the
current system
of
assessment in the school and facilitated communication in
reporting to the teachers and students.
The RL section was given a count score for
each
statement made by the
student. Tally categories were correct statement , incorrect statement and
neutral statement . Correct statements
were
subcategorised into factual ,
interpretive and evaluative statements.
Statistical anaZyses
Paired
t-tests
were applied t o assess the significance of differencesbetween
pre- and post-test scores(tw~ ta il ed ). ignificance was established at an alpha
level of 05 Non-significant scores are reported as
ns .
Results
he
results
of individual
students
can
be seen in
Table 2 (TLG)
and
Table
3
RL).
Five
of
the seven
tudents revealed gains in all forms of assessment
I,
Kj
K
nd L .
Student showed
a
decrease
in
Task
A b u t
a
gain
in
Task
B.
Student howed
a
dramatic decrease in Task
A
a n d no gain in Task B.
Tabk : Individualscores on a three levelguide TLG)
tudent T Pre-testY
~ost test~/o?Difference
I
KJ
R
N
K
D
L
Average
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7/25/2019 Enhancing ESL reading.pdf
5/8
I
1
Prospect Vol. 12 No ecember 1997
ENHANCING
ESL
READING THROUGH
RE DER
STRATEGYTRAINING 3
The
results
of the two-tailed t-test fox paired samples forTask A and
Task
B can be
found in
Table
4
and
Table
5
The
overall gain
in
th TLG
for
the
group
was not significant. It
js
worth noting that the
results
become
significant
(p
05 ) if
student
N's scores are
not
included
in
the
analysis.
Decomposition of the
TLG
reveals that
only
one componentof the task, the
interpretive level, evidences
a
significant group gain (p