The purpose of this study is to analyze the reading comprehension items of the foreign language (English) section for the College Scholastic Ability Test and to propose effective instructional methods for improving reading comprehension abilities for ...
The purpose of this study is to analyze the reading comprehension items of the foreign language (English) section for the College Scholastic Ability Test and to propose effective instructional methods for improving reading comprehension abilities for high school students. For this end, the reading comprehension processes frequently used to solve the reading comprehension questions from 2012 to 2014 school year were analyzed, using Irwin’s model of five reading comprehension processes. Based on the results of the data analysis, some instructional methods were suggested in order for the students to successfully prepare for the College Scholastic Ability Test and for the teachers to help the students to improve their reading comprehension skills.
The major conclusions of this study are as follows:
Firstly, the results of the data analysis of the reading comprehension questions shows that integrative and macro processes account for a high rate among Irwin’s model of five reading comprehension processes. It suggests that the processes to understand the ideas in the context exactly, based on comprehensive thinking and inferences through using the prior knowledge, are considered highly important.
Secondly, each reading comprehension process is not applied independently but interactively affected. Throughout learners’reading comprehension processes, each process is correlated, and multiple processes are applied simultaneously. Each process enables the learners to apply other processes to their shortcomings complementarily and develop their active reading comprehension abilities.
Thirdly, as individual learners use their own reading comprehension skills and strategies, the most effective strategy which is applied to all levels of the learners cannot be proposed. Therefore, the teachers are encouraged to provide learning materials which draw the learners’ motivations and interest and develop the learners’ schema and to give the students opportunities to do a variety of reading comprehension practices. Further study is needed to develop reading comprehension strategies oriented to learners’ understanding, which helps the learners organize and check their learning by themselves.