The Effect of E-Learning Sessions on the Development of Reading Comprehension: A Case of EFL Students’ Perceptions at Saudi Electronic University

Abstract

This study investigated Saudi EFL university students’ perceptions toward the development of reading comprehension through e-learning sessions. A cross-sectional questionnaire was utilized and distributed to a sample of 140 participants at Saudi Electronic University. Descriptive statistics, independent sample paired t-test and one-way ANOVA were used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that EFL university students had positive perceptions of the use of online sessions to practice the reading comprehension skill. The majority agreed that reading comprehension strategies such as skimming and scanning were more appropriate to online sessions. E-learning helped these students to be more motivated and created an atmosphere conducive to independent learning. The participants appreciated the role of online sessions in enhancing their reading comprehension skills and facilitating the level of difficulty of any reading passage. Significant differences were identified relating to the respondents’ gender and academic year. Female students were more satisfied with e-learning than male students. It is recommended that in light of the rapid growth of e-learning in Saudi Arabia, educational institutions should provide online learning programs and develop well-structured courses for e-learning implementation.

The Effect of Gender Differences on Foreign Language Learning

“…Certainly, the results by Alhumsi (2021) for reading comprehension do not support the contention that girls are better L2 readers than boys, but the authors make more clear findings that average ability students are hindered by the task. Now we know that both males and females are about equally affected.…”

Metacognition as a Reading Strategy in Incoming University Students

“…Most respondents agreed that reading strategies, such as leafing and scanning, were more suitable for online classes, as this e-learning has helped motivate students and create an atmosphere that encourages independent learning (Alhumsi et al 2021) showing a significant difference in text comprehension skills between students and students. learned to read using different methods (Başar & Gürbüz, 2017) that helped improve students' levels of text comprehension in which they improved significantly after the moving image narration program which has been applied to test techniques and more research is needed since the Results challenge reading comprehension models by oversimplifying the complex relationships between word recognition and comprehension.…”

“…Currently it is sought to know what types of reading strategies are the most used by teachers worldwide, it is estimated that pre-reading strategies are the most used (Asikcan et al, 2018), within the main skills for text comprehension are those of higher order, but in many countries of the world they are not taught to students (Schmidt et al, 2021), At the same time, a technique used to improve reading comprehension is to take note of what has been read (Lloyd et al, 2022), likewise, another strategy that B Metacognition as a Reading Strategy in Incoming University Students is frequently taught and has achieved good results in primary education is to think aloud (Sönmez & Sulak, 2018); In turn, in some Asian countries skimming and scanning techniques are used for the development of reading comprehension (Alhumsi et al, 2021); another widely used reading strategy to retain information is the SQ4R (Survey-Question-Rewrite-Review) method (Başar & Gürbüz, 2017); Also, it has sought to demonstrate that the use of narratives and images with movement is a useful reading comprehension strategy (Maine y Shields, 2015), in the same way, peer tutoring is used as a strategy to achieve good reading comprehension (Valdebenito & Duran, 2015), in addition, in some study centers the method of teaching by pairs or reciprocal is used to develop in students mental strategies that lead to correct reading comprehension (Soriano-Ferrer et al, 2013), It should also be mentioned that the use of concept maps or visual organizers is a powerful strategy to develop a good understanding of texts (Soleimani & Nabizadeh, 2012), on the other hand, a good strategy is the correct use of mobile devices since these tools allow access to a large amount of scientific information that can enrich the student reading level (Chang et al, 2021), Moreover, it is emphasized that the best way to promote the use of reading strategies in students is to instruct them from the first years of their academic training (Braojos et al, 2014).…”

The Relationship of Metacognitive Reading Strategies Used by Saudi EFL Learners and their Emotional Intelligence

“…Recently, within the field of the reading comprehension research in L1/L2, one's metacognitive awareness, when he is reading, has been paid considerable interest (Alhumsi, Alshaye, & Sendi, 2021;Anderson, 2002;Mokhtari & Sheorey, 2002;Sheorey & Mokhtari, 2001). In their study, Sheorey and Mokhtari (2001) examined how much both native and non-native English readers differ in their cognitive, metacognitive, and support strategy use while reading.…”