Modern Journal of Language Teaching Methods (MJLTM)

Vol.6, Issue 1, March 2016 Page 1

 Modern Journal of Language Teaching Methods (MJLTM)

Modern Journal of Language Teaching Methods (MJLTM)

ISSN: 2251 - 6204

www.mjltm.com
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Editor – in – Chief
Hamed Ghaemi, PhD in TEFL, Islamic Azad University, Iran

Editorial Board
Abednia Arman, PhD in TEFL, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
Azizi Masoud, PhD in Applied Linguisitcs, University of Tehran, Iran
Basiroo Reza, PhD in TEFL, University of Tehran, International Campus, Iran
Elahi Shirvan Majid, PhD in TEFL, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran
Fernández Miguel, PhD, Chicago State University, USA
Ghaemi Hamide, PhD in Speech and Language Pathology, Mashhad University of
Medical Sciences, Iran
Grim Frédérique M. A., Associate Professor of French, Colorado State University, USA
Izadi Dariush, PhD candidate in Applied Linguistics, Macquarie University, Sydney,
Australia
Kargozari Hamid Reza, PhD Candidate in TEFL, Payame Noor University of Tehran,
Iran
Kaviani Amir, Assistant Professor at Zayed University, UAE
Kirkpatrick Robert, Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics, Shinawatra
International University, Thailand
Morady Moghaddam Mostafa, PhD Candidate in TEFL, University of Tabriz, Iran
Ndhlovu Finex, PhD, Linguistics Programme, University of New England, Australia
Raddaoui Ali Hechemi, PhD, Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics, University of
Wyoming in Laramie, USA
Rezaei Saeed, PhD in TEFL, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran
Rolstad Kellie, PhD, Associate Professor of Education, University of Maryland, USA
Shahbazirad Mohammad, PhD in English language and Literature, Yerevan State
University, Armenia
Weir George R. S., PhD in Philosophy of Psychology, University of Strathclyde,
Glasgow, UK
Zegarac Vladimir, PhD, University of Bedfordshire, UK

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 Modern Journal of Language Teaching Methods (MJLTM)

THE IMPACT OF STRUCTURAL-ORIENTED VS.

ECLECTIC-ORIENTED INSTRUCTION ON IRANIAN
EFL LEARNERS’ READING COMPREHENSION ABILITY
Zeynab Aghajani
MA. in TEFL, Islamic Azad University-Tonekabon Branch, Iran
E-mail: z.aqajani@gmail.com

Mohammadreza Khodareza
Assistant Professor of TEFL, Islamic Azad University-Tonekabon Branch, Iran
E-mail: m.khodareza@toniau.ac.ir
ABSTRACT
THE PRESENT INVESTIGATION WAS AN ATTEMPT TO STUDY THE IMPACT OF
STRUCTURAL-ORIENTED VS. ECLECTIC-ORIENTED INSTRUCTION ON IRANIAN EFL
LEARNERS’ READING COMPREHENSION ABILITY. TO THAT END, AN OPT TEST WAS
ADMINISTERED TO 110 EFL STUDENTS LEARNING ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN INSTITUTES.
LEARNERS WHO SCORED BETWEEN ONE ABOVE AND BELOW THE STANDARD
DEVIATION WERE SELECTED FOR THE STUDY, BECAUSE THIS STUDY FOCUSED ON
ELEMENTARY LEARNERS. SO 40 LEARNERS WERE SELECTED FOR THIS STUDY AND
THEY WERE DIVIDED INTO EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL GROUP, EACH GROUP
CONTAINED 20 LEARNERS. THEN A READING COMPREHENSION TEST WAS
ADMINISTERED TO BOTH GROUPS AS A PRE-TEST TO TAKE THEIR INITIAL
KNOWLEDGE OF READING COMPREHENSION. THE READING SECTION OF THE PET
TEST WAS SELECTED TO TEST THE READING ABILITY OF THE PARTICIPANTS. THE
EXPERIMENTAL GROUP WERE TAUGHT USING AN ECLECTIC APPROACH IN FIFTEEN
SESSIONS .THE CONTROL GROUP WERE TAUGHT USING A STRUCTURAL-ORIENTED
APPROACH. FINALLY BOTH GROUPS SAT FOR THE POST-TEST FOR READING
COMPREHENSION TEST. AN INDEPENDENT SAMPLE T-TEST WAS CONDUCTED TO SEE
IF STRUCTURAL-ORIENTED APPROACH HAD ANY EFFECTS ON READING
COMPREHENSION ABILITY. THE RESULTS WERE COMPUTED AND ANALYZED
THROUGH SPSS AND IT WAS EXPLORED THAT ECLECTED-ORIENTED APPROACH HAD
A POSITIVE EFFECT ON IRANIAN EFL LEARNERS' READING COMPREHENSION ABILITY.
THE RESULTS ALSO INDICATED THAT THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN
THE PARTICIPANTS/ SCORES USING A STRUCTURAL-ORIENTED APPROACH IN THIS
RESEARCH.

