The Effect of Using Authentic Reading Materials on the Reading Comprehension of Ninth-grade EFL Students in Jordan and on their Attitudes towards Reading

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the
effect of using authentic reading materials on the reading
comprehension of Jordanian ninth-grade EFL students and on
their attitudes toward reading. The subjects of the study were
thirty-three students at Um Tufail Secondary School for Girls
(Amman) who comprised the control group, and twenty
students at Jordan University Model School who comprised
the experimental group. Three instruments were used: Eight
authentic reading passages, a reading attitude questionnaire,
and a reading comprehension test. Data were analyzed using
means, standard deviations, and analysis of covariance
(ANCOVA). The results showed that using authentic reading
materials significantly improved the reading comprehension
and reading attitudes of students in the experimental group.
Therefore, the researchers recommended that more authentic
reading materials be included in ninth-grade textbooks, and
teachers introduce students to different sources of authentic
reading materials, such as magazines, brochures, and the
Internet.