Chapter one
Introduction
0.0 Introduction
This chapter aims to introduce, and to present the background of the study, the problem statement, the objectives of the study, research questions, significance of the study, scope and limitations, definition of terms, and the summary of this chapter.
0.1 Background to the Study
English is one of the most commonly used languages in the world in which learning English as a second or foreign language is very significant. English language is used by about 328 million speakers worldwide (Lewis, 2009). In fact, the significance of learning English language is highly emphasized throughout different cultures and array of people that make up our global speech community (Mugglestone, 2006). English language, nowadays, is the key for participating in the global communication and creating a sphere for modern life. It has a dominant position in science including technology, medicine and computer. English is the most widely used language in sectors such as business, trade, diplomacy, international organisations and companies, mass media and journalism, sport and youth life, music, education systems and most importantly in foreign language teaching. It is through all the means above that English language has found its way into many cultures (Sholawati & Savitri, 2015).
In this connection, it is obvious that Arabic is the official language in Jordan where English is used as a foreign language for many purposes. There is a long tradition of usage of English language, and it cannot be ignored that Jordan was administrated by Great Britain under the League of Nations’ Mandates System until 1946. English language in Jordan is commonly communicated in business, administrative, and political sectors and metropolitan sections of the country. It is sometimes informally spoken by the elite and educated populations throughout the country (Abdo and Breen, 2010). But with regards to the academic environment in Jordanian schools and universities, the significance of English language is limited to the process of enabling students to pass School exams and universities’ entrance selection criteria. Al-Khotaba (2010), AL-Sawalha and Chow (2012) stated that teaching English as a foreign language (EFL, hereafter) in Jordan has also gone through transformation just like other related countries that consider the teaching of EFL as an academic and instrumental language that is necessary in all folks associated with life.
As directed by the ministry of higher education in Jordan, there are four major skills that a learner of English as a foreign language or second language needs to master throughout his/ her academic journey. This includes listening, reading, speaking and writing. Among these basic skills, the most intricate to master is probably the reading skill, but also it is of utmost significant in curriculum design at any learning time or period of assessment in all learning institution (Al Omari, 2004). Furthermore, reading makes up twenty-five % of a totally macro-skilled human being, the seventy five being composing, writing, listening and speaking and reading which is considered to be probably one of the most fascinating and enriching things man has discovered (Snatiago,2010).
In a research on student’s reading comprehension at university level, Aghasafari and Malayeri (2015) discovered that reading comprehension is a complex process: the reader has to construct meaning by interacting with text using his or her previous knowledge and experience and the information that can be found in the text. The more background information related to the text the reader possesses, the easier it is for him or her to understand the text. Moreover, each text is unique in regard of the structure of the text, its genre, vocabulary, and language. Several factors influence a reader’s interaction: how easy the text is to read, how accurately it follows the conventions of its genre or structure, the language it is written in, and even the type and the size of font. Reading is thinking cued by written language. Effective readers locate the basic information from the text. Literal comprehension is needed when reading fiction as well as when reading non-fiction. In fiction, a reader has to identify the characters and follow the events of the story. In non-fiction, a reader needs to comprehend the topic, learn new facts related to it, and be able to find and remember important information (Scharer, Pinnell, Lyons & Fountas 2005, 25).
Research has shown that English as a foreign language learners face problems not only in learning new vocabulary, words, phrases, syntactic patterns, and phonology, but also in developing reading comprehension skill. Consequently, the researcher concurs with different scholars such as Sheorey & Mokhtari (2001) who affirm that English as a foreign language learners should be given the prospect to investigate the systematicity of language at diverse levels including reading, particularly at the reading comprehension skills and strategies.
Therefore, reading is a multifaceted process that develops only with practice. There are certain aspects of reading, such as fluency and word recognition, which can be learned in a few years. These basics must be mastered but at the same time reading comprehension should be emphasised in the process. Students can repeat words on a page all day long but if they don’t have the necessary comprehension skills they will not be able to make predictions about what will happen next, sequence or characters, clarify confusing parts of the text, monitor their understanding of content or connect what they’re reading to their own experience or prior knowledge. http://www.k12reader.com/the-importance-of-reading-comprehension/.
Due to the relevance of reading comprehension, varied types of reading strategies have been proposed, outlined and evaluated in terms of developing the comprehension skill of students at higher education level (Madkhali, 2005).
