الفهرس 
Review of Literature and Related Studies Section OneOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
The current age has many changes in all fields of life. The rate of
these changes is very great. As a result of these changes, educators should
pay more attention to education. Learning the English language is
considered one of the most important requirements of this age. As reading
and listening are very important skills, so more attention should be paid
for developing the EFL reading comprehension and the listening skills.
There is a necessary need to change the traditional classroom to improve
learning and social relations among classmates.
According to Sweet & Snow, (2003) reading is one of the four
language skills. It constitutes an integral part of any language curriculum.
It is the most important skill for most students of English throughout the
world – reading helps students learn to think in English, enlarge their
English vocabulary, improve their writing and prepare them to study in
English – speaking country. It’s also a good way to find out about new
ideas, facts, and experiences and to practice English in a non – English
speaking country. Reading has a great importance for most students of
English throughout the world. So reading teachers should pay more
attention to this skill and help students attain full understanding of the
reading texts and develop their reading skills.
The Rand Reading group redirected the conceptualization of
literacy from the view of reading as an individual, product-oriented
process to a socially constructed, language-mediated process. Therefore,
meaning-making processes should be examined in the light of
international, collaborative activities that result in the co-construction of
meaning between and among readers and not just as the product of a
single reader’s individual process. from this perspective, there are some
theories that embody a reconceptualization of reading in its current view,
specifically in a second language (L2), an area that traditionally describes
reading mainly as the product of cognitive and linguistic processes based
on individual reading and not as an interpersonal, collaborative activity
(Grabe, 2009; Hinkel, 2006; Hudson, 2007; Sweet & Snow, 2002).
A Sociocultural Perspective of Reading:
Currently, L2 reading is viewed as an interactive process based on
first language (L1) reading theories (Birch, 2007; Grabe, 2009; Grabe &
Stoller, 2011, 2013). Interaction is characterized in two ways. It can refer
to a reader’s simultaneous use of lower-level identification skills and
higher-level comprehension strategies. It can also refer to the interplay of
the reader with a text that activates specific individual schemata such as
content knowledge of topics, scripts, perspectives, and the first language
(L1) on the one hand, and formal knowledge of text features ranging from
sound-symbol relationships to discourse organization on the other hand.
Therefore, the basis for a different focus is Vygotskyan sociocultural
theory (SCT), which helps characterize reading comprehension as a result
of another kind of interaction—one that occurs when two readers jointly
construct meaning. The shift towards a view that reading comprehension
emerges as an outcome of the interaction among participants leads us to
consider how reading is related to two important tenets of Vygotskyan
SCT: mediation and the zone of proximal development (ZPD) .
Listening has always been a crucial part of interaction. It is not just
hearing the other side, but through the message, having an agreement or
giving the right answer with the aid of grammatical and pragmatic
knowledge understanding the speakers’ accent or pronunciation,
grammar, vocabulary, and grasping meaning (Yavuz et al, 2015).
Listening is one of the most vital skills in language. It enables language
learners to receive input and facilitates the emergence of other language
skills (Vandergrift & Goh, 2012). Listening is a crucial means of
acquiring second or foreign languages, not just a skill in language
performance (Carter & Nunan, 2001). Listening, as a key skill in
language for its vital role in language acquisition and learning, has been a
cornerstone of many theories (Flowerdew &Miller, 2005).
The role of listening is significant in language learning, but it is still
an area where learners feel most powerless and disappointed
(Taghinezhad & Bazyar, 2015). Ghaderpanahi (2012) asserted that among
the four language skills, listening is the slightest accurate one, so it is the
hardest skill to acquire. It is a very complex process and most learners
have serious problems in using it (Vandergrift & Goh, 2012). Bingol, et
al., (2014) stated that there are some potential problems in language
learning classes including cultural differences, accent, unfamiliar
vocabulary of physical conditions, lack of concentration, length, and
speed of the listening. Brown (2011) adds inability to control the speed,
inability in word repetition, having limited vocabulary, inability in
recognizing the signals, lack of contextual knowledge, listeners’ lack of
concentration in a foreign language, and some wrong learning habits:
text, task, speaker, and listener as additional causes to listening problems
Kurita,(2012) mentioned that the development of listening skill
helps learners to succeed in language learning to enhance comprehensible
input. Since learners’ self-reliance in listening will be increased, they will
be motivated to have access to spoken English such as conversations with
native speakers. The process of listening moves through the first three
steps-receiving, attending, and understanding in sequence. Responding
and remembering may or may not follow, as it might be desirable for
listeners to respond immediately or to remember the message in order to
respond at a later time.
1.2. Background of the Problem:
Out of the researcher’s experience as a teacher of EFL, it is noticed
that secondary school students depend, in their reading, on the teacher,
dictionary and the text’s explicitly stated ideas. Rarely do they read
beyond the lines or infer, predict or judge a piece of reading. They rarely
set the purpose of the written text, visualize, question, clarify, get the
message, distinguish between literal and implied meanings, comprehend
the main idea, write complete sentences, or use details in writing. It is
also noticed that there are some problems, which face students when they
are listening. Such problems are speed of delivery, new terminology and
concepts, difficulties in concentrating, and problems related to physical
environment. In other words, secondary school students lack reading
comprehension and listening skills.
