Using Interactive Picture-Book Read-Alouds with Middle School EFL Students

The current study investigated the effects of interactive picture-book read-alouds on middle school EFL students’ word inference ability and attitudes toward reading in English. To this end, two classes of seventh-grade students from a public middle school in Taiwan participated and were randomly divided into two groups- an interactive picture-book read-aloud (IPBRA) group and a control group. The intervention took place in a 40-minute morning study hall per week over a period of 10 weeks. The two groups were tested using Reading Attitude Survey (RAS) and Word Inference Assessment (WIA) two weeks before and then two weeks after the intervention was implemented to assess improvement. Results indicated that interactive picture-book read-alouds had a positive impact on EFL middle schoolers’ reading attitudes and use of text and prior knowledge to infer the meanings of unfamiliar words. This study suggests that the motivating learning atmosphere of interactive picture-book read-alouds provided positive classroom environment and enabled students to have fun while interacting freely with one another, which, in turn, facilitated reading attitude changes, leading to better learning and better performance on word inference in subsequent reading activities.