Recently, QtA has sparked the interest of investigators working in diverse of circumstances. Many attempts have been devoted to investigate the perspectives of those related to the application of QtA. Among those studies, the effectiveness of this method and
the perspectives of teacher and students have become one of the most significant points in discussion. From the beginning of the 21st century to present, the consideration of researchers with QtA has increased in both Asia and Western Europe.
First, several recent studies on the effect of QtA on RC in various settings and ages have been conducted (Fibriana, 2017; Baleghizadeh, 2011, Reichenberg, 2014). All of these studies consistently found that QtA could indeed help participants improve their RC.
Fibriana (2017) conducted a pre-experimental design for teaching RC to secondary students. The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy of the Questioning the Author strategy in teaching RC of recount text. The population of 128 eighth-grade students participated in this study from 4 classes A, B, C, and D with the purposive sampling technique. The application of the QtA technique demonstrated that the students’ outcome on comprehension skills of recount text was enhanced, and it was discovered that the participants seemed to have sufficient eagerness and awareness in reading text as a result of this strategy. It was also demonstrated that the significant score of the participants’
accomplishment was 5.7. This result showed that using the QtA strategy drastically enhanced the students’ reading ability of the recount text.
Baleghizadeh (2011) sought to investigate the impact of student-generated questions on EFL students’ RC. The study enlisted the help of 98 adult students. Three experimental groups and one control group were used. The first experimental group read two unmodified reading passages and responded to fifteen multiple-choice comprehension questions. Before responding the comprehension skills questions, these subjects were required to generate a number of questions associated with the input texts and discuss with a classmate.
Analogously, participants in the second experimental group were instructed to come up with a list of questions and discuss them with a partner. They were, nevertheless, prepared in the Questioning the Author technique (QtA). Participants in the third group followed the same
texts in a simplified form and discussed the same set of questions without generating any questions.At last, the students in the control group perused the unmodified texts and independently answered the same comprehension questions. The findings revealed that participants in all experimental groups outperformed their counterparts in the control group.
Nonetheless, the reading scores of the participants who had received QtA training were significantly higher than the scores of their peers in the other three groups. This also demonstrates the importance of teaching students how to generate their own comprehension questions.
Another study from Reichenberg (2014), a qualitative one of a preceding statistical pilot trial where the Questioning the Author (QtA) program, was assessed in a Scandinavian setting. The goal was to assess how the process of teachers implement QtA discussion steps in narrow groups of 6 individuals. The session recorded video were analyzed by means of QtA discussion moves. According to the study, (a) developing QtA in that school setting takes patience and time. Original steps were taken within the first year of treatment, however, teachers struggled to maintain the increasing concentration and constructivity. These obstacles had almost vanished by the second and third years. Some discussion steps, such as turning back, recapping, revoicing, and annotating, appeared to be performed more competently than others. The teachers’ techniques scaffolded the students’ understanding approaches while also providing personalized feedback and chances for reflection.
Sencibaugh & Sencibaugh (2015) also applied QtA in their teaching process in a small group of teenagers. The goal of their study was to assess the efficiency of structured explicit instruction of this questioning strategy to enhance middle school students’ reading process. The RC of six eighth-grade students was specifically examined to determine if the questioning strategy, QtA, contributed to the rise in academic comprehension of a narrative text. When the data for the study was statistically analyzed using a one group pre- and
posttest design, the findings indicate that all six students improved significantly in their RC rates. The QtA strategy had a positive significant impact on the reading performance of all students who participated in the study.
Besides, the views of those who are directly involved in the QtA application process such as students and teachers have also gained a great amount of attention from researchers.
Different views and opinions on this approach are investigated and analyzed in various contexts. Some of the recent remarkable effort are from Png (2016) and Foong et al (2009)
Png (2016) focused on a study engaging teachers from a specific Singaporean primary level who were integrated QtA, a novel teaching method to them. The paper examines the reactions of the first group of teachers at that school who decided to try QtA with their lessons. The transcripts of their interview sessions and documented reflective surfaces demonstrate that in their teaching approach, RC improved after they went through the lesson preparation and practising classes, as well as the real teaching of QtA lectures. The transition was also witnessed because the instructor saw the advantages QtA made on their multilingual schoolchildren. Following the use of QtA in their classes, the teacher-participants generated further conversations between themselves and their pupils, as well as among the classmates.
They also motivated the students to understand the passage much more deeply. This research confirms that QtA can function properly for nations in the Eastern contexts as well, and that teachers’ mindsets can be modified with duration and highly experienced assistants.
Foong et al (2009) paid attention to the use QtA in teaching ESL for young learners in Singapore. In primary grade 4, a small-scale study of comprehension skills was conducted.
