A comparison of the guided reading method and the cloze method and their effects on reading comprehension

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Abstract T ony Minotti Osaka Shoin Women's University This paper presents the findingsof an empirical investigation into the e町ectsof two teaching strategies on the reading and comprehension levels for japanese English language learners (ELL) at the university level.The two teaching strategiescompared were the guided reading method and the cloze method. The results showed an overall improvement in comprehension levels when either the guided reading methodand the clozemethod were used.

Keywords

Guided reading， clozemethod

“

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is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge."

Albert Einstein(n.d.)

Introduction

There is a famous proverb that 1 believe is false， the one claiming

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Sticks and stones may break my bones

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but words will never hurt me." Most ofus learn early in lifehow powerful a tool languageis and how it can be used for good or i ll. Languagehasthe ability toenlighten and delight us， but it also can infiict psychological injury. It is also as central to oursocial interactions asit is to our cognitive pursuits. It is the responsibilityof the teacher to guide students in such a way that they can make the most of the power of the spoken word. This

is not an easytask， given that we live inan ever-changing environment to which we as educators must adapt.EFL classroom environments have been shifting from predominantly teacher centered classrooms to more student interactive classrooms. Two methods characteristic ofthis transformation are theguided reading method (Fountas& Pinnell 1996)， which is a tactic used to teach reading in small groups， while providing individual coaching， and the cloze method that is based on written texts， which have purposefu11y selected words omitted and replaced by blanks. To me it was interesting tocompare the two methods in orderto study the students'ability toplan what tosayorwrite， and toorganize what is heard and read. 日!iththis in mind

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1 conducted a trial comparing both methods. The following sections outline the teaching methods， the classroom context， the study design， and the analysisofthe dataco11ected.

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h A U With guidedreading the class begins by havingstudentssitingroups oftwo or four

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based on the similar English language abilities ofthe students. As a class they scan through the article (looking at pictures) while predicting what the storyisabout. Allthestudents are asked to read thestory outloud but not in unison， havingeach studentreadattheir own pace. While the students read the teacher walks around to identiぢ anycommon pronunciation mistakes that are being made. If there are any words or phrases that need tobe practiced the teacher modelsand leads appropriate choral practice afterthe wholeclass finishes reading. The students then pair up and take turns readingand explaining the story to eachother. There aretwo preset goals to this approach. The first isto have the students use only Englishwhen interacting in the classroom

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and second thestudentsneed to use English to“ ・・・obtain，process， construct， and provide

subject-matter information inspoken and written form." (Harrモ11& Jordan2008: 222)

The clozemethod is basedon the ideaofteachingcomposition with some ofthe text missing. Students are first placed in groupsof 2-4 students based on their reading abilities. The classis givena cloze handout and asked to work with their groupmembers to fi11 in the blanks with an appropriate answer. The classas a group checks the answers， and discussesany problems they may have had with the handout. Studentsarethenaskedto silently read theirstorieswith blanks and白11in the blankswiththe bestword Studentsin thegroup thentake turns reading a section of the storywiththewords they filledin. They must explainto the group how they decided on the word that theyselected. Usingclozethe cloze method helps students figureoutunknown words based on thecontext of the sentence. This kindofpractice helps students gain a better understandingof the textthat is being read(Hinkel

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2006). An example ofthe table used can be found in the appendix.

Study Design

The participants were divided into two classes. Class A had 30 students and class

B had 28 students.Each week classes A and B would rotate with regards to the way they were taught. Class A used the clozemethod forthe odd numbered weeks and theguided reading method on even numbered weeks.Class B fo11owed the opposite rotation so thateveryweek each method was implemented with one of the classes.

The study consisted oftwo phases

1.Teaching approach

1.1 Students using theguidedreading method formed groups. At their own pace they read the storythatwas given to them. A mini-lesson was conducted based on theneedsof thestudents.Students took turns reading the story to their group members. The groupmembers worked togetherto summarize the storyand buildcomprehension.

1.2 Studentsusing theclozemethod formed groupsbased on theirreading ability. The teacherhanded outa clozeworksheet(all fourtypesof cloze

techniques were used; traditional， syntactic， semantic， andgraphophonic). The group members worked together tocomplete theworksheet. As a class we corrected the worksheet.The students were allgiven a story that had blanks that they had to fillin. Allstudents did this individually. A仕er that， members of the group took turns reading parts of the storywiththeir chosen word. Each student needed to explain to the group eitherwhy or how they came to the conclusion that they did. 2. Test At theend of the lesson all students were given a comprehension test based on the story that was read during the class. The test consisted often questions

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the goals were todetermine how much information was learned and to seeif there

was a difference in test scores based on the teaching method that was used inthe class.

