SHARING THE READING SECRET: USING THINK-ALOUD TO IMPROVE READING COMPREHENSION OF L2 TEXTS

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of thinking-aloud on L2 reading in
relation with the type of task Iranian EFL readers engage in while
reading activity. In so doing, 360 students were selected and assigned
to experimental and comparison groups. The subjects in experimental
groups were instructed to verbalize whatever they were thinking as
their thought naturally came to mind while reading and doing the
assigned tasks. The results indicated that the instructional procedure
had contributed to the improvement of the EFL students’ reading
comprehension. By and large, the analysis of think-aloud protocol can
provide language learners with a means for monitoring their reading
process. Moreover, it gives an opportunity for language teachers to
become more sensitized to various comprehension problems that
students encounter and offers clues to understand potential weakness
that students may have in their L2 reading.