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Developing Saudi EFL Students' Reading Skills Through Schema-Based Techniques

Received: 1 March 2017     Accepted: 1 March 2017     Published: 6 May 2017
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Abstract

Reading is one of the main four language skills. As a receptive skill, it enables learners to receive a significant comprehensible input which can be used later on in speaking or in writing. Research indicates that reading comprehension is a highly complex, interactive, constructive process in which students actively reconstruct the original intentions of the writer (s) by drawing on what they already know to make use of the new knowledge. The researcher examined the impact of schema-based techniques on developing Saudi first-year secondary school students' reading comprehension skills. Thirty five students representing the experimental group students were taught through the schema-based techniques, while a class of thirty eight students receiving regular instruction represented the control group. A pre-post reading comprehension test was given to the two groups before and after the treatment. Results provided support for the four hypotheses of the study. The experimental group out-performed the control group on the post-test in overall reading comprehension as well as in each reading comprehension skill. Furthermore, the experimental group students achieved tangible progress in their reading comprehension after being taught through schema-based techniques. Hence, these positive findings of the study proved the effectiveness of schema-based techniques in developing first-year secondary school students’ overall reading comprehension and each reading comprehension skill as well.

Published in International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation (Volume 3, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijalt.20170302.11
Page(s) 16-23
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2017. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Schema Theory, EFL Students, Reading and Comprehension Skills

References
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[4] Bryan, J. (1998). KWWL: Questioning the Known. The Reading Teacher, 51 (7), 618-620.
[5] Ciardiello, A. V. (1998). Did you Ask a Good Question Today? Alternative Cognitive and Metacognitive Strategies. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 42 (3), 210-219.
[6] Clark, H. T & Reese, C. M. (1990). The Relationship of Text Schemata to Comprehension Monitoring among 3rd, 4th, and 6th Grade Students. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Eastern Educational Research Association, Arizona (U. S. A.). ERIC Research Report (EN- ED319002).
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[10] Kitao, S. K. (1989). Reading, Schema Theory and Second Language Learners. ERIC Research Report (ED314937).
[11] Landry, K (2002). Schemata in Second Language Reading. The Reading Matrix, 2 (3), 1-14.
[12] Li, J & Zang, L. (2016) The Application of Schema Theory to English Reading Teaching in Junior High School. Sino-US English Teaching, 13 (1), 14-21.
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Faisal Mutair Rhail Alshammari. (2017). Developing Saudi EFL Students' Reading Skills Through Schema-Based Techniques. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation, 3(2), 16-23. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20170302.11

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    ACS Style

    Faisal Mutair Rhail Alshammari. Developing Saudi EFL Students' Reading Skills Through Schema-Based Techniques. Int. J. Appl. Linguist. Transl. 2017, 3(2), 16-23. doi: 10.11648/j.ijalt.20170302.11

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    AMA Style

    Faisal Mutair Rhail Alshammari. Developing Saudi EFL Students' Reading Skills Through Schema-Based Techniques. Int J Appl Linguist Transl. 2017;3(2):16-23. doi: 10.11648/j.ijalt.20170302.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijalt.20170302.11,
      author = {Faisal Mutair Rhail Alshammari},
      title = {Developing Saudi EFL Students' Reading Skills Through Schema-Based Techniques},
      journal = {International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation},
      volume = {3},
      number = {2},
      pages = {16-23},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijalt.20170302.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20170302.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijalt.20170302.11},
      abstract = {Reading is one of the main four language skills. As a receptive skill, it enables learners to receive a significant comprehensible input which can be used later on in speaking or in writing. Research indicates that reading comprehension is a highly complex, interactive, constructive process in which students actively reconstruct the original intentions of the writer (s) by drawing on what they already know to make use of the new knowledge. The researcher examined the impact of schema-based techniques on developing Saudi first-year secondary school students' reading comprehension skills. Thirty five students representing the experimental group students were taught through the schema-based techniques, while a class of thirty eight students receiving regular instruction represented the control group. A pre-post reading comprehension test was given to the two groups before and after the treatment. Results provided support for the four hypotheses of the study. The experimental group out-performed the control group on the post-test in overall reading comprehension as well as in each reading comprehension skill. Furthermore, the experimental group students achieved tangible progress in their reading comprehension after being taught through schema-based techniques. Hence, these positive findings of the study proved the effectiveness of schema-based techniques in developing first-year secondary school students’ overall reading comprehension and each reading comprehension skill as well.},
     year = {2017}
    }
    

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    T1  - Developing Saudi EFL Students' Reading Skills Through Schema-Based Techniques
    AU  - Faisal Mutair Rhail Alshammari
    Y1  - 2017/05/06
    PY  - 2017
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    T2  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
    JF  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
    JO  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
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    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2472-1271
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    AB  - Reading is one of the main four language skills. As a receptive skill, it enables learners to receive a significant comprehensible input which can be used later on in speaking or in writing. Research indicates that reading comprehension is a highly complex, interactive, constructive process in which students actively reconstruct the original intentions of the writer (s) by drawing on what they already know to make use of the new knowledge. The researcher examined the impact of schema-based techniques on developing Saudi first-year secondary school students' reading comprehension skills. Thirty five students representing the experimental group students were taught through the schema-based techniques, while a class of thirty eight students receiving regular instruction represented the control group. A pre-post reading comprehension test was given to the two groups before and after the treatment. Results provided support for the four hypotheses of the study. The experimental group out-performed the control group on the post-test in overall reading comprehension as well as in each reading comprehension skill. Furthermore, the experimental group students achieved tangible progress in their reading comprehension after being taught through schema-based techniques. Hence, these positive findings of the study proved the effectiveness of schema-based techniques in developing first-year secondary school students’ overall reading comprehension and each reading comprehension skill as well.
    VL  - 3
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    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of English, Ministry of Education, Hail, Saudi Arabia

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