Data Collection

At the beginning of the class the students practiced vocabulary and

comprehension as a class. This was done by either the guidedreading method or

the cloze method. The class was conductedusing one of the two methods， and at

the end of the class a comprehension test was administered. The test papers were collectedand thescoreswere recorded. The test scores of both teaching methods

were comparedto seeif therewere any differences.

Analysis

Group A used the cloze teaching method for weeks 1， 3， and 5， while Group B

used the guided reading teaching method during weeks 2， 4， and 6. Inallcases

thescores showed similar results irrespective of the teaching method used， as

Guided Reading

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10 9 8 ヲ ' 瓜 U 戸 、 “ -HhE 剖 ﹃ 岡 田 副 ﹄ 国 U 聞 4 3 2 Week1 7 日 1 ￨-guided readi珂 ￨ーーclo:1leme出od

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Figure 1: Comparison ofaverage testscores

One possible reason for theresultsis thatboth ofthesemethods helpthe

students to comprehend the concepts of the reading passage. The purpose ofthis research has been toseeifeither ofthese methods would helpELL studentsto Even though both methods take slightly better theirreading comprehensionskills. different approaches， the goal ofhelping studentsbetter understand storieshas been accomplished. Conclusion Learning a language isa difficult task

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with many studentsgivingup or not It is important foreducators reaching their potential in the learning process. to developmethods and procedures that will facilitate thestudentsof today. The success of乱Ituregenerationsisdirectlyconnectedto theeducators'ability to motivate the students in such a way that they learn， and retain information Each group was

more efficiently.In this study I used two groupsofstudents.

taughtusing theguided reading method and the clozemethods on a rotating weeklybasis.The students were then taughtusing one of thetwo methods.The resultsshowed that over the six-week period ofthestudy allstudents scored

highscores on the test

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and thatneither method engendered overwhelmingly

methods ofteaching.Also， individualstudentsmay have theirown unique way of demonstrating the knowledge acquiredand absorbingthe information that is

imparted. Therefore， toaid this process of demonstratingknowledge， 1 suggest an instructoradopt whichevertechnique thatassiststhe studentsin retaining the

informationand increasingtheirunderstanding. 1 havefound thatusing both the guided reading method and theclozemethod helps English language learners in their understandingof readingpassages. Thiswould appearto be demonstrated by theirhigh-test scores. Learninghow toaccommodate your teaching style to

thechallengesthat your studentsare facingwillhelpyou be success白1inmany

different classroomsituations. Appendix Type of Cloze

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Definition Example Traditional Q U ， d y

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V C QU 白 u e J A L m m 1 went fora walk to the 1 wanted to a 1 watched carefully but1 was to be Syntactic Struct ure words aredeleted. 1 went a tothe sea. wanted see dolphin. 1 watched carefully ___一一一一一一 1was be disappointed. Semantic Contentwords are deleted. 1 went fora walk to the 1 wanted to a 1 __________________care乱Illybut 1 was to ____________________ disappointed.

Graphophonic Some lettersare

deleted. 1 w fora w to the s 1 wanted toseea d 1 watched c but 1 was to be d (Gibbons， 1993)

Notes

1.There arefourdifferenttypes dependingon the approach you want to take.

Combining or usingallfour di町erenttypesisalso feasible and encouraged.

2. One way tomake the taska little easieristohavea listofthe vocabulary

words thatareused inthe exercisewritten on the bottom of the page.

References

Albert， Einstein.(n.d.) Brainyquotes.com. Retrieved January 23 2014， from

BrainyQuote.com Web site:www.brainyquote.com

Fountas， ，.I & Pinnell， G.(1996). Guided reading: Good first teaching forall

children.

(Portsmouth)， HH* Heinemann.

Gibbons， P. (1993). Learning to learn ina second language.Portsmouth， NH:

Heinemann.

Harrell， A.， & Jordan， M (2008).50 Strategies for Teaching EnglishLanguage

Learners.

NJ: Pearson

Hinkel

，

E.(2006).Current perspectives on teachingthefourskills. TESOL

Quarterly， 40