The purpose of the present study was to identify the correlation between gender and reading preferences and reading strategies employed by 5th and 6th Grade students of primary school in Greece. The main objectives of the present study were (1) to identify possible differences between male and female students in employing cognitive and metacognitive strategies, (2) to record the difficulties encountered by males and females when reading and (3) to highlight possible differences between male and female students in reading preferences. 405 Greek students (206 boys and 199 girls, M=11.21 years old, SD.=0.47) participated in the study and were asked to fill in a questionnaire including questions related to reading preferences and attitudes. In addition, 32 students from the total sample were asked to choose their favourite text to read and think aloud about the processes they followed and the strategies they used. The questionnaire results indicated significant differences between male and female students in reading preferences, since the female students showed a greater preference for 'human-interest' stories and male ones preferred to read comics and action-stories. The verbal data revealed the female students' flexibility in strategy use and their higher metacognitive awareness compared to male students. Reading, gender and social factors are discussed in the light of citizenship education.
This paper outlines the rationale for and the purpose of designing and implementing a project aiming to make very young EFL learners develop their language skills through their involvement in interactive psychomotor activities. The project, which is a part of a broader longitudinal project having introduced EFL in the first primary school grade, was implemented in two 2 nd grade Greek classrooms with a total of 44 seven year old children. Multisensory teaching was followed through the use of a combination of activities: classroom creative activities included memory and word games, drawings, constructions, role-play games, pantomime as well as songs. In the gym, children participated in physical activities such as races, chases and hopscotch as well as dance and music activities, with the aim to improve their oral communicative skills and creativity. In order to examine the effectiveness and feasibility of the project, an evaluation study was conducted by using a pre-and post-language test and journals kept by the teachers. It was evident that the project had a positive effect on developing very young learners' language skills, and on enhancing their motivation to participate in psychomotor activities.
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