The Impact of the "Cause and Effect" Strategy on Improving Reading Skills in Beginner Non-Persian Learners at Al-Mustafa International University

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 پل کریمخان اول ایرانشهر شمالی سازمان پژوهش و برنامه ریزی آموزشی ف ط 5 گروه زبانهای خارجی

2 MA Student of Teaching Persian to Non Persian Speakers at Allameh Tabatabaee University

3 Assisstant Professor at Allameh Tabatabaee University

10.48310/rpllp.2025.18291.1191

Abstract

Reading is one of the essential skills that non-Persian learners must acquire. This study examines the impact of the "Cause and Effect" strategy on enhancing the reading skills of beginner non-Persian learners at Al-Mustafa International University. This strategy helps learners recognize logical relationships between sentences and concepts, thereby strengthening analytical thinking and text comprehension.This research employed an experimental-interventional design using a randomized controlled trial (RCT) methodology. A total of 50 beginner Persian learners were randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group. The experimental group received an eight-week structured intervention focusing on the "Cause and Effect" strategy. Pre-test and post-test assessments were conducted using the standard reading comprehension test developed by the International Center for Persian Language Education (ICLPE) at Allameh Tabatabaee University.The results of the covariance analysis (ANCOVA) indicated that applying the "Cause and Effect" strategy significantly improved the overall reading skill scores. Notable progress was observed in general text comprehension, practical text comprehension, specialized texts, and information matching. However, no significant improvement was found in concept analysis, inference, and text completion. These findings suggest that this strategy can be an effective pedagogical approach in teaching Persian reading skills to non-Persian learners.

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