Contributions of First Language Poetry Reading Strategies and Second Language Proficiency to Comprehension of Second Language Poetry Texts in Iranian and Indian Contexts

Abstract

The current comparative study investigated the degree of contribution of awareness of poetry reading strategies in L1 and general proficiency in L2 to comprehension of poetic texts in L2 in EFL (Iran) and ESL (India) contexts of Iran and India. Totally, 221 Indian and Iranian pre-university students took the Nelson English proficiency test, poetry reading comprehension test in English, and a questionnaire about awareness of strategies for reading poetry in L1. Quantitative analysis of data using descriptive and regression analysis techniques showed the total regression weight for the two independent variables was more for the Iranian context than the Indian context. Likewise, separate analysis of each of the two independent variables indicated that the contributions of awareness of poetry reading strategies as well as language proficiency to English poetry reading comprehension are more in the Iranian context than in the Indian context. It was also found that poetry reading strategies and proficiency at two high and low levels do not contribute similarly to poetry reading comprehension for Iranian EFL and Indian ESL groups. As the context of learning affects the degree of the contributions of the awareness of poetry reading strategies in L1, and language proficiency in English to poetry reading comprehension in English, it is recommended that material developers and English languages teachers consider the importance of contextual factors (EFL vs. ESL) contributing to effective reading comprehension of poetic texts in English.