In other words, reading comprehension strategies can be used to comprehend word sets and sentences that not only concentrate on the reading content and target texts, but that can also be used to show how the use of reading comprehension strategies and reading comprehension skill are related in order to achieve comprehension through reading texts (Koda, 2005). In relevance to previous discussion, the researcher intends to conduct a study to investigate the relationship between English Language and Literature student’s reading comprehension level and their use of reading strategies produced by 60 3rd year Jordanian students majoring in English Language and Literature at Jordan University / Aqaba branch in Jordan for the academic year 2016/ 2017.
1.1 Statement of the Problem
English is taught in Jordan as EFL and ESL in some major subjects whereby university students are supposed to learn all the main language skills. This includes reading, listening, speaking, and writing (Al-Rabee, 2004). But, most of Jordanian students at university level face difficulty when they attempt to comprehend a piece of reading appropriately due to the due to the students’ lack of knowledge of the reading strategies that may improve their comprehension abilities (Smadi & Alshra’ah, 2015). One of the major problems is to comprehend a piece of reading properly. Many of Jordanian researchers such as Amosh (2012), Jallad (2006), and Jarrah (2008) noticed that the low reading comprehension that English language and literature students suffer from may refer to the inappropriate use of reading strategies. These English language and literature students who have already spend many years of studying reading comprehension at university level are still incompetent and unable to comprehend an item of reading. This might be related to many reasons such as the reading comprehension and literature curriculum that is imposed by the Ministry of Higher Education in Jordan.
In relation to this, Bataineh and Zghoul (2006) note that the major reading comprehension problems that teachers of English language and literature at university level in Jordan complain about are those related to the students’ inability to comprehend a reading text. According to Monassar (2005) students at Jordanian universities face problems when they attempt to comprehend a reading text. Shatarat (1990) believes that Jordanian English language and literature students are incompetent in the comprehension skill because they face problems in the use of reading comprehension strategies. Although, these students understand the importance of comprehension skills and strategies that are necessary for comprehending a reading text, they still find it difficult to use them accurately.
Zughoul & Abdul-Fattah (2003) stated that most of lecturers of higher education in Jordan are highly concerned with developing their own students’ reading comprehension ability as they are expected to read as well as comprehend reading texts obviously. To achieve these objectives, the teachers direct all their initiatives towards equipping them with the suitable comprehension skills and methods required for advanced reading in a higher level.
Despite the significance of reading comprehension and its relation with the use of reading comprehension strategies in comprehending literary text at university level, this Bataineh & Zghoul (2006) believe that it has not received the attention it deserves in Jordan. This is reflected by the scarcity of research on cohesion problems. It is, however, hoped that this study which investigates the relationship between English Language and Literature students’ reading comprehension level and their use of reading strategies at the University of Jordan / Aqaba branch in Jordan for the academic year 2016 / 2017 will shed some light on the reading comprehension problems that Jordanian university students face to improve their reading comprehension quality.
1.2 Objectives of the Study
The main aim of this research study is to acquire data on the relationship between English Language and Literature students’ reading comprehension level and their use of reading strategies produced by 60 3rd year Jordanian students majoring in English Language and Literature at Jordan University / Aqaba in Jordan. In relation to this issue, this study aims to achieve the following objectives:
i. To investigate the reading strategies that are most commonly used by Jordanian English language and literature students at Jordan University in Jordan to achieve comprehension.
ii. To examine the extent in which reading strategies can predict English language and literature students’ achievement in English reading comprehension as a foreign language at university level.
iii. To analyse how Jordanian English language and literature students’ perception of reading for comprehension contributes to understanding their use of reading strategies.
iv. To correlate between Jordanian English language and literature students’ reading comprehension level and their use of reading strategies performance.
1.3 Research Questions
In order to achieve the objectives of the current research study, the present study aims at addressing the next research questions:
1. What reading strategies are most commonly used by Jordanian English language and literature students at Jordan University in Jordan to achieve comprehension?
2. To what extent can reading strategies predict English language and literature students’ achievement in English reading comprehension as a foreign language at university level?
3. How does Jordanian English language and literature students’ perception of reading for comprehension contribute to understanding their use of reading strategies?
4. What is the correlation between Jordanian English language and literature students’ reading comprehension level and their use of reading strategies performance?
