Effects of Strategy Instruction Focus Activities on students' reading strategy use

This study investigated (1) the existing reading strategies used by university students, (2) those strategies not reported used but which apparently matched students’ academic needs, and (3) the effects of reading strategy instruction on students’ strategy use. Two pre-intermediate level classes (one as the control group and one as the experimental group) studying at Çukurova University, and one teacher, who taught in both classes, participated in this study. The experimental group studied the Strategy Instruction Focus Activities (SIFA’s) during four weeks of treatment while the control group followed their current reading syllabus. To detect students’ existing reading strategy use, the Reading Strategy Questionnaire, given to both groups, stimulated recall procedures with samples from both groups (4+4= 8), the participant teacher/researcher conferencing were used and the results were triangulated before the treatment had started. During the four weeks of instruction, the experimental group students’ SIFA cued feedback sheets were analyzed. After the treatment, the data gathered through the same questionnaire and post treatment interviews conducted with samples from both groups was used to compare students’ strategy use. Three cases in the study were also analyzed to enrich the qualitative data of the study. The between and within the group analyses revealed that both groups had similar reading profiles before and after treatment, and neither group showed significant changes in the strategy use. The analysis of the SIFA Feedback Sheets, post treatment interviews, and three cases imply that strategy instruction can have a positive impact on students’ strategy use.