KEY WORDS: READING COMPREHENSION, ECLECTIC-ORIENTED APPROACH,

STRUCTURAL-ORIENTED APPROACH, EFL

INTRODUCTION
In the modern educated world communication is a fundamental skill necessary for success in
every venue of life. We are constantly bombarded with communicated messages, whether they
are encoded in spoken, written, or visual forms. Consequently, one of the essential components
of the effective use of communication is the ability to read written language proficiently;
however, reading seems to be a lost art in our modern society. Although the majority of the
population can read, many children, teenagers, and adults seriously struggle with this highly
important skill, making it necessary to determine what steps educators need to take to improve
reading aptitude amongst the general public.
There have been Different language teaching methods to improve the quality of teaching and
achieve the desired impact on students. Some of these methods could not develop the learners'

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reading comprehension ability. Therefore a lot of methods have come to overcome the limitations
of the previous ones. One of the accepted methods in the field of foreign language teaching (EFL)
is the eclectic method.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study aims to compare the effect of structured-oriented instruction and eclectic-oriented
instruction on Iranian EFL learners ‘reading comprehension ability. When learners comprehend,
they interpret, integrate, critique, infer analysis, connect and evaluate ideas in texts. They
negotiate multiple meanings not only in their heads but in the minds of others. When
comprehending, learners strive to process text beyond word-level to get to the big picture. When
comprehension is successful, learners are left with a sense of satisfaction from having understood
the meaning of a text. Comprehension takes the learner to a new level of active understanding
and insight. It enhances language and vocabulary knowledge. Good learners use a variety of
comprehension strategies simultaneously and, according to Pressley (2002), they know how to
deliberately apply specific strategies to aid their comprehension, particularly with regard to
challenging texts/information. Goals of school instruction in Iran often include a statement of the
desirability of critical reading skills; however, there is seldom a sequential plan for the
development of these skills below Pre- university level .

Significance of the study

1. For teacher
The significance of the research is to explore and prove whether the eclectic approach is
effective to be applied in teaching reading so that the learners can improve their reading
ability as optimally as possible. The result of the study will be used as a consideration to
raise teachers’ awareness in developing and applying the suitable technique in their teaching
and learning process.
2. for student
The use of the eclectic approach in the teaching and learning process will surely attract the
students’ attention because they feel that whatever they study in the classroom is actually
useful for their daily life. They think that the classroom situation is interesting and the
students can imagine themselves in a situation related to the text but beyond their own
experience. Besides, the use of the eclectic approach in teaching reading will activate the
students to learn.

Review of the Related Literature

The last decade has brought a growing consensus on the range of skills that serve as the
foundation for reading and writing ability (Neuman, 2000). Children must develop code-related
skills, phonological awareness; the alphabetic principle many systematic correspondences
between sounds and spellings, and a repertoire of highly familiar words that can be easily and
automatically recognized (McCardle, 2001)(McCardle & Chhabra, , 2004) Given the tremendous
attention that early literacy has received recently in policy circles and the increasing diversity of
our child population, it is important and timely to take stock of these critical dimensions as well
as the strengths and gaps in our ability to measure these skills effectively. (Roskos, 2006) Verbal
abilities are consistently the best predictors of later reading achievement (Scarborough, 2001)
skilled readers typically draw upon multiple levels of the language system with abilities
encompassing vocabulary, syntax, and discourse. (Anastasopoulos, 2003) Vocabulary size in
optimal settings may increase exponentially in the early years with children learning to
comprehend words spoken to them before they are able to produce them on their own. (Snow,
1998) Word knowledge, however, is not just developed through exposure to increasingly
complex language, but to knowledge-building language experiences that involve children in
developing and refining networks of categorically-related concepts. (Neuman, 2001)

