Storybook Read-Alouds to Enhance Students’Comprehension Skills in ESL Classrooms - A Case Study

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by dhado

Study examines how storybooks used in teacher read-aloud sessions support children’s comprehension skills and understanding of stories in English as a Second Language classrooms. It identifies comprehension strategies teachers apply during read-alouds, compares their practices with research-based strategies for text comprehension, and analyzes teachers’ perceptions. Three rural primary school English teachers participated using qualitative observations and interviews. Results show only a limited set of proposed strategies were used, suggesting a need to train best practices for effective read-alouds.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

A. Introduction

Context and need for improved English teaching

Role of read-aloud in Malaysian ESL instruction

B. Literature Review

Benefits of read-aloud for literacy and comprehension

Rationale for using stories in ESL classrooms

Dinamika Ilmu P-ISSN: 1411-3031; E-ISSN: 2442-9651 2015, Vol. 15 No. 1 Storybook Read-Alouds to Enhance Students’Comprehension Skills in ESL Classrooms: A Case Study Ainon Omar Senior Lecturer, Department of English Language & Literature, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Malaysia [ainon@fbk.upsi.edu.my](ainon@fbk.upsi.edu.my) Maizatulliza Mohd. Saufi Senior Lecturer, Department of English Language & Literature, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Malaysia [maiza@fbk.upsi.edu.my](maiza@fbk.upsi.edu.my) Abstract The effectiveness of using storybooks during read-alouds to develop children’s comprehension skills as well as in understanding the story has been widely studied. The reading aloud strategy has also been proven through numerous researches to be the most highly recommended activity for encouraging language and literacy. The study identified the comprehension strategies used by the teachers during their read-aloud sessions, matched teachers’ current practices using the comprehension strategies to the identified practices for the approach, and obtained the teachers’ perceptions of their current practices of the comprehension strategies during reading aloud in their English language classrooms. The teachers’ comprehension strategies were matched with a research-based strategy for comprehending texts during read-alouds proposed by (Whitehurst, Arnold, Epstein, & Angell, 1994) . Three primary school English language teachers teaching in the rural schools participated in this study. Qualitative research methods were used in this study. Primary data was obtained through observations using an observation protocol; while secondary data was obtained through interviews from teachers. Findings from the study revealed that the three teachers employed a few of the comprehension strategies that were proposed by researchers in the field. The findings also indicate that the teachers utilized only the strategies that they thought were relevant to their teaching context and as such, proposed the need to provide teachers with knowledge on the best practices for conducting reading aloud to develop ESL students’comprehension skills. Keywords: Read-aloud, comprehension skills, reading, comprehension strategies, literacy A. Introduction In Malaysia, where English is taught as a second language, educators, policy makers and parents have voiced concern over the declining performance of the English language among pupils, especially those in the rural areas. As there is a need for extensive learning of English in the country, the Minister of Education has called for the improvement of teaching techniques and promises of support for English teachers in terms of facilities and resources in order to enhance English language performance amongst students especially those in the rural areas (Curriculum Development Centre, 2003) . One of the techniques that English language teachers have been trained to implement in the English language classroom is the read-aloud technique. The read-aloud technique allows teachers to interact with their pupils when reading stories to them and provide opportunities to the pupils to respond as well as to comprehend the story using the English language. As the teachers interact with them, the teachers provide ample opportunities for their students to learn vocabulary, varied sentence structures and story structures in order to enhance their second language performance and at the same time enhance their reading and comprehension skills. Reading aloud is stipulated in the Malaysian English language syllabus (CDC, 2003), however, research has not been conducted on how this technique is implemented in the classroom. The reading aloud technique using researcherdesigned methods proposed by Whitehurst et al., (1994) involves the teacher reading a story to the pupils and interacting with the pupils by posing questions or prompting to them about the story. When students respond, they use the language

FAQs

What is the main focus of the study?

The study focuses on teachers’ current use of the read-aloud technique with storybooks and whether it aligns with identified read-aloud practices to improve primary students’ comprehension skills and English learning.

How was the research conducted?

The study used qualitative research methods. Primary data came from classroom observations using an observation protocol, and secondary data came from interviews with teachers.

What did the findings show about teachers’ comprehension strategies?

The three teachers used only a few of the comprehension strategies suggested by researchers, selecting strategies they felt were relevant to their teaching context.

Why does the study argue for providing teachers with more knowledge?

Because teachers reported using only selected strategies, the study indicates a need to provide knowledge of best practices for conducting reading aloud to develop ESL students’ comprehension skills.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by dhado