The impact of interface on strategy use and ESL reading comprehension : a comparison of e-books and paper texts
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Abstract
The use of e-books in post-secondary education is projected to increase (Kol & Schcolnik, 2000; Chou, 2012; Mercieca, 2003), yet many English as a second language (ESL) institutions have not yet incorporated e-books into their curricula, in part due to a dearth of research regarding their potential impacts on ESL reading comprehension and strategy use. This study filled a gap in the existing research by investigating the impacts of e-books, as compared to paper texts, on ESL reading comprehension and support strategy use (Mokhrati & Sheorey, 2002). Twenty-two high-intermediate ESL participants were divided evenly into a paper text group and an e-book group. They were given pre-tests, support strategy mini-lessons, reading passages, post-tests, surveys, and delayed post-tests. Independent-samples t-tests revealed no significant difference between the groups’ reading comprehension; however, reading strategy use and frequency varied between groups. The study’s findings offer some justification for the incorporation of e-books in ESL curricula. In addition, the findings suggest that instructors provide e-book strategy lessons to students so they can appropriate the technology effectively.