TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICES OF READING STRATEGIES TO DEVELOPING LEARNERS’ READING SKILL

Abstract

Reading is an essential skill for English as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL). For many, reading is the most important skill to master. With strengthened reading skills, ESL/EFL readers make greater progress and attain greater development in all academic areas. In this regard, Wallace (1992) states that reading is an interactive process that goes on between the reader and the text resulting in comprehension with a purpose to gain information, verify existing knowledge, in order to critique writers' ideas or writing styles, for readers’ enjoyment or to enhance the knowledge of the language being read. So, reading is an important means not only to gain knowledge but also to pursue further studies. This is also true that reading skill offers learners a wide range of interesting information as well as a variety of language expressions and structures which are of great usefulness for developing other language skills—writing, speaking and listening. When dealing with a reading lesson, students often experience the lack of reading strategies which are essential for them to overcome the challenge in the classroom. Teachers’ role for teaching strategies is more important while dealing with reading lessons in the classroom. Nuttal (1996) values that as a teacher, one must aim to develop such a reading skill in their students that they could get the real taste of reading as the independent fluent readers which, in fact, is the ultimate goal of teaching reading So, it is essential to have good reading strategies with ESL/EFL teachers through which students can boost up their reading skills thereby helping them to develop their language proficiency. Besides developing reading proficiency of students, teachers who train students to use reading strategies can also help them become autonomous language learners. As a result, teaching students learning strategies is an important duty of language teachers since learning strategies can help students monitor and take charge of their own learning. Helping students understand good language learning strategies and training them to develop and use such good language learning strategies can be considered to be important characteristics of a good language teacher. Teachers have their own perceptions /cognitions/theories about teaching and learning often influenced by their trainings, work experiences and so on. Thus, the primary purpose of this study was to explore teachers’ perceptions and their classroom practices of reading strategies to developing learners’ reading skill in the EFL classrooms and also to explore to what extent English language teachers’ classroom practices correspond their perceptions. In general, the current study employed a qualitative research approach in order to provide a more holistic and comprehensive view of the participants in terms of teaching reading and reading strategies adopted in their classroom practices. In addition, qualitative approach of data collection and interpretation was adopted in order to get individuals to reflect thoughtfully about what they would see, feel and believe regarding the reading strategies to developing learners’ reading skill. So, methods like in -depth interview and classroom observations were the main tools to explore the actual practices of the research participants. The result of the study reveals that developing reading strategies to the students in EFL reading classes are of great importance for them to develop their reading skills. Moreover, effective classroom practices by applying appropriate reading strategies enhance and support the development of learners’ reading skill.