Developing academic reading skills

through strategy training

Sruti Akula (PhD ELE)

EFL University
 Presentation
Introduction
Description of the study
Theoretical framework
Tools used and the data (reflection grids, interview,
pre test, post test)
Interpretation of the data
Findings
Conclusion
Implications
 Introduction
The study argues that
Explicit strategy instruction needs to be
exploited as a valuable teaching/learning tool
 Self reflection grids, enabling self
evaluation, (thereby raising meta-awareness)
enhances reading comprehension and helps
struggling readers to become efficient readers
 The Study
Location: Kakinada A.P.
Target group: undergraduate science
students
Focus: Reading strategies
o Strategies are conscious techniques used
intentionally to solve problems encountered
while reading
o e.g. skimming, scanning, inferencing,
predicting
 Description of the study
 Why reading strategies?
o Readers at the undergraduate level
need to be self-dependent
o There is a need to read beyond the
textbooks
o It was observed that learners don’t
use reading strategies effectively
o Inadequate reading skills seem to hinder
academic progress
 Description of the study
Duration-18 hours spread across 12 days
Target group
o 15 undergraduate science students
o Science students as these skills are needed
for reading scientific texts (e.g.
summarizing, note-taking, note-making)
Intervention
o To develop academic reading skills
 Description of the study
Materials
o 6 units
o Each unit focuses on a reading strategy
o Unit consists of reading texts and tasks
o Scientific Texts- from popular science
Approach- interactive, task-based discussions
Here, the reading process, appropriate strategy
used is more important than arriving at the right
answer
Unit was divided into
o A pre-task discussion about the strategy in
use, the nature of the texts and tasks
o Completion of the tasks
o Post task discussion about the
reading processes and strategies used
o Filling the reflection grids
 Theoretical framework
The study operates on the premise that
reading is a process involving the use of
strategies that can be developed through
sustained teaching and practice
Explicit strategy instruction contributes
significantly to reading proficiency
Focus and methodology of the intervention
carried out for the present study (
diagrammatic representation)
Reflection grids
Purpose of the grids
o Capturing strategy use
o Reflection, self-evaluation
o Awareness raising

Grids had statements that aimed at

capturing the reading process, strategy use
6 grids were used for 6 units
 Reflection grids
Some statements were common in the grids
used while the rest were specific statements
focusing on strategy in use
General statements dealt with aspects like:
o Schema/back ground knowledge
o Reading style, process (reading at a slow pace;
predicting the content from the title; using
repetitive ideas, linkers to understand text
organization; drawing inferences)
 Reflection grids
o Use of L1 while reading in L2
o Dealing with unfamiliar words

Specific statements were about aspects like

o Reading style (skipping parts of the text,
rereading, reading in chunks)
o Note making techniques (underlining key
points)
 Structured interview
Responses
o Predicting saves time
o Using background knowledge made reading
effective
o Awareness about text organization helped
me improve my reading comprehension
 Structured interview
o Underlining key points was helpful in
capturing the gist of the text which in turn
helped in competing tasks
o Skipping and reading in chunks saved time
improving reading speed
o Note making tables helped while
summarizing
o Rereading to understand the text better
 Pre test
A Pre-test aimed at assessing learners’
reading proficiency was administered
It had reading texts followed by MCQs,
tasks on information transfer, comparing
two texts on the same topic and answering
short answer questions.
The mean of the pre-test scores of 15
selected students was 50.9%
 Post test
The post-test aiming at assessing the result of
the course and learners’ achievement.
It had pre-reading, while reading
and after reading activities/tasks

The mean of the post-test is 66%

Though the tasks were of a higher order when
compared to the pre-test there was improvement
in the mean
 Interpretation
It is widely agreed that strategies play a crucial
role in developing reading skills and that strategy
training techniques produce effective readers
suggesting that strategies should be taught
explicitly
Given below is the list of strategies most
preferred by the target group in the order of
priority
o Guessing the meaning of the unfamiliar words
from the context (100%)
 Interpretation
o Predicting what the text is about by looking at the
title (95.8%)
o Underlining the key points while reading (87.5%)
o Rereading the text several times going back and
forth to understand the text better (80%)
o Reading the text word by word at a slow pace to
enable understanding (64%)
o Drawing inferences from the text with the help of
the clues provided by the writer (61%)
 Interpretation
o Trying to link new ideas presented in the text with
existing knowledge while reading a text on a
familiar topic (57%)
o Skipping some parts of the text that are not needed
(53%)
o Looking for repetitive ideas and words to
understand the connection between different parts
of the text (53%)
 Interpretation
o Taking the help of linkers to understand the way
text is organized and to get a clear idea about
arguments developed in the text (50%)
o Reading the entire text quickly once to get the gist
and then reading paragraph by paragraph for
deeper meaning (50%)
o Reading in chunks (47%)
o Strategies related to using L1 while reading in L2
were least preferred
 Findings
Explicit strategy training can be done through
reading tasks, awareness raising discussions and
reflection grids
It enhances the academic reading skills of the
students, improves reading fluency, and builds
their confidence to read and comprehend academic
texts
Awareness raising using grids and discussions led
students to reflect on their reading processes (meta
awareness)
 Conclusion
A specially designed course in
strategy training results in improved
reading performance

Self-reflection and self-evaluation

enable learners to become better
readers
 Implications of the study

Reflection- for the learners as well

Teacher- action research

Teacher education- course design