This chapter presents the results of the study concerning the effects of
implementing literature circles on EFL university students. The data is presented into two parts: quantitative and qualitative. First, the results of quantitative data consist of students’ GEPT reading comprehension tests and reading motivation questionnaires.
Second, the results of qualitative data focuses on students’ responses to the literature circles roles sheets, perception questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews.
Students’ GEPT Reading Comprehension
This section presents the results of students’ GEPT reading comprehension pre-and posttests. which were analyzed through paired-sample t-tests. Results of paired-sample t-tests of GEPT test results, including mean scores and standard
deviations, are shown in table 8.1. Results aid the researcher in investigating effects of literature circles on students’ reading comprehension.
Based on the results, there is no significant difference between GEPT pretest and posttest ( t(18)= .635, p>.05 ) although the mean score of posttest did improve
moderately at the end of the semester (M= 68.7 > 67.2). In other words, reading in literature circles did not help much in students’ reading comprehension proficiency.
The following could be the reason why the results did not reach significant different in students’ reading comprehension proficiency. Firstly, the test content was adopted from GEPT high-intermediate questions, which include not only reading comprehension sections but also other sections such as grammar and sentence patterns.
Thus, students may get lower grade because they did bad in other sections. Secondly, time limitation could be other reason to influent the results that it was really difficult
32
for students to improve overall reading comprehension abilities (i.e. reading strategy, grammar, vocabulary) within a semester. However, in the follow up interview and open-ended questions students maintained positive attitudes toward the benefit of LCs in reading comprehension.
In short, although the mean score of the posttest increased, the changes did not reach the threshold of statistical difference between pretest and posttest due to the test content and time limitation. However, according to students self-report in interview and open-ended questions, they believe that reading in LCs did help them understand the texts through meaning negotiation.
Table 8.1
Paired-sample T-test of Students’ reading comprehension proficiency (N=19)
Paired Difference M SD SE t df Sig.(2-tailed) Pretest
posttest
1.53 10.48 2.41 .635 18 .534
Note: M: mean score, SD: standard deviation, SE: standard error, df: degree of freedom, sig: significance
Table 8.2
Means and Standard Deviation of Reading Comprehension Proficiency
Paired Difference M N SD
Pretest posttest
67.2 68.7
19 19
9.00 12.53 Note: M: mean score, SD: standard deviation
Student-generated Motivation Pre and Post Questionnaire
In this section, the results of paired-sample t test of English reading motivation are presented and discussed, with additional data gathered from motivation pre and post questionnaires. The following sections are divided into three parts: the overall results of students’ English reading motivation; intrinsic motivation; and extrinsic
33
motivation. The results will answer the second research question: To what extent do literature circles facilitate students’ reading motivation?
Overall Results of Students’ English Reading Motivation
In this section, the results of paired-sample t-test of the overall results of students’
English reading motivation are showed and discussed. Paired sample t-test results (Table 8.3) indicates that there are were differences between pretest and posttest ( t(19)= -2.24, p<.05 ). In addition, the mean score of the posttest improved (M=.64>
3.46). It indicated students’ reading motivation improved after taking the
semester-long literature circles program. In order to further examine whether there were any significant difference between students’ extrinsic and intrinsic motivation after taking this course, an independent t-test was performed to test the hypothesis.
Table 8.3
Paired-sample T-test of Students’ Overall English Reading Motivation
Paired Difference M SD SE t df Sig.(2-tailed) Pretest
posttest
-.186 .364 .084 -2.24 19 .038
Note: M: mean score, SD: standard deviation, SE: standard error, df: degree of freedom, sig: significance
Table 8.4
Means and Standard Deviation of Reading Motivation
Paired Difference M N SD
Pretest posttest
3.46 3.64
19 19
.305 .556 Note: M: mean score, SD: standard deviation
Results of Students’ Intrinsic Reading Motivation
A paired t-test was used to test whether there was an effect of literature circles on improving students’ intrinsic reading motivation. As shown in Table 8.6, the results of
34
paired t-test indicate that there were significant differences on students’ intrinsic reading motivation (t(18)= -4.80, p <.05 ) before and after taking this LCs program.
Moreover, the results also show that the mean score of the post questionnaire is higher than that of the pretest (M= 3.62 > 3.18). It reveals that the majority of students’
intrinsic reading motivation increased after this LCs program, which is further support by students’ responses in open-ended questionnaire that they found English reading interesting and not difficult as they imagined through group work.
Table 8.5
Paired-sample T-test of Students’ Intrinsic Reading Motivation
Paired Difference M SD SE t df Sig.(2-tailed) Pretest
posttest
-.443 .403 .092 -4.80 18 .000
Note: M: mean score, SD: standard deviation, SE: standard error, df: degree of freedom, sig: significance
Table 8.6
Means and Standard Deviation of Intrinsic Motivation
Paired Difference M N SD
Pretest posttest
3.18 3.62
19 19
.290 .540 Note: M: mean score, SD: standard deviation
In order to further investigate students’ intrinsic motivation, a comparison of the mean score and standard deviation of the 12-item questionnaire of intrinsic motivation is summarized in Table 8.7, so that we can understand which specific items of
intrinsic motivation increased after the program. According to the results presented in Table 8.7, some of the items had increased in mean score among the 12 items (see item 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 10). However, a significant difference was found only in item 11 among the 6 items after using paired-sample t-tests. This results reveal that more
35
students were willing to read English texts in their free time.
In general, reading in literature circles did help students maintain positive attitudes to English reading so that their reading intrinsic motivation increased by the end of the semester. According to the results, students gradually developed their interest toward reading that they found reading interesting; thus, they were willing to spend time reading English texts when they were free.
Table 8.7
Summary of Means and Standard Deviation of Each Items of Intrinsic Motivation