A Survey of Preferences of Arab ESL Students and Their Teachers in Classroom Reading Practices

Term

Fall 9-9-2014

Capstone

Thesis

Degree Name

MAESL

Primary Advisor/Dissertation Chair

Ann Mabbott

Secondary Advisor/Reader One

Gregory Mizera

Peer-Reviewer/Reader Two

Laura Code

Abstract

There is much research that focuses on the problems that Arab ESL students have with second language reading. Compared to ESL students from different L1 backgrounds, Arab ESL students experience greater difficulty learning how to read in English. The purpose of this study is to 1) determine the preferences of Arab ESL students and their teacher in classroom reading practices and 2) how these preferences compare. Thirty one Arab ESL students and eight reading teachers participated in this quantitative study’s online survey to determine which classroom reading practices both groups thought were most helpful in learning to read. Key influences for this capstone were my teaching experience with Arab ESL students in the United States and in the Middle East, and my knowledge of Arabic. Results from the survey show what classroom practices are most helpful to Arab ESL students and how these students’ opinions compare to teachers’ responses.

Keywords

ESL/ ELLs, Reading

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