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For children to become skilled readers they will need to develop a rich conceptual
knowledge base and verbal reasoning abilities to understand messages conveyed through print.
Successful reading ultimately consists of knowing a relatively small tool kit of unconscious
procedural skills, accompanied by a massive and slowly built-up store of conscious content
knowledge. It is the higher-order thinking skills, knowledge, and dispositional capabilities that
enable young children to come to understand what they are reading. (Celano, 2006) Learners who
struggle with comprehension possess inefficient strategies and use them inflexibly. They are
usually unaware of what good comprehenders do and need to be shown how and when to apply
a small repertoire of comprehension strategies. Providing students with explicit instruction in
comprehension strategies can be an effective way to help them overcome difficulties in
understanding texts (Graham & Bellert, 2004). The more explicit the comprehension strategy and
self-regulatory instruction, the higher the likelihood that the learner will make significant gains in
comprehension (Manset-Williamson & Nelson, 2005). As learners become more competent and
confident of their comprehension, the less support they require from the teacher. (Pearson, 2002)
From the later 1960s, Situational Language Teaching began to be rejected. Later on, some new
principles were rapidly accepted. They became known as the Communicative Approach of which
there are many versions. All of them aim to “(a) make communicative competence the goal of
language teaching and (b) develop procedures for the teaching of the four language skills that
acknowledge the interdependence of language and communication.” (Richards, 1986, p.66). It
starts from a theory of language as communication. Classroom activities focus on meaningful
tasks and information sharing. In these activities, students contribute a lot in a cooperative
atmosphere. The teacher is the facilitator of the communication process and the participant of
learning-teaching group. It is a great progress to include communicative and contextual elements
into teaching since language is a tool for communication. Its classes are much more interesting.
However, sometimes students have no sense of achievement. It is difficult for students with poor
grammatical ability to develop ideal communicative competence. And the adoption of CLT
requires the development of materials and evaluation systems.
In the mid-fifties, Audiolingualism appeared on the basis of Army Specialized Training Program
(ASTP) in America. Although in many aspects, it sounds similar to the Oral Approach, it differs
in its alliance with American structural linguistics and contrastive analysis. Language is viewed
as a system containing meaningful elements governed by certain rules. Behaviorism manifests
itself in this approach. Language is regarded as verbal behavior and habit formation is
considered crucial. Dialogues and drills are the basic elements of practice. Aural-oral training is
provided before developing other skills. This approach leads to widely used courses such as
English 900. When its theoretical foundations were attacked, this approach declined. Its failure
can also be traced to “lack of effectiveness of the techniques in the long run” (Stern, 1983, p. 465).
Basic patterns cannot ensure learners the ability to talk about different topics.

Materials and Methods

The study was conducted with 40 Iranian students who are studying English at different
institutes in Iran. Researcher tried to have the same number of female and male participants in
both experimental and control group.

Data Analysis Procedure

The results of post test were analyzed for further discussion via ANCOVA on the scores obtained
from experimental and control group to see whether eclectic approach in reading had any effects
on EFL learners' reading comprehension ability.
Results
A descriptive statistical analysis was done on the collected data of OPT (Oxford Placement Test)
test. The results are shown in Table (4-1).

Table 1: Descriptive Statistics for the Proficiency Test

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N Mean SD

110 32 10.32

This table shows the result obtained from the proficiency test, OPT. The mean and standard
deviation are presented.
Table (2) shows the number of students who took the pre-test and post-test. It should be
mentioned that no one excluded.

Table 2: Number of Students Participated in Pre-test and Post-test Cases

Included Excluded Total

N Percent N Percent N Percent

Pre-test*group 40 100% 0 0% 40 100%

Post-test*group 40 100% 0 0% 40 100%

Forty participants were selected for this study. They were divided into two groups, experimental
and control. The descriptive statistical analysis done on the collected data of pre-test and post-test
is shown in table (3).

