The Effect of Teaching Reading Strategies on EFL Learners’ Reading Anxiety

Abstract

The present study was conducted to explore the effects of teaching reading strategies on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ reading anxiety. To fulfill the purpose of this study, 55 intermediate EFL learners were selected among a total number of 90 through their performance on a sample piloted Preliminary English Test (PET), and then randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups (27 in the control and 28 in the experimental groups). Subsequently, the Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS) was administered between the two groups to make sure that both groups were homogeneous in terms of their reading anxiety at the outset. Then both groups underwent the same amount of teaching time (14 sessions) by the same teacher using the same textbook. The students in the experimental group also received the instruction of the Super Six Comprehension Strategies (i.e. making connections, predicting, questioning, monitoring, visualizing, and summarizing). Finally, the FLRAS was administered again as the posttest to both groups and their mean scores on the test were compared through an independent samples t-test. The results (t = 2,718, p = 0.009 < 0.05) led to the rejection of the null hypothesis, thereby indicating that there was a significant difference between the experimental group and control group. In other words, the instruction of reading strategies significantly lowered EFL learners’ reading anxiety.