المستخلص: |
The present study aimed at developing the necessary critical reading skills and social skills for Egyptian EFL second year preparatory school students, through a proposed program based on using reading circles strategy. The study adopted the quasi-experimental pre-post test one study group design. The study sample consisted of 44 students from Sohag Experimental Preparatory School in Sohag Govemorate. Who were trained to use the reading circles strategy. The program lasted for about 30 weeks during the academic year 2012/2013. Tools of the study included: A social skills questionnaire, a pre-/post critical reading skills test, reading circles roles sheets, and reflection sheets. The study results revealed that there were statistically significant differences at 0.01 level between the mean scores of the study group in the pre and post test in favor of the post administration. The main differences were clearly shown in the overall critical reading skills as well as in each sub critical reading skill. There were also statistically significant differences at 0.01 level between the mean scores of the study group in the pre and post-administrations of the social skills questionnaire in favor of the post-administration. The use of reading circles strategy increased students’ critical reading skills and social skills. Students mentioned that they learned how to summarize topics in few sentences. They acquired the following skills: (1) looking up words in a dictionary, (2) differentiating between a fact and an opinion, (3) expecting, the topic of a passage or a story, (4) makingconnections between the stories they read and similar incidents they knew about; and (5) working in groups. Moreover, they enjoyed drawing pictures of the lessons and stories. They also acquired some social skills like respecting friends, listening to others and helping them.
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