Introduction to research: A Muliple Reading Strategy Approach

In the Netherlands, the subject English plays a very important role in education. It is a
compulsory subject for pupils in VWO (Bloemert, 2016; SLO, 2021). One of the main
components of this subject is reading. During the final exam for English, pupils must
answer comprehension questions about English texts. This exam makes up fifty
percent of the final mark for the subject English (Bloemert, 2016). Therefore, it is
important for teachers to help their pupils master this skill.
In 2021, a preliminary study identified that pupils (n=23), in VWO 4 at Van der
Capellen S.G. in Zwolle, face several problems while reading texts. Firstly, a
questionnaire was conducted. This questionnaire showed that pupils struggle with
comprehending texts as at least 40 percent of the pupils say that they are unable to
recognize and understand the main and sub aims of a text and fail to recognize
important details in longer and more complex texts. Moreover, pupils mentioned that
they are unable to distinguish important details from less important details in a text.
Secondly, an interview was conducted with pupils and teachers. Pupils stated that
they need and want help from their teachers with comprehending a text. They, for
example, find it difficult to actually notice when they misinterpret a text. In the
interviews, pupils also mentioned that they would like to be taught more strategies to
read, and therefore also comprehend, a text correctly. Furthermore, pupils mentioned
that their vocabulary knowledge is too limited. This leads to pupils not enjoying
reading texts as texts are deemed too difficult. Teachers confirm the issues that
pupils face. Teachers believe pupils should really ‘dive’ into texts in order to fully
understand the meaning of a text and they should expand their vocabulary to
comprehend more challenging texts. Thirdly, the preliminary study also identified a
lack of focus on reading comprehension in the programme of VWO 4 at Van der
Capellen There is no learning line and teachers must decide for themselves how
much time is spent on reading comprehension. In practice, this often leads to limited
attention paid to reading comprehension.
The above-mentioned issues negatively affect the reading comprehension
skills of pupils at Van der Capellen, S.G. One of the ways in which teachers can help
pupils improve their reading comprehension is by learning and helping them apply
reading strategies. Three main principles can be found in literature on how to
effectively do so. Firstly, a combination of different reading strategies must be taught
(Giljakjani & Sabouri, 2016). Secondly, both top-down and bottom-up processes must
be included interactively when teaching reading strategies (Brown, 2007; Brown &
Lee, 2015). Thirdly, pre-, while- and post reading activities must be included (Brown
& Lee, 2014; Insuasty Cardenas, 2020). In addition to the three principles, Insuasty
Càrdenas (2020), Brown (2000), Brown & Lee (2015) and Giljakjani & Sabouri (2016)
argue that teachers must pay close attention to five main teaching conditions to
successfully teach reading strategies. These teaching conditions concern time,
effective instruction, texts, vocabulary knowledge and assessment. When teaching
reading strategies, one must thus also take teaching conditions into account.
The three principles and teaching conditions mentioned above are important
when teaching reading strategies to improve reading comprehension. In this study,
an approach that combines these principles and conditions will be called a multiple
reading strategy approach. Although literature suggests that these principles and
conditions all contribute to reading comprehension, no intervention has yet been
created nor tested based on such an approach. The aim of this study therefore is to
explore the effect an intervention, based on a multiple reading strategy approach,
has on the reading comprehension skills of pupils in VWO 6 at Van der Capellen
S.G. in Zwolle.
In order to reach the intended aim, the following research question has been
formulated: How does a multiple reading strategy approach benefit reading
comprehension of pupils in VWO 6 at Van der Capellen S.G.?
To answer this question, two sub questions have been formulated. The first
sub question focuses on the effect of the intervention on the ability of pupils to
comprehend texts on exam level. This may give insights in the extent in which a
multiple reading strategy approach benefits reading comprehension. The first sub
question is:

1. How does an intervention based on a multiple reading strategy approach

affect the ability of pupils to comprehend texts on exam levels?

The second sub question dives deeper into how the intervention based on the
multiple reading strategy approach helps pupils to improve their reading
comprehension skills. This may give more context to the answer to sub question 1
and help to understand in what ways the intervention does (not) help to improve
reading comprehension. The second sub question is:

2. How do pupils experience a multiple reading strategy approach in relation to

improving their reading comprehension skills?

In the next chapter, literature on the three principles and the teaching conditions will
be further explored as input for creating the intervention.