THE USE OF EXPLICIT AND IMPLICIT INSTRUCTIONS IN TEACHING READING STRATEGIES AND THEIR IMPACTS ON EFL LEARNERS' READING COMPREHENSION

Abstract

This study attempted to scrutinize the use of explicit and implicit instructions in teaching reading strategies and their impacts on Iranian EFL learners' reading comprehension. To this end, 117 Iranian college freshmen, both females and males at the age of 20-35, studying at the Islamic Azad University, Marvdasht Branch were chosen. To collect the necessary data, the researcher administered Key English Test (KET) to ascertain initial homogeneity of the groups at the onset of the study. The classes were assigned as the experimental groups initially and they received implicit and explicit instructions. After analyzing the data using an independent samples t-test and paired samples t-test to see if the groups perform significantly differently on the reading comprehension pre-test or not, it was determined that both explicit and implicit instructions of reading strategies had effects on the Iranian EFL learners' reading comprehension, and based on obtained data on mean scores from pretest to posttest, after the treatment, the explicit group outperformed.