Abstract:

In an earlier pilot study, we found that advanced English for Academic Purposes (EAP) students who were not experienced computer readers could neither scan nor skim texts effectively on screen. In the present study, we hypothesized that if students were taught to use facilitating strategies, they would scan better from screen than from paper and also skim and close-read as well as they do on paper. Throughout the semester, students in the experimental group were taught to use available on-line tools, and at the end of the semester a reading comprehension test was administered to the students in the experimental and the control groups. The results showed that in all question types, students reading from screen performed as well as those reading from paper, confirming two of the three hypotheses.

Author: Sara Kol, Miriam Schcolnik