Previous Studies in the Literature
According to Alyousef (2006), research undertaken over the last few years have changed the view of reading as a mere process of decoding. Alyousef (2006) argues that the state of EFL/ESL reading theory has been particularly influenced over the last few decades by researchers who view reading as a ‘guessing game,’ where readers are supposed to reconstruct as best as they can, the message that the author encodes. In addition, Alyousef (2006) argues that research, as well as practice in TOSOL, has been greatly influenced through hypotheses of language acquisition, particularly by the effect of the ‘Schema Theory’ on many of the studies that deal with reading compression.
In his study, Fauzi (2007) found a correlation between the students’ level of vocabulary knowledge or mastery and their reading. Moreover, Fauzi (2007) argued that students’ achievements in vocabulary plays a lot in influencing their reading compression, including skills such as listening, reading as well as speaking. Fauzi (2007) also was for the idea of motivation in learning, speaking as well as student speaking abilities in achieving productive language development among the ESL/EFL learners.
Siriphanich and Laohawiriyanon (2010) used mind technique in order to improve reading compression abilities among Thai EFL students and argued that the use of visual frameworks, including charts, diagrams as well as figures were important in improving learning and comprehension among the students. According to Siriphanich and Laohawiriyanon (2010), mind maps are very effective in helping to communicate information, since they can clarify difficult information into simple and meaningful illustrations for learners to develop holistic understanding of learnt content.
References
Alyousef, H. (2006). Teaching reading comprehension to ESL/EFL learners. Journal of Language and Learning, 5(3), 64-67. Retrieved from
Fauzi, A. (2007). The correlation between students’ vocabulary achievement and speaking ability (Unpublished bachelor’s thesis). Islamic University, Jakarta, Indonesia. Retrieved from
Siriphanich, P, & Laohawiriyanon, C. (2010). Using mind mapping technique to improve reading comprehension ability of Thai EFL university students. International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences, Songkhla, Rajabhat University. Thailand. Retrieved from