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Research into reading strategies and strategy instruction has indicated their effectiveness and beneficial effects on reading improvement. However, additional effort and support is needed in real-world teaching environments for students to benefit from these research findings. This report reviews research on the effectiveness of the use of L2 reading strategies and strategy instruction. Based on research conclusions, this paper discusses the patterns of strategy use adopted by both proficient and less proficient readers to shed light on what kinds of strategies should be taught and how. It argues that teachers have important roles to play in selecting strategies for instruction and teaching them; teachers need to consider such factors as proficiency levels, text type and task goals. This paper concludes with pedagogical implications, suggesting teachers play roles as coaches and scaffolders, and offering nine strategies for instruction. / text

A study of four teachers´ verbal scaffolding in explicit reading comprehension Reading is an absolutely crucial skill to cope with everyday life in Sweden as well as other information societies. Therefore reading comprehension becomes the core of the entire educational system. Instruction in reading comprehension is to give pupils the opportunity for lifelong learning, but this important process will not come easy and natural for everybody. Reading instruction places greater demands on students as they move up the grades. In the lower grades teaching is centered on learning to read but there is a shift from the fourth or fifth grade, when students encounter more and more advanced texts and thereby need to acquire the skill of reading to learn. The current curriculum in Sweden states that teachers shall educate their pupils how to use efficient reading strategies when encountering new texts. Many scientific studies have shown that explicit reading strategy instruction is more advantageous than implicit. Despite this notion, implicit reading strategy instruction is predominant in Swedish schools. The purpose of this study is to examine how four teachers in Stockholm, scaffolds their pupils through explicit reading strategy instruction and how these teachers reflect on benefits and potential difficulties in their way of teaching. By analyzing the methods and models these teachers use and what problems they face, more teachers might learn new ways to approach this more effective way of teaching. Four teachers from three different schools in Stockholm were observed while teaching explicit reading strategy instruction. Focus was directed towards their use of scaffolding followed by interviews to find out what advantages and difficulties the teachers saw in their way of teaching. The result showed examples of different types of talk used in explicit reading instruction from the models En läsande klass and Chambers model for book talks. Depending on the model the teachers took on different roles in their way of scaffolding their pupils. All teachers invited the pupils to participate in conversations and to learn from each other’s thoughts. The two teachers’ only using En läsande klass saw no obstacles in using that method to scaffold their pupils in explicit reading strategy instruction, while the other two explained some difficulties.

Thesis (MPhil (Modern Foreign Languages))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / It is widely recognized that learning to read is one of the most crucial learning processes in which children are involved at primary school. However, becoming a proficient reader is not equally easy for all learners. When it comes to the development of reading comprehension many children appear to have persistent problems. In order to meet the reading needs of students in the 21st century, educators are pressed to develop effective instructional means for teaching strategies to improve reading comprehension. The ability to read academic texts is considered one of the most crucial skills that students of English as a Second Language need to acquire. Reading comprehension has become the “essence of reading” (Dreyer & Nel, 2003:349). Literacy, and more specifically reading, is one of many areas where research has provided evidence of the potential impact of technology such as multimedia and hypermedia. If one looks broadly at the issue of technology and literacy, one of the more rewarding issues for educators is the role of technology in literacy acquisition and instruction, especially for primary grade learners (Pearson et al, 2005:3). This study aims to support the growing trend of an increasingly “paired” literacy, namely that of general literacy and computer (or technological) literacy. The study proposes that through implementing an overall blended-learning methodology for teaching learners how to use reading strategies, it will be possible to improve learners’ general reading comprehension levels.

This study intends to find out the possible effects of cognitive and metacognitive reading strategy instruction at awareness-raising level on reading proficiency and strategy use. In the study both qualitative and quantitative data were utilized. The relevant data were obtained by means of think-aloud protocols, semi-structured interviews, the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning &ndash / SILL- (Oxford, 1990), learning diaries and the reading scores of students on a proficiency exam (COPE). A total of 24 students studying at Bilkent University School of English Language were involved in the study. The scores of the students who received the strategy instruction on the reading paper of COPE, and the scores of the students who were not subject to any strategy instruction were used to run a t-test so as to reveal whether there was a significant difference between these two sets of scores. The data that came from the think-aloud protocols, semi-structured interviews and learning diaries were analyzed so as to trace the type of strategies employed by the students and the frequency with which they were employed. The results did not indicate a statistically significant difference. It was also discovered that all students involved in the study had a tendency to use more cognitive strategies than metacognitive ones. The cognitive strategies were more varied with the group of students who received the strategy instruction.

