On the Effect of Mind Mapping on Reading Comprehension Skills of Iraqi Esp Learners

Abstract

Over the last two decades using visual organizers such as mind mapping in teaching and learning English language has become one of the wide spread used techniques. The current study concentrated on the impact of using mind mapping as a meaningful learning technique in teaching reading comprehension among the ESP learners. The participants of the study consisted of forty Iraqi students at Erbil Polytechnic University who randomly selected in Technical College-Erbil /Department of Business Management. They were divided into two different groups; experimental group which taught by mind mapping and controlling group which exposed to the traditional methods of teaching reading comprehension, 20 students for each group. Their ages were ranged between (18-19) years. The participants are nineteen males and twenty-one females. At the beginning of the study they were given a pretest to measure their reading comprehension ability. Then, they were given the treatment for twelve weeks. After that, they were tested in the posttest to know whether the experimental groups’ knowledge increased comparing to the pretest or not. Finally, the findings illustrated a statistically significance difference between experimental group and the controlling group in terms of posttest achievement in reading comprehension scores. Thus, the mind mapping proved to be beneficial in teaching reading comprehension.

Keywords

• meaningful learning,mind mapping,reading comprehension

References

1. Abbas, N. J. (2012). The Impact of Teaching Method Using the Inductive Technique of Concept Map on Students’ Developing Class Interactional Skills. Unpublished PhD Dissertation – College of Education – Salahaddin University. Adriana, D. C. and Jeanneth Z. (2010). 'The Use of Concept Maps for Developing Children’s Reading and Writing Skills in a Foreign–Language Classrooms'. Ahmad, M. M. S. (2001). The Effect of Brainstorming on Teaching Reading Comprehension in English to University Students. Unpublished Ph.D Dissertation. College of Education /Ibn Rushd, University of Baghdad.