To document the problem, the researcher conducted a pilot study
through administering reading comprehension and listening skills tests,
prepared by the researcher, to a random sample of first year secondary
school students. This pilot study aimed to measure students reading
comprehension and listening skills. The results of the study indicated the
weakness of students reading comprehension and listening skills in the
English language classrooms. The majority of the students (about 70%)
could not analyze or evaluate what they read. They could not make
predictions, draw inferences, summarize the text, understand the message,
distinguish between the literal and implied meanings, recognize
contradictions or reconstruct the structure and the meaning of ideas
expressed by others. Because of these problems, the researcher suggests
the interactive approach to help the learners develop their reading and
listening skills. This approach is based on the interaction between the
students during the learning process. The approach has many strategies
and activities that will be used in this research. They are different from
following the recording of a text or reading it without interacting with a
partner (Anderson, 2009; Commander & de Guerrero 2013).
1.3. Statement of the problem:
The problem of the current research lies in the weakness of
secondary school students in reading comprehension and listening skills.
So the researcher attempted to investigate the effectiveness of the
interactive approach in developing the EFL reading comprehension and
listening skills for first year secondary school students.
1.4. Questions of the research:
The present research attempted to answer the following main
question:
What is the effectiveness of the interactive approach in
developing the reading comprehension and listening skills among
first year secondary school students?
Out of this main question, the following sub-questions were stated:
1) What are the reading comprehension and listening skills that first
year secondary school students should possess?
2) How far is the interactive approach effective in developing EFL first year
secondary school students ’ overall reading comprehension and listening
skills?
3) How far is the interactive approach effective in developing first
Year secondary school students’ reading comprehension levels:
a) Literal level.
b) Inferential level.
4) How far is the interactive approach effective in developing first year
secondary school students’ listening sub skills?
1.5. Aim of the research:
The present research aimed at developing the reading
comprehension (literal and inferential levels ) and listening skills for
the first year secondary school students via using the interactive
approach.
1.6. Significance of the research:
This research could be significant to:
1. Students: as it could help in:
A. developing students’ reading comprehension skills.
B. developing the listening skills.
2. Teachers: as it could help in:
A. providing teachers with a new methodology to enhance their
teaching skills.
B. enabling teachers to use this new methodology to develop the
reading comprehension skills and the listening skills of their
students.
3. Curriculum and/or program designers: as it could help in:
A. providing a new methodology to enhance the educational
process.
1.7. Participants of the research:
The participants of this research were sixty four first year secondary
school students from Betebs secondary school, Shebin El-kom city in the
first term of the academic year (2019-2020). Their ages ranged between
fifteen and sixteen years old. They were divided into two groups: one
group served as the control group and the other served as the
experimental group. Both groups were pre-tested using the instruments
of the research. Then, they were post-tested after experimentation.
1.8. Delimitations of the research:
This research was delimited to:
1- Some EFL reading comprehension skills including the literal and
inferential levels of comprehension and the skills contained in
each level.
2- Some listening sub skills that are suitable for first year
secondary school students.
3- Sixty four first year secondary school students in Betebs
secondary school.
4- The first semester of the academic year 2019 – 2020.
1.9. Instruments and Materials of the Research:
The present research made use of the following instruments:
1- A reading comprehension skills checklist to determine the most
important reading comprehension skills necessary and relevant for
first year secondary school students.
2- A listening skills checklist to determine the most important
listening skills necessary and relevant for first year secondary
school students.
3- A pre-post reading comprehension skills test that was prepared by
the researcher.
4- A pre-post listening skills test that was prepared by the researcher.
5- A teacher’s guide to be used in the study experiment.
6- The interactive approach that used to develop the EFL reading
comprehension and listening skills.
1.10. Variables of the research:
The independent variable of this research was represented in using
the interactive approach, while the dependent variables were represented
in first year secondary school student s’ reading comprehension skills
(literal and inferential) and their listening sub skills.
1.11. Design of the research:
The present research adopted the pre-post test quasi-experimental
design. There were two groups (the control group and the experimental
group).The two groups were tested before conducting the experiment.
During the experiment, the experimental group was taught using the
interactive approach, whereas the control group was taught using the
current method. At the end of the experiment, the two groups were posttested.
1.12. Operational Definition of Terms
1. The Interactive Approach
The researcher operationally defines it as the dynamic nature of the
interplay between learners and their peers, their teachers and others with
whom they interact. It is a successful teaching approach in which small
teams, each with students of different levels of ability, use a variety of
learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject. Each
student is responsible not only for improving his or her own
understanding of the given material but also for helping other students or
group members achieve it. It is all about instructing the students in a way
that they are actively involved with their own learning process. There are
different ways to create an involvement like this most of the time through
teacher-student interaction, student-student interaction, the use of audio,
visuals, video and hands-on demonstrations and exercises. The students
are engaged in an activity or task that will make them think and analyze
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the information being taught. It may occur at every stage or level of a
lesson, from getting the students engaged in the topic, through actively
and consciously taking part in discovering language and rules, to free and
active production. .
2. The Reading Comprehension Skills:
The researcher operationally defines reading comprehension as the
process of simultaneously extracting and constructing meaning through
interaction and involvement with the written language. Reading
comprehension is the ability to understand what we read where words
have context and texts have meaning. Reading comprehension skills
allow us to read proficiently, learn effectively and conceptualize.
3. The Listening skill:
The researcher operationally defines it as: a skill which involves not
only receiving sounds in a passive way but also listening occupies an
active and immediate analysis of the streams of sounds.