THE IMPACT OF USING TRANSACTIONAL STRATEGY INSTRUCTION IN IMPROVING READING COMPREHENSION AMONG IRAQI EFL PREPARATORY SCHOOL STUDENTS

Abstract

The aim of this research is to examine how teaching Transactional Strategy Instruction (TSI) can improve the reading comprehension performance of Iraqi EFL preparatory school students. To achieve the purpose of this study, 60 fifth grade students were randomly selected from available classes to be the sample of the present study. Thirty students were assigned in an experimental group that received instruction on Transactional strategy instruction. The other thirty students were  assigned   in  a control group, which was taught reading comprehension by the use of the traditional way. Statistical treatments used were percentage, mean, standard deviation and t-test. The findings of the study revealed that the majority of the learner-participants are (16-18)years old, males, Grade 5, and showed that the experimental group outperformed the control group on the reading comprehension post-test. Subjects in the experimental group demonstrate statistically significant raises in their mean scores on the reading comprehension post-test. Based on the findings, it is advised that Transactional strategy instruction should be an integral part of reading instruction courses at the different stages of education and to train teachers how they can use this strategy in teaching  reading comprehension. Furthermore, it is suggested that future studies examine about the advantages, disadvantages and difficulties associated with implementing of TSI across different educational levels.