Volume Two - Academic Conferences

Using Blended Learning to Develop Critical Reading Skills
Zuzana Šaffková
Technical University of Liberec, Liberec, Czech Republic
zuzana.saffkova@tul.cz
Abstract: Teacher education programs expect student teachers to succeed in a wide range of academic tasks
that, apart from content knowledge, require effective application of their cognitive strategies as well as their
academic abilities. In order to help the students meet these requirements, a great emphasis should be placed,
among others, on their ability to read critically. However, students usually come to university with limited
experience in academic reading, which reflects in their failure in academic tasks and at worst, consequent
withdrawal from the university. Therefore, the introductory Study Skills course for the first year EFL students was
modified so that it offered students an extended exposure to the reading tasks and activities through blended
learning. An on-line module that supplemented in-class sessions was designed so that it complied with the
principles of scaffolding instruction that helps students, by offering enough support, apply skills and strategies
independently. This also aimed to “facilitate motivational development in reading” and assured “that the students
are not lost or ill-guided” (McNamara, 2007). For tutors, this scheme helped intensively assist the students´
learning and thus foster comprehension monitoring. The effects of the course were examined and the following
research questions were addressed: What are common students´ deficiencies in critical reading skills? Does the
computer-mediated instruction help students understand more in-depth subject matter? What further adjustments
of the course will have to be done? The article presents an insight into the EFL teacher trainees´ common
reading problems, reports on the effectiveness of the on-line environment as judged by the students, and
addresses desirable measures in further research.
Keywords: blended learning, critical reading, reading competence, scaffolding
1. Introduction
The students who enroll in the EFL teacher-training program of the Faculty of Science, Humanities
and Education at the Technical University of Liberec are required just from their first participation in
different courses, seminars and lectures, to demonstrate their ability to cope with a range of tasks that
demand their intellectual and academic maturity. One of the prerequisites necessary for their
successful encounter with a variety of academic tasks is the ability to read critically. However, the
students´ capabilities to use their analytical and evaluative mental processes are generally considered
by the teachers insufficient and superficial. This is mainly manifested in culture studies courses when
the students are asked to read a variety of literary texts, understand and interpret them; as well as in
writing classes, when the students have to organize their thoughts in a logical, persuasive text
supported by proper evidence. In both these types of activities, critical comprehension, interpretation
and evaluation are the most important skills that are imperative in an academic context. The common
deficiencies indentified by the teachers, and also generally mentioned in literature (Carrell, 2000;
Hellekjær, 2009; Hermida, 2009, etc.) refer mainly to the students´ poor ability to identify the authors'
major points – especially the implied ones, to distinguish facts and opinions, to spot arguments, and
to make judgments. All these problems multiply in second language reading since even skilled L1
readers fail to monitor their reading in L2 successfully until they have achieved a certain threshold of
proficiency in the new language, as Alderson supports: “in second language reading, knowledge of L2
is a more important factor than first language reading abilities” (2005, p.23). Thus, two essential
factors underlie the students´ reading competence: language knowledge and knowledge of reading.
Another reason, often hidden within these noticeable demonstrations, is the fact that the reading
comprehension instruction even at the university level is limited to checking or testing the students´
reading skills through comprehension question exercises with little demand on higher-level thinking
skills. It is assumed that the students have already acquired the skills and strategies needed for
approaching a text critically.
2. Critical reading
The ability to read critically is usually understood by the teachers as the ability to comprehend a text,
which means “extracting the required information from it as efficiently as possible” (Grellet 1981, p.3).
Even if the ability to derive meaning from written text accurately and efficiently is a vital skill, it is also
necessary to evaluate the information and ideas detected from the text and then decide what to
accept and believe, which is a “a level of understanding that entails distinguishing fact from opinion;
recognizing an author´s intent, attitude or bias; drawing inferences; and making critical judgments”
(Adams and Patterson 2008, p.141). This level of critical understanding that goes beyond literal
comprehension is crucial for effective reading. Wallace adds that “critical readers do not just
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