Cebu International EFL Conference

Abstract of paper

Author

Neelawan Vanichakorn, Ed.D.
Lecturer, Department of Social and Applied Science, College of Industrial Technology
King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok, Bangkok, Thailand

Title
Teacher Modeling of Explicit Reading Strategies in EFL Graduate Reading Classes: Can They Become a Better Reader at Later Age

Abstract
In the Thai higher educational contexts, the ability to use English well is crucial at Thai universities as many academic texts, references, and internet materials are in English. Graduate and post-graduate students require considerable skills and competence in their English proficiency. This study, therefore, aimed to explore the roles of a teacher in modeling explicit reading strategies necessary for reading expository and academic texts. The purpose was (1) to find out whether the students benefited from the explicit instruction and (2) to what degree they perceived the teacher modeling of each strategy during the course of the study.  

A total of 105 graduate students enrolled in two Master Programs at a top-five higher institution in Bangkok, Thailand who were required to take the English Reading Skills Development Course were participants of the study.  During the two-month course, the teacher modeled active reading strategies by making implicit strategies explicit, including vocabulary analysis, explicit teaching of grammar and syntactic structures, context clues, reference and inference, text organization, as well as the uses of linking devices and transitions. 

Data collections included a pre-and post-test, a questionnaire, and an informal focus-group interview.   Quantitative results showed an improvement in the students’ reading comprehension performances, and data from the interview revealed a positive reaction to the benefits of explicit models of reading strategies. In addition, students’ comments on teacher’s supportive roles, opportunities to demonstrate skills, classroom organizations, and some problematic issues were also discussed.