| Strategies on Concept Mapping and Their Utility in the | | | | weekly intervention over a 4 week period. After |
| Comprehension of Informative Texts | | | | ensuring the homogeneity of the students by using a |
| Zohreh Yousefvand | | | | standard achievement test they were randomly |
| Abstract | | | | assigned to experimental and control groups. A reading |
| Concept mapping is a technique that allows students | | | | comprehension pre-test was used to determine the |
| to (a) see the connections between ideas they | | | | studentsâ level of reading comprehension. |
| already have, (b) connect new ideas to knowledge | | | | Thereafter, the students in both groups were trained in |
| that they already have, and (c) organize ideas in a | | | | reading comprehension in accordance with their |
| logical but not rigid structure that allows future | | | | treatment condition. Following the training sessions, a |
| information or viewpoints to be included. Thus, learning | | | | parallel test as a post-test on reading comprehension |
| subject matter content becomes a mental building | | | | was given to all students. A t-test between the |
| process, enabling students to actively construct a | | | | obtained means of the experimental and control group |
| conceptual framework to which new concepts are | | | | on the post-test revealed that there were significant |
| added, related, and refined. The purpose of this study | | | | differences between the performance of experimental |
| is to observe and investigate the effects of concept | | | | and control groups. As a result it was concluded that |
| mapping on the Iranian EFL learner comprehension of | | | | the employment of concept mapping has a positive |
| informative text. Within the framework of this pilot | | | | effect on Iranian EFL learners´ reading |
| research, the 30 female adult English second language | | | | comprehension of informative text. |
| learners of an advanced level were subjected to a | | | | |