The Effects of the 3-2-1 Reading Strategy on EFL Reading Comprehension

Abstract

This quasi-experimental study tested the effect of the 3-2-1 strategy on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' reading comprehension. A sample of Saudi EFL college-level students were randomly selected and divided into two groups: an experimental group (42 students) and a control group (43 students). Students of both groups took a reading comprehension test at the beginning of the 2010 academic year. The researcher used the 3-2-1 strategy when teaching the experimental group for six weeks whereas the students in the control group were not trained on the strategy. Students were matched according to their reading proficiency, taught by the same teacher (the researcher), and were similar in age. After six weeks of instruction, both groups completed the same reading comprehension test again. Measures of the means, standard deviations, and ANCOVA were used to determine the differences between the two groups. The study revealed that at the end of the six-week instruction, there was a significant statistical difference in reading comprehension between the two groups that favored the experimental group. The study concludes with recommendations for training EFL students and teachers on using different comprehension strategies, especially those that have proven to be effective in boosting reading comprehension such as the 3-2-1 strategy.