Table 3: Descriptive statistical analysis done on the collected data of pre-test and post-test
N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation
Pretest 20 18.00 25.00 21.5000 1.96013
Posttest 20 28.00 39.00 33.0500 2.87411
Valid N (list wise 20

Interpretive Statistics
The descriptive statistical analysis done on the collected data of pre-test and post-test is shown in
the table 4.4. The mean and standard deviation of each group are included.
In this study, in order to investigate the research hypothesis “Eclectic-oriented instruction will
not affect Iranian EFL learners' reading comprehension ability”, the differences between mean
scores of pre-test and post-test of control and experimental group were calculated through
ANCOVA.
Before running ANCOVA, the following hypotheses were examined:
-test and post -test)

-test and post-test was examined through spread

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As graph(1) shows, because the regression lines are parallel, there is a linear relationship between
the two variables, pre-test and post-test. It means that the relationship between the two variables
in both groups is the same. In order to examine the equality of variances, Levene's Test of Equality
of Error Variances was run. It tests the null hypothesis that the error variance of the dependent
variable is equal across groups.
In order to examine the equality of variances, Levene's Test of Equality of Error Variances was run.
It tests the null hypothesis that the error variance of the dependent variable is equal across
groups.

Table 4: Levine’s Test of Equality of Error Variance

F df1 df2 Sig.

.517 1 18 .481

According to table 4 the calculated F is not significant. So there is equality of variances and
ANCOVA can be run.
The data in table (5) are related to test of homogeneity of regression. Before running
covariance, between-subjects effects of pre-test-group should be investigated.

Table 5 Tests of Between-Subjects Effects

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Source Type III Sum of Partial Eta

Squares df Mean Square F Sig. Squared
Corrected Model 127.695a 2 63.847 37.101 .000 .814
Intercept 2.947 1 2.947 1.713 .208 .092
Pretest 123.645 1 123.645 71.849 .000 .809
Group .130 1 .130 .075 .787 .004
Error 29.255 17 1.721
Total 22003.000 20
Corrected Total 156.950 19

As table 5 shows, between subjects effect (a, b) is not significant (F=0.075, sig=0.787). It shows that
the data supports homogeneity of regression. Therefore, covariance should be run just for
between – subjects effect of post-test and the group to show whether mean scores of the two
groups are the same or not. The result of this analysis is demonstrated in table 6.

Table 6: Mean of reading comprehension ability

N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation

pretest 20 18.00 25.00 21.5000 1.96013
posttest 20 28.00 39.00 33.0500 2.87411
Valid N (listwise) 20

Table 7 shows the means of dependent variable of reading comprehension ability. The data
demonstrate that the means of experimental group are upper than control group. Sum of analysis
of covariance (ANCOVA) of reading comprehension ability in experimental and control group
after eliminating between-subjects effect is demonstrated in table 4.8.

Table 7: Sum of analysis of covariance

Source Type lll Sum of Square df Mean Score F Sig Partial Eta Squared

Corrected Model 1879.415 2 939.71 354.48 .00 .95

Pretest 818.52 1 818.52 308.76 .00 .89
Group 805.42 1 805.48 303.84 .00 .89
Error 98.08 37 2.65
Total 46200 40

As it can be seen, the corrected model (f=00, F=354.48) is statistically significant. The results
(F=303.84 , Sig=.00, Eta=.89) shows that there is a difference between two groups. It means that
there is significance difference between experimental and control group. As a result the null
hypothesis “eclectic-oriented instruction will not affect Iranian EFL learners' reading
comprehension ability” will be rejected, so it can be concluded that eclectic approach had an
effect on Iranian EFL Learners reading comprehension ability.

Conclusion
Educational researchers argue that children do not learn to read naturally; therefore, when used
independently, whole language or language experience methods are not an effective way to teach
reading to elementary students (Pressley & Rankin,

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1994). As Spache and Spache (1969) point out, “Few of the reading behaviors we expect
to see in comprehension or critical reading, except perhaps vague main ideas and retention of
scattered details, appear spontaneously among pupils (p. 470). Secondly, children’s reading,
writing, listening, and speaking abilities and vocabularies do not develop simultaneously.
Instead, their reading and writing abilities develop at a much slower rate than their speaking and
listening abilities. Therefore, information cannot be easily transferred from one mode of
communication to another at this stage of development (Matthes, 1972).
The whole language method teaches beginning readers to use pictorial clues to identify unknown
words, but what happens when the student progresses beyond picture books? For these reasons,
the whole language method falls short as a useful method for teaching reading to elementary
students.

The results of the present study also supports the findings of the former studies indicating that an
eclectic approach to teaching reading has a stronger influence on the reading comprehension
ability of EFL learners.

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