1.4 Significance of the Study
The present study is conducted to assist English as foreign language (EFL) learners at higher education level to understand the significance of the relationship between English Language and Literature students’ reading comprehension level and their use of reading strategies produced by Jordanian students majoring in English Language and Literature at Jordan University/ Aqaba in Jordan. This study would help EFL learners by providing them with new knowledge and skills to develop appropriate comprehension skills based on the used reading comprehension strategies. Even though an EFL learner may have practical knowledge of advanced reading of the target language, they might not have the ability to comprehend well the reading texts. Therefore, this study on the relationship between English Language and Literature students’ reading comprehension level and their use of reading strategies hopes to provide learners with a further understanding and insight to improve their awareness of the significance of reading strategies in achieving higher level of comprehension in reading texts.
This research study is also useful for both EFL learners and teachers. It might provide them further ideas that can be used for further significance and improving their teaching methods. Its hoped that the findings with this study will enable the teachers to provide more positive feedback to their learners rather than merely providing comments on whether the reading work is great or not. It might also help them by providing recommendations on the kind of teaching materials and textbooks that are to be utilised. It will likewise provide suggestions to curriculum planners and material writers and designers in order to integrate components that emphasise the relationship between English Language and Literature students’ reading comprehension level and their use of reading strategies. From this point of view, the findings and outcomes of this research study can contribute significantly to research on reading through comprehension strategies in an EFL context.
1.5 Scope and Limitations of the Study
The present research is based only on 3rd year English Language as well as Literature programme students within a public university. The fairly small size sample utilized might not provide it the actual statistical support for any definitive findings that may be directly generalizable to the whole Jordanian higher education student population in comparable English Language and Materials programmes or different educational majors in other general public universities. Yet, the findings achieved from the chosen sample from this case study can provide practical insights on students’ basic comprehension performance and the relationship between English Language and Literature students’ reading comprehension level and their use of reading strategies, as there is scant research in this area in Jordan.
In the present research, two EFL teachers participated in analysing their perceptions on university students’ use of the relationship between English Language and Literature students’ reading comprehension level and their use of reading strategies and teaching of basic reading comprehension courses. Although, this may seem like a limitation, it is significant to note that these EFL teachers comprise the total number of teachers who teach the basic reading comprehension courses in the B.A English Language and Literature degree programmes at Jordan University. The current research acknowledges the fact that there may also have been other controlling factors in students’ learning environment during the time of conducting the main study that might have had an impact on their reading comprehension performance. This is why the triangulation methodology utilized as a vehicle for cross-validation.
1.6 Definition of Terms
This section discusses the concepts and terms that are operationalized in this research study. These terms include English as ESL, EFL, Reading Strategy, Planning Strategy, Reading Strategy Use, University-Level Jordanian Students, Reading Comprehension Achievement, and Reading Strategies Questionnaire:-
i. ESL: English as a Second Language: English learned in a country where it is used as First language.
ii. EFL: English as a Foreign Language: English learned in a country where it is not the first language used in communication.
iii. Reading Strategies: Langer (1982) defines reading strategies as the general patterns that reveal a reader’s resources for understanding. Johnson (1983) defines reading strategies as when the readers monitor, understand, and take action when necessary.
iv. Reading Strategy Use: Strategy use in this study is defined as the Saudi students’ agreement on some general statements that reflect their self-regulatory capacity.
v. University-Level Jordanian Students: Students, who are 3rd year majoring in the department of English language and literature in the University of Jordan / Aqaba in Jordan.
vi. Reading Comprehension Achievement: Reading comprehension achievement is the amount of learning, meaning, and information gained which readers are able to develop while reading. This achievement is measured by a score students obtain in a comprehension test. In this study, the maximum achievement score is 14 and the minimum is zero.
vii. Reading Strategies Questionnaire: RSQ is a measure of reading strategy use among EFL students. It consists of general inclination statements about three types of reading strategies (planning, attending, and evaluating).
1.7 Summary
Having discussed the elements of the first chapter, it is hoped that this study will help both EFL teachers learners overcome reading comprehension and use of reading strategies’ problems at the higher education level in Jordan. It can possibly help teachers and learners of English language and literature to investigate reading comprehension and use of reading strategies in students ‘ readings in the Jordanian universities context. It is assumed that overall comprehension and use of reading strategies of a piece of reading is multidimensional in nature. Nevertheless, it is significant to consider reading comprehension and the use of reading strategies to achieve comprehension. This is certainly done to establish the comprehension and appropriate use of reading strategies by students majoring in English Language and Literature at the University of Jordan / Aqaba in Jordan as a means to obtain overall comprehension of their reading.