The researcher collected research data from five sources: Pre- and Post-test on the two selected reading strategies application, Pre- and Post-study questionnaire on students’ response to the reading strategy instruction with picture books, an individual post-interview of the participants, participants’ worksheets, and the teacher’s
reflective teaching journal. The Pre- and Post-test helped to answer the first research question in this study, that is, whether the reading strategy instruction with picture book reading facilitated students’ application of inference making and summarizing strategy. The Pre- and Post-study questionnaire, post-interview of the participants, participants’ worksheets, and the teacher’s reflective journal assisted in answering the second research question, that is, what the students’ perception of their learning experience was on the reading strategy instruction with picture books. Table 3 summarizes the relationship between the research questions and data collection methods.
Table 3
The Relationship between Research Questions and Data Collection
Research Question Data Collection
1. Can the reading strategy instruction using picture books reading facilitate junior high school students’ learning of inference making and summarizing strategy?
Pre- and Post-test
2. What is the students’ perception of their learning experience on the reading strategy instruction using picture books?
Pre- and Post-study questionnaire
Post-interview
Worksheets
Teacher’s reflective journal
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3.3.1 Pre- and Post-test on Inference Making and Summarizing Strategy
To examine the effects of the reading strategy instruction using picture books, the Pre- and Post-test on the reading strategies application were carried out. Before the instruction, the Pre-test was conducted. There were three reading texts with the appropriate readability level for the participants, and each of them included four multiple-choice comprehension questions related to the application of inference making and summarizing strategy. After the instruction, the Post-test was conducted.
The types of the questions in the Post-test were the same as those in the Pre-test, but the reading texts in the former were different from those in the latter. All the reading texts were adapted from the reading comprehension tests of the 2008–2013 Basic Competence Test (BCT) and 2014–2016 Comprehensive Assessment Program (CAP) for junior high school students. However, the researcher simplified the texts to meet the seventh graders’ language proficiency. The Pre- and Post-test were checked by two other experienced English teachers, who worked in researcher’s school, to assure validity. The scores of the Pre- and Post-test were compared and analyzed to examine the influence of the reading strategy instruction.
3.3.2 Pre- and Post-study Questionnaire on the Students’ Response to Reading Strategy Instruction with Picture Books Reading
To explore the participants’ responses before and after the reading strategy instruction using picture books, the Pre- and Post-study questionnaire on students’
responses were administered. The Pre-study questionnaire comprised three major sections: the participants’ English learning background, response to reading strategies (related to summarization and inferencing making), and response to reading picture books, to investigate their initial perception. The Post-study questionnaire consisted of four sections to examine whether there were any change of the participants’
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perception or attitude after the reading strategy instruction; it also examined their responses to reading strategies (related to summarization and inferencing making), reading picture books, and overall curriculum reflection. Open-ended questions were included to draw suggestions or comments regarding the curriculum. The questions in the Pre- and Post-study questionnaire were written in Chinese to ensure that the participants could understand them. The questionnaires adopted a five-point Likert scale, ranging from “strongly agree,” “agree,” “neutral,” “disagree,” and “strongly disagree.” Certain questions in this study were derived from the questionnaires of the previous studies, which were related to reading strategy instruction and picture books reading (Chen, 2009; Huang, 2006), making minor adjustments to meet the purpose of this study.
3.3.3 Post-interview
The Post-interview was carried out within a week after the completion of the Post-test. Based on the participants’ scores in the Post-test, the researcher selected two students each from the top 20, middle, and bottom 20 participants as interviewees, to examine the difference among learners. A semi-structured interview, which contained pre-determined open questions to enable new ideas to be raised and expanded during the interview (Drever, 1995; Rubin & Rubin, 2011), was conducted to obtain details on the participants’ learning experience during the reading strategy instruction with picture books. The interview guide was modified by the results of the Post-study questionnaire, and there were six questions in the interview. During the interview process, the researcher and the interviewees talked in Chinese to make the participants express their thoughts more clearly. The participants were interviewed individually, and each interview lasted for about 15 minutes. The interview was audio-recorded and transcribed for data collection and analysis; the participants’ permission was obtained.
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3.3.4 Worksheets
For effectively guiding the participants to learn the two reading strategies with picture books, the researcher designed six worksheets to assist the instruction. The worksheets contained the introduction of the reading strategy, guided questions and exercises for applying the two selected reading strategies, and self-monitoring questions for reflecting the learning process. Small activities in class, such as discussion and presentation, were also conducted. The participants were asked to write down their ideas or take notes on the worksheets. Students could write in Chinese or English on the worksheets because of their deficiency in English writing ability, but English was encouraged to be displayed. The worksheets were collected and corrected after each class; these worksheets served as participants’ learning records for checking their understanding and application of the two selected reading strategies. The participants’ responses to the instruction and their change or progress in each class could also be observed through their written output in the worksheets.
3.3.5 Teacher’s Reflective Teaching Journal
During the conduct of the entire program, the teacher kept a teaching journal to record her class observation. The data were used as reference to an ongoing
modification of the strategy instruction to make every class become more effective. In addition, this journal was used to gather more information and evidence to confirm or reject certain hypotheses formed from other data collection in this study. Every period of the classes was recorded. Each of period included the following three main aspects:
description of the participants’ responses to the teaching materials, interaction with the teacher or their peers during the reading strategy instruction, and problems and difficulties participants had confronted in class when applying strategies.
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