The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the possibility of Complementary Reading(CR) as a model for EFL college reading classes and to look into the effects of CR. CR is a reading method which combines advantageous features of intensive and ext...
The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the possibility of Complementary Reading(CR) as a model for EFL college reading classes and to look into the effects of CR. CR is a reading method which combines advantageous features of intensive and extensive reading. In CR classes, students are encouraged to read speedily and to find the subjects and verbs from sentences in order to achieve the benefits of extensive reading employing the intensive reading method. This study consists of three stages: experiment I, experiment II, and experiment III.
In the experiment I, class presentations, group activities, and journal writing were assigned to the students as active reading tasks based on intermediate reading texts. The tasks were intended to help the learners to participate actively in class. The analysis of the journals shows that the students highly evaluated CR, reporting they came to be more
interested in and confident of reading. They also reported enjoying reading with little study burden. The intermediate-low level learners liked having minimal grammar instruction. The high level learners pointed out that the most impressive features in the CR classes were communication between the learners and the teacher, and discussions of the text in class and via journals. Although they were satisfied with this reading method in that they could read long sentences with little syntactic difficulties, they had a limitation of vocabulary learning as they came across unfamiliar words accidentally. Consequently, in the experiment II, a vocabulary test was added to the reading tasks that the experiment I participants went through.
In the experiment II, Group A was given CR instruction with word test as a passive task type and Group B CR with word test, added by presentations and journals as an active task type. The analysis of the questionnaire responses revealed that both groups were satisfied with the word test, even though they were under some level of stress.
Group A improved more than Group B in reading comprehension, learner attitudes, and responses towards CR. It was assumed to have resulted from Group A's higher proficiency at the beginning of the experiment, active participation, and less burden from the passive reading task. However, the post hoc statistical analysis suggested a slightly different result. The Post-Speed Test of Group A and Group B showed a significant difference between the two groups. The Post-Recall Test of Groups A and B, on the other hand, exhibited insignificant difference between them. The Post-Cloze Test of Groups A and B also reported statistically insignificant difference.
Unlike in the Post-Speed Test, the results of both the Post-Recall Test and Post-Cloze Test showed that despite students’ proficiency level, task types, and study burden, both Groups A and B were enhanced to be almost at the same level through CR. This finding was corroborated by the fact that Group B’s scores on the mid-term and final tests were a little higher than Group A’s. In terms of reading task types, Group B’s presentations and journals, which belonged to the active reading task type, were very effective in developing the learners’ attitudes and reader efficacy.
The focus of the experiment III was to investigate the sustained effect of CR. Students who experienced CR instruction previously were assigned to the experimental group and those with no experience of CR instruction to the control group. Both groups received CR instruction for one semester. Data analysis showed that they had difficulties in comprehending the high-level text, yet with different reasons: the experimental group had problems with vocabulary only, while the control group had difficulty with grammar and sentence structures as well as vocabulary. There was also a big difference between the two groups in the mid-term and final exams.
Findings from this study suggested the following pedagogical implications for effective CR instruction: 1) the learners’ confidence, interest, and sense of achievement are important; 2) the teacher should present a model of a good reader; 3) Reading task types are a critical factor for reading success; 4) Level-differentiated classes should be provided even for college reading; and 5) The library should be equipped with a variety of reading materials.