Online Reciprocal Teaching and Its Impact on Islamic University Students’ Reading Comprehension in Standardized Testing
Keywords:
reciprocal teaching, Reading Comprehension, standardized test, Online teaching and learning, experimentAbstract
In an era where literacy is a gateway to global participation, many Muslim EFL learners still face persistent difficulties in mastering academic reading skills. This study compares the effectiveness of Online Reciprocal Teaching (ORT) and Online Reading Strategy Instruction (ORSI) in enhancing Muslim learners’ reading comprehension on standardized English proficiency tests. The participants were 74 fourth-semester students enrolled in a fully online English course at UIN Siber Syekh Nurjati Cirebon. A pre-test post-test control group design was employed, with Class A (n = 37) receiving ORT intervention focusing on predicting, questioning, clarifying, and summarizing, while Class B (n = 37) received ORSI instruction emphasizing skimming, scanning, and making inferences. The intervention spanned 16 sessions, delivered through a combination of live and recorded formats. Reading comprehension was assessed using a validated test adapted from the Longman Preparation Course for the TOEFL. Pre-test scores were treated as covariates in the ANCOVA analysis. The results revealed a statistically significant improvement in the ORT group’s post-test scores compared to the ORSI group. These findings suggest that reciprocal teaching fosters deeper cognitive and metacognitive engagement in online reading instruction. The study recommends integrating ORT into EFL curricula across Islamic higher education to support more inclusive, strategic, and effective learning practices.
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