The role of emotional factors in reading comprehension among Arabic-speaking students in fourth and fifth grades

• In Event: Poster Session 03
  In Poster Session: PS 03 Topic - Education, Schooling

Abstract

For many years, the effects of literacy and cognitive skills on reading comprehension performance were examined. However, additional aspects, such as emotional elements, affect reading comprehension beyond cognitive and verbal processes. In the context of the Arabic language, most studies have focused on the impact of the complexity of the orthography and Diglossia of the Arabic language on the reading process, while neglecting other personal and emotional factors.
The present study focuses on reading-related emotional elements among fourth- and fifth-grade Arabic-speaking students in Israel. We aimed to achieve three research goals: First, to examine the relations between the emotional measures of reading self-concept, reading motivation, and reading anxiety. Second, to reveal whether these emotional elements assist in predicting students’ reading comprehension beyond the well-studied literacy factors. Third, to discover whether with these emotional measures differ between Arabic speaking males and females.
140 native fourth and fifth grade Arabic-speaking students participated in the study (80 females, 68 fourth graders). In two sessions of individual and group meetings, measures of reading self-concept, reading motivation, and reading anxiety, reading comprehension, word reading and vocabulary were collected.
The results of the study show strong and significant relationships between the emotional measures (reading self-concept, reading motivation and reading anxiety). A factor analysis of these measured revealed that they can be related as one single emotional factor. This factor significantly predicted 7% of the variance in reading comprehension beyond literacy measures. The analyses also revealed surprising and interesting gender differences in the emotional variables. Female students were significantly higher in reading motivation and in reading self-concept and lower reading anxiety than male students.
This study highlights the importance and impact of emotional variables on reading comprehension in Arabic speaking students. The findings provide significant theoretical and practical basis for pedagogical insights of educators on how to promote reading achievements by considering students’ emotional aspects.

Group Authors

Amany Mahameed
Tami Katzir

Authors

• Amany Mahameed
  Non-Presenting Author

• Shahar Dotan, University of Haifa
  Presenting Author

• Tami Katzir, Haifa University
  Non-Presenting Author