The Effectiveness of Using Interactive Strategy

to Improve Students’ Reading Comprehension

There is no denying that reading is a fundamental skill when teaching foreign
languages, particularly Arabic, as it has occupied a significant portion of programs for
teaching Arabic to non-native speakers. Hug and Thu (2015) state that students who
get better at reading will also be able to write and talk more fluently, which will
.enable them to learn more about the language and culture and to extend their horizons
In general, when students read, they use specific mental processes, plans, or
actions known as reading strategies to understand what they read. These processes
include skimming, scanning, etc. I noticed during Sep1 the difficulties that a lot of
students had comprehending and interpreting texts. This has motivated me to examine
reading strategies and their impact on students' comprehension more closely in order
to learn how to help my students as much as possible by applying what we learned in
the diploma sessions and what was mentioned in the teachers' standards "2.4.3". I'll
concentrate on interactive reading, including top-down and bottom-up approaches, by
showing the advantages of these methods and how they affect students’ reading
comprehension, in addition to figuring out the challenges that students will face with
.these strategies

The principal emphasis of this paradigm, when we talk about the bottom-up
approach and according to Carrell (1989, as quoted in Ahmadi & Pourhosein
Gilakjani 2012), is on the smaller textual components, such as words, sentences,
phrases, and letters. Before comprehending a phrase or sentence, the reader reads it
word for word. This paradigm builds meaning from the smallest to the greatest
linguistic units by first decoding the smallest units, specifically phonemes,
graphemes, and words. The information found in the texts is interpreted by the reader
using prior knowledge. This model has certain shortcomings. One of the
disadvantages is that a reader can only succeed in reading when they are able to
interpret linguistic units and recognize word relationships. It is impossible for the
reader to retain the meaning of every word in their memory. There is an additional
.challenge in that words cannot be connected to one another

When we talk about the top-down approach, according to Goodman (1967), it is a

"psycholinguistic guessing game" in which readers use what they already know to
relate to a text and make connections between it and new information in order to
understand it. Instead of reading a text word for word, readers concentrate on picking
out the words that come next. They attempt to infer words' or phrases' meanings. The
reading text's title prompts readers to make predictions that help them narrow the
scope of what they read. Subsequently, they deduce the writer's intended meaning and
modify their assumptions in light of what they have read. Higher processing levels
serve as the foundation for comprehension, which then extends to the application of
.lower levels (Nuttall, 1996)

Grabe (1991) asserted that when they spoke about interactive strategy, both top-
down and bottom-up decoding were necessary for efficient reading. Top-down
reading can help L2 readers compensate for their bottom-up reading deficiencies.
They use their schemata to compensate for the lack of bottom-up knowledge in order
to derive meaning (Ahmadi & Pourhosein Gilakjani, 2012). This model, according to
Stanovich (1980), is based on data from a variety of sources, including schemata,
orthographic, lexical, syntactic, and semantic knowledge. The decoding processes aid
one another when readers read. They should use their prior knowledge to their
advantage if they are having trouble understanding the texts. Top-down model-
dependent readers employ textual cues to deduce meaning, but they need to
compensate for shortcomings such as poor word recognition and ineffective bottom-
up processing. The best text processing is achieved with this paradigm. In order to
improve L2 readers' abilities, educators should locate reading instructions based on
.this approach

After I read about reading strategies, I can say that interactive strategies are
methods used to analyze and choose the suitable method that we can use inside the
classroom, but each of these approaches has its strengths. So when we talk about
bottom-up advantages, we consider flexibility by allowing changes to be made during
the process. Permitting changes while the class is ongoing emphasizes adaptability
and responsiveness; it implies the capacity to modify or adjust elements as necessary
during the course of an activity or project, enabling a more fluid and dynamic
approach rather than sticking strictly to initial plans. Giving people and small groups
the ability to make decisions usually indicates a decentralized strategy, enabling a
greater sense of independence and strength. This may encourage quicker responses to
particular needs or difficulties in the classroom while also encouraging a sense of
ownership, creativity, and efficiency in decision-making processes, and each
.component of this approach can be tested inside the classroom system
On the other hand, we have top-down approach advantages. It suggests that it's
straightforward and accessible in terms of comprehension and execution. This quality
implies simplicity and clarity in both grasping the concept or process and putting it
into practice without significant complications or hurdles. It also provides clear
objectives and expectations, establishes specific, well-defined goals, and outlines
what is anticipated or required. This clarity helps in guiding actions and decision-
making, ensuring that everyone involved understands what needs to be achieved and
.what standards or outcomes are expected, thereby enhancing efficiency
So from my point of view, the two approaches work together to achieve the highest
.benefits of reading