One area of the study involved incorporating the “Questioning-the-Author” (QtA) technique (Beck & McKeown, 2002) into RC classes. Following that, students responded to comprehension questions including ‘Traditional’ RC questions (literal, inferential, and applicative, as mentioned by Ruddell, 1999) and question-and-answer format (e.g., “What do
you think the author wants you to do and understand?”). In addition to using lesson handouts to assess student comprehension, they also had a survey given out to collect data on students’
perceptions of item difficulty and level of interest. Exercises containing traditional kinds of comprehension questions were created and distributed to all students, regardless of group, at the conclusion of each lesson. All classes and assessments in both the experimental and control groups were recorded in form of audio and video, so that to guarantee that the experimental group implemented proper method and to confirm that the control group did not apply QtA or comparable instructional methods. The findings indicate that, while almost 70%
of students thought QtA-style questions were challenging, a higher percentage of them were capable of passing that part. This was in comparison to the TRC section, where students said that TRC questions were less difficult yet just 36% of them received at least 50% mark in the test.
Table 2.5 Summary of recent studies related to QtA
Year Research Research aims Participant Research
design
Research tools 1 2009 Foong et al,
Singapore
the differences between traditional comprehension questions and QtA questions.
134 students in 4th grade + 2 teachers
Quantitative worksheet + questionnaire
2 2011 Baleghizadeh, Iran
the effect of student-generated questions on RC of EFL students trained in QtA
98 adult students at university
Quantitative posttest
3 2012 Ayu, Indonesia the effect of QtA in teaching RC
50 students in junor high school
Quantitative pretest + posttest 4 2014 Reichenberg,
Sweden
how teachers adapted QtA discussion moves in small
36 students in 4th grade + 6 teachers
Qualitative video- recorded
groups lessons 5 2015 Sencibaugh &
Sencibaugh, USA
the effects of QtA in the RC in middle school
6 students in 8th grade
Quantitative pretest + posttest
6 2015 Resi, Indonesia the effect of QtA in RC of narrative texts
75 students in 10th grade
Quantitative test + questionnaire 7 2016 Png, Singapore the views of the teachers who
had QtA lessons over 2 years
5 teachers in primary school
Qualitative interview + teachers’
reflection.
8 2017 Fibriana, Indonesia
the effect of QtA in RC of recount text
128 students in 8th grade
Quantitative pretest + posttest 9 2017 Elita, Indonesia the effect of QtA in RC of
analytical exposiroty text
64 students in 11th grade
test + questionnaire
pretest + posttest 10 2019 Agustiawan et
al, Indonesia
the effect of QtA in RC and students’ response to the use of QtA
80 students in 8th grade
test + questionnaire
test + questionnaire
Overall, published investigations generated some advantages that contribute meaningfully to reading instruction. To begin, it is evident that QtA, in the form of a combination of questions and discussion, is one of the most important strategies that students can use to read effectively. Specifically, after the implementation of QtA, students’ RC improved noticeably (Foong et al, 2009; Baleghizadeh, 2011; Reichenberg, 2014; Fibrianna, 2017). Furthermore, despite the difficulties that may arise during the lesson, this reading strategy receives relatively positive feedback from the direct participants—teachers and students—who all have a positive attitude toward the use of it.
Despite the fact that the previous works imply significant great strengths that could be derived for language education, there are some disparities between reality and scientific procedures. First, with the exception of Foong (2009) and Reichenberg (2014), the majority of the studies were conducted on secondary and university students (Baleghizadeh, 2011;
Reichenberg, 2014; Resi, 2015; Fibrianna, 2017). As a result, they may be ineffective for examining subjects for younger learners. This is due to the fact that learners’ language acquisition can be influenced by their age. Second, the purpose of these research was to look into the effect of QtA on RC in general. The effect of this strategic approach on various types of comprehension was by some means underestimated by the investigators (e.g., comprehension of informational meaning, comprehension of grammatical meaning, etc,...).
Lastly, how to prepare for the lesson and how teachers identify the set of questions before the classroom have not been clearly mentioned, so there are still a number of issues that need to be researched further.
In summary, the prior studies revealed both benefits and drawbacks. The majority of research show that QtA is a potential factor that influences English RC, which fuels the application of this reading strategy.
This study, in terms of research methods, research purposes and subjects, can be considered quite similar to Foong’s research (2009). Both used tests and questionnaires to find out the effect of QtA on RC and perception of young students (namely 4th graders with an average age of 10).
However, the contexts of the two studies are the biggest difference. Foong’s research was conducted in Singapore and this study was conducted in Vietnam. One thing to note is that in Singapore, English is one of the four official languages, alongside Malay, Mandarin and Tamil. Students in Singapore, therefore, begin to learn English from the pre-primary school age (from 6 to 9 years old) with English as a second language, whereas, in Vietnam,
English is considered as a foreign language. language, and children have learned English compulsorily at school from 3rd grade since 2018.
Thus, according to the EF report in 2020, the English proficiency of Vietnamese people is ranked 56th out of 88 countries, in the middle proficiency level (EF EPI 2018) while Singapore’s ranking is 5rd. This shows a big difference between English proficiency in the two countries, and it can be said that the English level of Vietnamese students will generally be lower than that of their counterparts in Singapore. The difference in English language between two countries is related to the categorization of Kachru (1991), who introduces the terms of Inner Circle, Outer Circle and Expanding Circle. According to this division, Singapore belongs to Outer Circle, where English is learned as second language whilst Vietnam is in Expanding Circle, where people learn English as foreign language or international language. In summary, given the difference in language proficiency of the two target groups and the setting of English teaching and learning, the difference and specific contribution of this study, in the context of Vietnam, is significant.