ENHANCING EFL LEARNERS' ENGLISH READING ABILITY BY USING VISUAL THINKING STRATEGIES

Abstract

The ability to read is considered a necessary skill for everyone, especially learners. This study aims to develop the reading ability of EFL learners. The objectives are as follows: (1) to examine the effects of Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) on the reading ability of EFL first-year learners; (2) to examine the effects of VTS on the reading ability of EFL third-year learners; (3) to compare the effects of VTS on the reading ability of EFL first-year learners compared to third-year learners; and (4) to explore the attitudes of learners toward learning reading through VTS. The participants consisted of 45 learners majoring in English at a university in Thailand. They were selected by a purposive sampling and divided into two groups: 20 first-year learners and 25 third-year learners. Each group was taught by VTS. The research instruments included four lesson plans, an English reading ability test, a questionnaire, and the semi-structured interviews. Mean score, standard deviation, a t-test analysis, and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) were used to analyze the quantitative data, while content analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data from the semi-structured interviews. The results revealed the effectiveness of VTS. Specifically, there were statistically significant differences between the pre-test and post-test mean scores of the first-year learners (t (19) = 4.49, p<.05). Similarly, there were statistically significant differences in the pre-test and post-test mean scores of the third-year learners (t (24) = 5.64, p<.05). When compared the effects of VTS of the first-year learners reading ability to those of the third-year learners, there were no statistically significant differences found (t (44) = 7.08, p <.05). This means that VTS was effective in developing reading ability with learners of different background. Additionally, the attitudes of learners towards learning reading through VTS was very positive. In general, the attitudes of the learners were at a very positive level (M=4.45). The interview response showed that learners favored this teaching method. This indicates that VTS can be a useful method to improve the reading ability of EFL learners.

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