discourse coherence-oriented strategic-based instruction (sbi) in teaching reading skill: teach or not to teach

The characteristics of discourse and the way it is processed have recently received momentum in the applied linguistics and communication field. amongst its main characteristics, cohesion and coherence are of prime significance. the former is warranted more through linguistic devices, while the latter is realized through a number of strategies called discourse coherence strategies. contrary to any other strategies, rarely has it been empirically investigated if rendering language skills instruction through those strategies can entail in an effective educational model. to fill such a gap, this study was designed to experiment educational effectiveness of four common discourse coherence strategies (i.e., given new; direct matching; bridging; and reinstating old information) in reading instruction classes. to this end, 125 iranian efl learners were randomly divided into five equal groups: one control and four experimental ones corresponding to the number of the target discourse coherence strategies. the experimental groups received specific group-oriented strategic instruction, while the control group was exposed to the mainstream of the conventional instruction. two one-way anovas were run to compare the performance of the five groups on the post-test on the one hand, and the four strategies cross-comparatively. the results indicated more significant effects of the discourse strategy-based instruction compared to that of the mainstream instruction in general; however, the means between five groups were not equal, indicating that not only were there significant differences between the discourse coherence strategy-based instruction groups and the control group means scores, but also among some of the four groups receiving reading instruction based on four different mentioned strategies. the findings support strategy-based instruction and differential effects of each strategy as two main pedagogical insights for practitioners but open the horizons for further research on the nature of the discourse comprehension strategies.

Discourse Coherence-Oriented Strategic-Based Instruction (SBI) in Teaching Reading Skill: Teach or not to Teach

The characteristics of discourse and the way it is processed have recently received momentum in the applied linguistics and communication field. Amongst its main characteristics, cohesion and coherence are of prime significance. The former is warranted more through linguistic devices, while the latter is realized through a number of strategies called discourse coherence strategies. Contrary to any other strategies, rarely has it been empirically investigated if rendering language skills instruction through those strategies can entail in an effective educational model. To fill such a gap, this study was designed to experiment educational effectiveness of four common discourse coherence strategies (i.e., Given New; Direct Matching; Bridging; and Reinstating Old Information) in reading instruction classes. To this end, 125 Iranian EFL learners were randomly divided into five equal groups: one control and four experimental ones corresponding to the number of the target discourse coherence strategies. The experimental groups received specific group-oriented strategic instruction, while the control group was exposed to the mainstream of the conventional instruction. Two One-way ANOVAs were run to compare the performance of the five groups on the post-test on the one hand, and the four strategies cross-comparatively. The results indicated more significant effects of the discourse strategy-based instruction compared to that of the mainstream instruction in general; however, the means between five groups were not equal, indicating that not only were there significant differences between the discourse coherence strategy-based instruction groups and the control group means scores, but also among some of the four groups receiving reading instruction based on four different mentioned strategies. The findings support strategy-based instruction and differential effects of each strategy as two main pedagogical insights for practitioners but open the horizons for further research on the nature of the discourse comprehension strategies.