Experimental Study on Strategy-Oriented Web-Based English Instruction for EFL Students

This quasi-experimental study investigated whether a strategy-oriented media-based reading program could improve English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students' reading comprehension. Eighty-five students who were registered for English Reading at a university were recruited through convenience sampling to take part in the study. In this study, a web-based Strategy-oriented Multimedia-Assisted Reading Training (SMART) program was designed and implemented. On the basis of a literature review, four instructional strategies were selected and implemented in this program. The SMART program was used by students in the experimental group but not by students in the control group. Students in both groups were taught by the same instructor with the same instructional materials. The experiment lasted for 10 weeks, and the effects of the SMART program on students' reading comprehension were investigated. A questionnaire on students' attitudes toward the use of the strategies was given only to the experimental group. The results show that mean score of the reading test was significantly higher for the experimental group than for the control group. Students' feedback about using the SMART program was positive and encouraging.