Developing Saudi EFL student's reading skills through schema-based techniques

Abstract EN

Reading is one of the main four language skills.

As a receptive skill, it enables learners to receive a significant comprehensible input which can be used later on in speaking or in writing.

Research indicates that reading comprehension is a highly complex, interactive, constructive process in which students actively reconstruct the original intentions of the writer(s) by drawing on what they already know to make use of the new knowledge.

The researcher examined the impact of schema-based techniques on developing Saudi first-year secondary school students' reading comprehension skills.

Thirty five students representing the experimental group students were taught through the schema-based techniques, while a class of thirty eight students receiving regular instruction represented the control group.

A pre-post reading comprehension test was given to the two groups before and after the treatment.

Results provided support for the four hypotheses of the study.

The experimental group out-performed the control group on the post-test in overall reading comprehension as well as in each reading comprehension skill.

Furthermore, the experimental group students achieved tangible progress in their reading comprehension after being taught through schema-based techniques.

Hence, these positive findings of the study proved the effectiveness of schema-based techniques in developing first-year secondary school students overall reading comprehension and each reading comprehension skill as well.