THE EFFECTS OF SELF-QUESTIONING AND PERCEPTIONS ON LEARNING READING COMPREHENSION OF THE EFL STUDENTS AT A UNIVERSITY LEVEL

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the effects of self-questioning on pre-intermediate EFL students’ reading comprehension and explore their perceptions of learning to read with self-questioning. A quasi-experimental design was carried out among two groups of sixty-eight Vietnamese pre-intermediate students over a nine-week reading course using self-questioning and teacher-posed questions. The research instruments used were pre-and-post tests for reading comprehension, writing, and a questionnaire consisting of 28 items. The results of the study showed that self-questioning had a positive effect on reading comprehension. Data from the pre-test and post-test indicated that there were significant differences between the self-questioning group and the teacher-posed questions group in reading comprehension, especially local comprehension and writing related to the reading passage. The data from the questionnaires also revealed that the students had a positive perception of learning with self-questioning. The study suggested that self-questioning should be employed to improve the reading comprehension of pre-intermediate EFL students.