Strategy training to english language learners: consolidating reading strategies

Abstract

The influence of reading strategies is significant since it has contributed to understanding how students can improve their reading comprehension level, what strategies students can use to read more efficiently, and what the best didactic strategies are in order to teach reading. This project reports on an action research study developed with seventh-grade students in a private school in Bogotá, Cundinamarca, Colombia. The participants are 16 male students, whose ages range from 11 to 13 years old. The project implemented a mixed action research approach. Data was gathered using interviews, tests, surveys, think-aloud protocols, students’ artifacts, and teacher’s journals. The results showed the positive effects of the teaching of metacognitive reading strategies in students’ language learning process. The project aimed at helping students improve their reading awareness level, and be more efficient readers, letting teachers/educators obtain new insights into the teaching of reading strategies in specific contexts. Keywords: Reading instruction; metacognitive strategies; reading comprehension.