The Effects of Multisensory Approach in the Development of the Reading Comprehension Skill

Abstract

Learning is a process that directly involves the use of senses as the gate that leads to achieve the development of knowledge such as the acquisition of reading skills. The development of the reading skill in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) has been object of several studies through the use of different approaches. However, the improvement of reading comprehension using the multisensory approach has been given little attention by part of EFL researchers. Reading comprehension has been one of the most difficult reading subskills to develop in young learners in the teaching and learning process of EFL in the Ecuadorian context. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of applying the Multi-Sensory Approach in the development of the reading comprehension in English as a Foreign Language. The influence of Multisensory Approach on the reading skill development in young learners has contributed significantly in the learning process. Davies (2012) talks about the importance of multisensory activities as essential in the multisensory approach to develop the reading skill as it allows stimulating learning and teaching experiences for all learners who are still improving their reading skills. These learning activities provide different multisensory experiences. To achieve this objective, a pre/post-test experimental research design was applied in the conduction of this quantitative research study. A group of 24 university learners in the context of Ecuador participated in the experimentation. The results evidenced that the use of the multisensory approach has a positive influence in the development of reading comprehension, contributing to the success of the EFL programme.

فعالية برنامج تدريبي قائم على النهج متعدد الحواس في تنمية مهارات الوعي الصوتي ومهارات تعرف الكلمة لدي تلاميذ المرحلة الابتدائية ذوي صعوبات تعلم القراءة

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