Readers with interactive reading skills can read and think simultaneously.
Through the interaction of the text's details, their personal experiences, and their
understanding of how proficient readers think, readers construct meaning. Teachers
demonstrate these comprehension abilities for their pupils by reading aloud and
thinking aloud to them during interactive reading teaching. Then, engaged readers
understand their own texts by applying the same interactive strategies that their
.teachers have shown

Readers must engage with a text by posing questions to themselves, visualising

what they read, assessing its significance, and using prior information to improve
understanding. A reader may wonder, "What is this character doing and why does he
do it?" when she reads a novel. She gathers descriptive details and visualises the scene
in order to get clarification on her questions. "Does this remind me of anything I have
seen before?" she then asks herself. She draws a conclusion about the plot of the
 novel that responds to her initial query by drawing on her experience and prior
knowledge. The student follows the identical procedure that she observed her
.lecturers using

Top-down and bottom-up reading both are necessary for accurate comprehension.
Top-down reading can help L2 readers compensate for their shortcomings in bottom-
up reading Rumelhart (1977), Nunan (1990), and Grabe (1991), So here we can
.conclude that the strategies support each other
Supporters of reading methods believe that they can improve learners' reading
abilities and comprehension. Nevertheless, there are obstacles, such as teachers'
.inability to apply these tactics because of a lack of resources and training
Based on the prior research, the knowledge I have received from my diploma
programme, and the lesson I have learned from it. I'll draft a development plan that
takes into account my students' effective learning, with a focus on how they apply
. reading methods to improve their comprehension reading skills

In order to determine my students strengths and shortcomings, I will first evaluate

their reading comprehension abilities by assigning them an exam consisting of a text
and questions. In order to determine which areas my students need to improve, I will
also examine the findings. This will give me a general idea of the students' reading
.proficiency

Additionally, I plan to teach my students explicit reading strategies in every

reading lesson to improve their reading comprehension. This is based on my
experience and newfound knowledge from literature regarding the importance of
incorporating reading strategies into reading lessons. In order to accomplish that, I
think I should first impart to my students my understanding of the top-down and
bottom-up approaches. Employing both strategies can aid pupils in comprehending
the material they are reading more fully. While bottom-up processing helps students
utilize the words and phrases in a text to understand its meaning, top-down processing
helps students use the text's context and past knowledge to understand the meaning of
the text.My students will gain a general comprehension of the reading text by using
the top-down technique, and they will then apply this knowledge to generate
.predictions, develop mental frames
In order to improve my kids' comprehension, I will also begin teaching them reading
methods right away. I've put together a list of the reading strategies I want to teach
and practice, including using context clues, inferring, asking, summarizing, activating
past knowledge, and finding connections. I'll create a pacing schedule and start by
outlining the goals and advantages of each approach. In order to demonstrate how to
apply these reading skills, I will also read aloud and think aloud while doing so. I will
then give clear guidance on when and how to use this method for independent reading
.after that. In addition, I'll let my students practice the skills in guided reading sessions
Lastly, I hope to further my career development by working with colleagues to
provide efficient teaching strategies and learning resources that improve reading
.comprehension abilities

:References
Suraprajit, P. (2019). Bottom-up vs top-down model: The perception of reading -1
strategies among Thai university students. Journal of Language Teaching and
.Research, 10(3), 454-460
University of Jordan. (2023). Teachers standards -2
Pourhosein Gilakjani, A., & Sabouri, N. B. (2016). How can students improve -3
their reading comprehension skill. Journal of Studies in Education, 6(2), 229