Effect of the scaffolded reading experience using a graphic novel on the English reading comprehension and reading motivation of Thai EFI students

Abstract

The purposes of this study were 1) to investigate the effect of a graphic novel on students’ English reading comprehension and 2) to explore students’ English reading motivation while reading a graphic novel. Participants included 20 tenth grade Thai EFL students, who were studying in an Intensive English course. The experiment took 12 periods. The instruments used in this research were the English reading comprehension test, reading motivation questionnaires, lesson plans and student journals. The Paired sample t-test was used to investigate the difference between students’ mean scores between the Pre- and Post- English reading comprehension and reading motivation test scores. Content analysis was also used to analyze student journals in order to further gauge students’ reading motivation, attitude and opinions when reading the graphic novel.

The results revealed that (1) students gained higher scores on the English reading comprehension and reading motivation questionnaire post-test at the .05 significance level. (2) student journals demonstrated intrinsic motivation and made reference to activities as being enjoyable and motivating. Students reported in their journals that the visual-based formats in the graphic novel, such as character’s actions, emotions, movements and moods which often come in different colours, angles or shading helped reading comprehension because the visuals enable them to connect with the written text. Additionally, there was evidences after delivery each lesson that reading the graphic novel helped students to use and build their background knowledge and expand their vocabulary.