Setting Reading Goals and the Ultimate Achievement of Persian EFL Learners in a Computer-Mediated Environment

Abstract

This study aimed at investigating the effects of reading goals on L2 reading comprehension in a computer- mediated environment when reading is self-paced by the learners and students are responsible for their own comprehension. Sixty participants (30 males & 30 females) in three groups of 20 were provided with one of three reading goals: read to comprehend the text, read to take a test, and read to teach the material to another student. Then, the participants were asked to read two passages on a computer screen. A computer program, written in C#.NET program, presented the text on the screen four lines at a time, and measured the amount of time students would spend on each page initially, how many times students re-read pages, and how much time students would spend re-reading pages. L2 learners’ comprehension and learning strategies were measured in three ways: recall of materials, time spent reading each page of the text and time spent re-reading pages, and the number of times pages were re-read. Finally, after one month from the first test a posttest was administered to determine which group could remember materials better. The results revealed that recall of materials was significantly greater for the teaching-goal group than the other two groups in both first and second tests. Time spent re-reading was significantly greater for the teaching-goal group as well. These findings suggest that reading goals do have an effect on comprehension and recalling in a computer-mediated environment and students with a different reading goal performed differently while reading passages. This study proposed a way to reduce the burden of teaching on teachers and made the learners responsible for their study. Keywords: reading goals, computer-mediated reading environment, learning, immediate and delayed recall.

Interactive Model in Teaching Reading to Help Students to Understand English Texts

“…This case is proven by the inability of university students to show their English skills in receptive and productive ways (Munjin, 2008) This problem occurs because of the failure of English learning approach in junior and senior high school levels (Nurilhuda, 1999). This problem leads to another problem since the university students normally have shifted from learning how to read to reading to learn (Khorasgani, 2013). Low proficiency English background makes university students are unable to comprehend the content of the text Diyata, F. Interactive Model in Teaching Reading to Help Students to Understand English Texts they must read in order to gain more knowledge related to the field they learn in their major.…”