本論文旨在探討閱讀檔案評量結合閱讀策略教學對於中台灣低成就國中生的影響。本研究對象為兩名八年級國中生，在七年級時因段考成績被學校歸為低成就組。這兩名學生上學期的英語成績平均相近，上課參與度高，作業確實繳交。 本研究採用Li (2008)與Yang (2007)針對國中基本學力測驗英語閱讀測驗題型提出之六大分類：確認文章主旨、引導正確結論、導出暗示推論、猜測字詞意義、尋找細部資訊、找出字詞指涉，並將此分類納為閱讀策略教學之目標。學生必須遵照閱讀檔案評量進度表，在接受閱讀策略教學同時，透過讀書心得練習策略，並透過閱讀檔案進行自評。研究為期十七週，每週一節課。為求完整了解學生閱讀與學習行為改變，並探究閱讀檔案評量結合閱讀策略教學之成效，本研究除蒐集學生閱讀檔案，亦施行仿全民英檢閱讀測驗，發放問卷，和學生進行面談，並觀察學生學習狀況。 本研究發現閱讀檔案評量結合閱讀策略教學能夠幫助低成就國中生精熟閱讀策略及提高閱讀成效。即使學生在進行檔案評量前後，對自己使用閱讀策略的認知和實際進行檔案評量的表現有所出入，學生於閱讀時進行選擇、反省、分享之情形仍較進行檔案評量前增加，充分體現檔案評量的精神。而學生閱讀行為之改變均符合Benson (2003)所談之促進學習自主原則。一旦學生學習自主性增加，學習動機隨之提高，學習反應良好，也同時負起學習責任(Cameron, 2007; Chen, 2004; Sarwar, 2002; ÜSTÜNLÜOGLU, 2009)。 本研究因此建議教育部基測委員會不應該僅以單選題型式來測驗學生閱讀能力，而應該嘗試其他題型。此外，本研究也建議英語教師設計適合學生的閱讀教材，或訂出學生閱讀分級讀本的規則，並建議編者把閱讀檔案評量與閱讀策略教學融入課本中。而按學生個別差異進行適性及彈性的調整仍有其必要性，以期發揮檔案評量結合策略教學對於學生閱讀表現之最大成效。 / The present study aims to investigate the effects of reading portfolio assessment (RPA) and reading strategy instruction on the junior high low achievers in central Taiwan. Participants in the present study were two eighth graders who were identified as low achievers according to their performance in monthly exams when in the seventh grade. They had something in common: having similar English average scores last semester, taking active participation in class, and finishing assignments by due dates. According to Li’s (2008) and Yang’s (2007) categorization of reading strategies, the Basic Competence Test (BCT) English reading comprehension tests are designed based on the following six reading strategies— identifying the main idea, drawing correct conclusions, drawing implications and inferences, determining the meaning out of the context, finding the detailed information, and finding the targets of the references. Following the RPA syllabus, the participants received reading strategy instruction, practiced the strategies through journals, and assessed themselves through reading portfolios. The observation took one class period every week for 17 weeks. With the help of simulated General English Proficiency Test (GEPT) reading comprehension tests, questionnaires, reading portfolios, conferences, and observations, the findings of the present study showed the participants’ change in reading/learning behaviors and the effectiveness of RPA/reading strategy instruction. The results indicated that RPA and reading strategy instruction may make the junior high low achievers master reading strategies and perform well in reading. Even though there is inconsistence between their understanding of their strategy use before RPA and their actual performance during RPA, they thoroughly show Katz and Johnson-Kuby’s (1996) three elements of portfolio assessment with increase in selection, reflection, and sharing when reading. The changed reading behaviors correspond to Benson’s (2003) principles for fostering learner autonomy; because of increased learner autonomy, they raise their learning motivation, have positive learning response, and take responsibility for their learning (Cameron, 2007; Chen, 2004; Sarwar, 2002; ÜSTÜNLÜOGLU, 2009). At last, the present study suggested that the BCT committee consider trying more diverse ways to test reading ability, rather than focusing only on single choice questions. Furthermore, this study suggested that English teachers design reading materials suitable for students or set up a system to get students to read higher level books, and that textbook editors include RPA and reading strategy instruction. Meanwhile, editors and teachers have to keep in mind that personal and diverse adjustments are permitted in order to have the best effectiveness on students’ learning of reading, as long as the adjustments follow guidelines for RPA.

The enrolment of international students at Canadian institutions of higher learning has tripled to 318,153 in 2018/2019 from 101,304 in 2008/2009 (Statistics Canada, 2020). Similarly, the number of international students in B.C.’s post-secondary institutions has significantly risen (BC Council on Admissions & Transfer, 2019). A significant proportion of these international students for whom English is an additional language first encounter Canadian higher education through their enrolment in English-for-academic-purposes (EAP) programs, which prepare students for English-language coursework and offer a path for enrolment at Canadian institutions without an institution’s required documentation of English language proficiency. For international English-as-an-additional-language (EAL) students who initially enrol in EAP programs in order to later pursue higher studies in Canada, reading a variety of academic texts can be challenging, since reading comprehension “involves the ability to integrate various sources of information in order to construct” meaning (Li & D’Angelo, 2016, p. 159). To facilitate reading comprehension, second language (L2) researchers have identified a variety of reading strategies, and extensive research has been conducted to examine the efficacy of reading strategy instruction. However, the research on the effect of reading strategy instruction remains inconclusive due to the interplay of various contextual and individual variables (e.g., Cohen, 2011; Plonsky, 2011). This study reports a mixed methods-action research project involving 52 intermediate-level EAP students conducted to investigate the efficacy of L2 reading strategy instruction at a post-secondary institution in Canada. Implemented through five phases: diagnosing, reconnoitering, planning, acting, and evaluation (Ivankova, 2015), the study used Mokhtari and Sheorey’s (2002) Survey of Reading Strategies (SORS) to capture the participants’ reading strategy use and a standardized reading comprehension test to measure the participants’ reading comprehension abilities. Further, participants’ weekly post-task verbal reflections and post-intervention interviews provided qualitative data about learners’ use of reading strategies over time. Through both qualitative (i.e., content analysis) and quantitative data analyses (i.e., descriptive statistics, paired-sample t-test, Pearson’s correlation, and MANOVA tests), the results showed higher awareness and use of reading strategies and reading performance among the participants after the intervention. In strategy use and reading comprehension, the experimental groups that received reading strategy instruction outperformed the comparison group that simply received regular instruction on reading with no instruction on strategy use. Statistically significant correlations were found between participants’ overall strategy use and reading performance. The analysis of the qualitative data revealed that the participants used a wide variety of global, problem-solving, and support reading strategies depending on reading academic texts in English. / Graduate