The interaction of different kinds of advance organizer strategies (graphic, verbal, and textual) and reading comprehension skills of right and left-brain EFL Learners Across gender
فاطمه امینی اصل
1
(
Department of English, Sarab Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sarab,Iran
)
فاطمه میرزاپور
2
(
ِDepartment of English, Sofiyan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sofiyan, Iran.
)
علی اصغر یوسفی آذرفام
3
(
English Language Department, Sofiyan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sofiyan, Iran
)
Keywords: Advance Organizers, Reading Comprehension, Left-Brained, Right-Brained, Textual Organizers, Graphic Organizers, Verbal Organizers,
Abstract :
This study investigated the effects of different kinds of advanced organizers, such as graphic, verbal, and textual organizers, on the reading comprehension of left- and right-brained Iranian EFL learners. The participants of the study were 64 female and 54 male intermediate-level EFL learners with ages ranging from 19 to 28 (M = 23) and varying degrees of brain dominance from Mohaghegh Language Institute in Tabriz, Iran. Four intact classes, one control group and three experimental groups including graphic organizer, verbal organizer, textual organizer groups participated in this study. The design of the study was a quasi-experimental design with a pretest and a posttest. The uniformity of the EFL students was ensured using the Oxford Placement Test (OPT). The Alert Scale of Cognitive Style (Loren, 1989) was used to identify left- and right-brained EFL students. The researcher created the pretest and posttest in this study to assess the participants' reading comprehension before and after the intervention. The ANCOVA results demonstrated significant difference in reading comprehension between participants who used graphic organizers and textual organizers; there was no statistically significant difference between participants who used verbal organizers and textual organizers. Students with right-brained personalities outperformed those with left-brained personalities in the graphic organizer group, but the reverse was true for the verbal organizer group. Additionally, the results demonstrated that females used advance organizers more skillfully than males did. The results imply that various advance organizers ought to be included in L2 reading courses.