The role of strategy training and individual learner differences on L2 reading comprehension and strategy use

The present quasi-experimental study investigates if explicit reading strategy instruction improves the L2 reading comprehension skill and strategy use of participants in EFL context. It also explores the effect of individual learner differences on L2 reading comprehension. The participants were 46 EFL university students. Three intact classes were randomly assigned to two experimental (28) and one control group (18). Four-hour explicit reading strategy instruction was given to the experimental group over 2 weeks integrated into their English classes. The instruction was based on CALLA (Chamot & O'Malley, 1994). The participants completed English reading comprehension tests, Survey of Reading Strategies-SORS (Mokhtari & Sheorey, 2002) and Foreign Language Reading Motivation Questionnaire (Mori, 2002). Lastly, I conducted semi-structured interviews to explore the views of participants about the effectiveness of strategy instruction. To analyze the data Mixed design ANOVA and multiple regression analyses were conducted. Mixed design ANOVA results demonstrated that no significant difference was found in reading comprehension and strategy use between the experimental group and control group upon the instruction, indicating that the instruction did not contribute significantly to the improvement of students' L2 reading comprehension. Regression analysis indicated that individual learner differences were not significant predictors of English reading comprehension. Interviews demonstrated that students in the experimental group held positive attitudes toward the strategy instruction.