| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立高雄師範大學 === 英語學系 === 101 === This study explored the effects of the implementation of English adolescent literature on EFL junior high school students’ reading comprehension and peer relationships.
The subjects were 28 ninth-grade students in Minde Junior High School in Tainan City, who participated in the 12-week Bibliotherapy-oriented Adolescent Literature Reading Program (BALRP). Three instruments, the pre-test and post-test of English reading comprehension, the Questionnaire of Peer Interpersonal Relationships (QPIR), and the questionnaire of students’ responses to the BALRP, were adopted. Before the BALRP, the subjects were required to take the pre-test of English reading comprehension and the QPIR. During the BALRP, the subjects were guided to read the three reading selections－All Tutus Should Be Pink (Brownrigg, 1992), Football Friends (Marzollo, Marzollo, &; Marzollo, 1997), and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Brashares, 2009). When finishing every reading selection, the subjects were asked to take the post-test of English reading comprehension. After the BALRP, the subjects were requested to take the QPIR again and answer the questionnaire of students’ responses to the BALRP.
The data for this study were analyzed in a quantitative way and a qualitative way. A paired samples t-test and descriptive statistics were utilized to compare and analyze the data collected from the three instruments. Moreover, the data collected from the open-ended questions of the questionnaire of students’ responses to the BALRP were analyzed and discussed qualitatively. Based on the data analyses, the major findings of this study are summarized as follows:
1.There is a significant difference in the subjects’ pre-test and post-test of English reading comprehension. According to the increased mean score of the post-test, BALRP was effective in enhancing English reading comprehension.
2.Though no significant difference was found in the pre-study and the post-study of QPIR, the subjects expressed their improvement of peer relationships in the open-ended questions in the questionnaire of students’ responses to the BALRP. Therefore, the BALRP promoted the subjects’ positive perceptions of peer relationships.
3.The majority of the subjects responded positively to reading adolescent literature. They were more interested in reading English adolescent than in textbooks. Furthermore, they expressed that reading English adolescent literature helped improve their reading comprehension more than the textbooks in traditional curriculum. They hoped to read more English adolescent literature in future classes.
4.Most of the subjects favored the novel in the BALRP, compared to the picture books for two main reasons. First, there were so many similarities between the subjects and the characters to intrigue them. Second, comprehending the novel satisfied the subjects’ self-achievement.
According to the study findings, integrating adolescent literature into English reading instruction is an effective alternative for English teachers in junior high school. The implementation of English adolescent literature with real-life issues could help students to deal with the problems in their daily life. In addition, by teaching authentic English adolescent literature through small group activities, EFL teachers can break the barrier between teachers and students in reading class.
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