읽기 전 활동 유형과 텍스트 유형, 읽기 능력이 영어 지문 이해도와 흥미도에 미치는 영향

The effects of prereading activity, text type, and proficiency level on English reading comprehension and interests

  The present study has sought to examine the relative effectiveness of four prereading activities (i.e., sharing personal experiences, pre-questioning, providing visual materials, and vocabulary-preteaching) when employed in Korean EFL junior high school classes. Specifically, it examined (a) the treatment effects on the learners’ reading comprehension and interests, and (b) the interaction effects of treatment, text type, and proficiency level on the learners’ reading comprehension and interests. To this end, 160 second graders in five intact classes at a local junior high school in Busan participated in this study. They were asked to take a pretest and a pre-questionnaire, receive four-session treatments, and take a posttest and a post-questionnaire. The overall findings suggested that sharing personal experiences as a prereading activity was most beneficial for the learners, presumably because it helped them activate personal schemata as opposed to general schemata. Furthermore, unlike the previous studies, vocabulary-preteaching also helped the learners improve text comprehension and interests in English reading. However, the interaction effects of treatment and proficiency level were not observed. Pedagogical implications and directions for future research are discussed.