The Incorporation of Self-Questioning Training in the Reading Comprehension Course: The Case of Moroccan EFL University Learners

Mohammed Msaddek

Abstract


This study sets out to examine the role of self-questioning training in improving EFL university learners’ reading potentiality. It shows the extent to which instruction in self-questioning, as a metacognitive strategic move, can reinforce the learners’ reading behavior in coping with the written discourse. To meet this objective, a total of 113 first-semester university students participated in this quasi-experimental study. The data were collected by means of such instruments as the reading texts (i.e., narrative, expository), ‘self-report questionnaire’ and self-questioning instruction. The experimental group received training in self-questioning during the reading comprehension sessions (14 sessions) whereas the subjects in the control group (50) took their regular classes. The results show that the learners in the treatment condition considerably improved at the level of self-questioning usage across the pre-post-treatment stage. Thus, the study recommends that the technique of self-questioning be teachable and worthy of central importance in the higher education context.


Keywords


Reading comprehension; Self-questioning; Strategy training; Strategy use

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/11754

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