Priming interaction to foster reading engagement among tertiary level ESL students / Puteri Rohani Megat Abdul Rahim
This study examines the link between an interactive pedagogical approach and university students‘ engagement in second language reading. Recognizing the importance of university students acquiring effective reading skills, a considerable number of research on second language reading has been focu...
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| Format: | Thesis |
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2014
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| Online Access: | http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/4718/ http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/4718/1/Puteri_Rohani_FINAL_TESIS_PhD.pdf |
| Summary: | This study examines the link between an interactive pedagogical approach and
university students‘ engagement in second language reading. Recognizing the
importance of university students acquiring effective reading skills, a considerable
number of research on second language reading has been focussing on ways to facilitate
students‘ engagement in reading through the employment of reading strategies.
However, minimal research has explored lecturers‘ interaction as a strategy to promote
students‘ reading engagement. This dissertation explores the potential usefulness of
priming interaction in fostering students‘ reading engagement. The qualitative case
study approach was employed in an ESL reading class at a university, over a period of
14 weeks. The study explored ways of strategically fostering interaction throughout the
teaching and learning process. The methods used to gather data were observations,
semi-structured interviews, collection of documents such as the in-class letters, out-of
class letters; pre-teaching and post-teaching questionnaires; as well as the instructor‘s
lesson plans and reflective notes. The data obtained from these sources were analysed
and later triangulated using the constant comparative method. The findings from this
research show that students responded positively when the learning environment
provides opportunities for them to interact, to dialogue and to give voice to their
learning experiences. In addition, the role of interaction has contributed to the
participants‘ reading engagement because the elements under the pedagogical approach
permitted the participants to experience reading in an engaging, meaningful manner.
The primed interactions stimulate the students to become more aware and critical of
their assumptions during the reading process. When students are given opportunities to
experience concrete interactions through a planned and strategic pedagogical approach
and when the learning environment is built on trust and care, their interest to learn seem
to be fostered. However, findings also reveal challenges in planning interactions
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strategically because of the students‘ culture of learning. As such the study is significant
in advancing the knowledge base on teaching reading to ESL tertiary level students and
it highlights the potential value of considering interaction strategically primed to foster
engagement in reading. |
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