Collaborative Strategic Reading and Critical Reading Ability of Intermediate Iranian Learners

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine how collaborative strategic reading may increase critical reading of EFL students at the intermediate level. Forty students majoring in English language literature at the University of Mazandaran participated in this study. In the experimental group, the students were taught collaborative strategic reading. The students in the control group were taught in the traditional way. The instruction of both groups lasted for 10 sessions and every session continued for 90 minutes. A pre test and post test were given to both groups before and after the treatment. A self designed questionnaire and interview were also administered to the experimental group only in order to examine the attitude of students toward CSR. A two-tailed independent sample t-test was applied to analyze the pre test and post test results of the experimental and control group to check if there was any significant difference between the students’ performance regarding their critical reading ability. The result indicated that students in the experimental group with CSR instruction outperformed the students in the control group. Therefore, the finding in this study indicated that CSR instruction improved students’ critical reading. The results of the self designed questionnaire and interview revealed that students had a positive attitude toward CSR.