The influence of Reader’s Theater on High School Students’ English Reading Comprehension-English Learning Anxiety and Learning Styles Perspective

Abstract

The study aimed to investigate the effects of Reader’s Theater on EFL learners’ English reading comprehension. The roles of English learning anxiety and learning styles in the RT instruction were also explored. Mixed methods research was conducted to collect and analyze quantitative and qualitative data. The subjects were 11 graders in a senior high school in New Taipei City. There were 25 students in the experimental group and 26 in the control group, and the total number of students was 51. Experiment group received RT instruction for 16 periods in 16 weeks, while the control group was distributed with the same scripts without RT instruction as outside reading. Reading tests based on scripts were adopted to examine the difference of learners’ reading comprehension with RT instruction intervention. Questionnaires of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety and learning styles were conducted to realize the correlations among learners. To understand students’ views on RT instruction, 24 subjects from the experimental group received an interview. The results of the study indicated that most students thought RT helped improve their reading comprehension. In addition, most students regarded that RT decreased English learning anxiety. However, among the six stages of RT, Instant Reading was the stage that students felt most anxious because they were worried about others’ opinions. Finally, the study found that RT was a suitable platform for students with different learning styles. However, RT provided less time for students with visual modality to practice and learn best. It was suggested that instructors adopting RT instruction could use more pictures or graphic organizers.