Strategies to Enhance Reading Skills in Omani Students in University of Technology and Applied Sciences: From Challenges to Success

Abstract

This study aims to explore effective reading strategies to enhance the reading skills of Omani students in UTAS, Shinas. It investigates the challenges faced by these students in acquiring reading proficiency and implementing effective strategies to achieve improved scores and comprehend the given tasks in reading skills.  The researchers' experience, along with statistics from student assessments, indicates poor performance among foundation program students in reading, especially at the advanced level. The study focuses on identifying the challenges that hinder reading skills and developing the strategies to enhance the students’ reading comprehension. Level 4 foundation program students were selected and taught various strategies by four researchers. The data of pre-test and post-test were analyzed to gauge the effectiveness of different strategies before and after intervention. The results indicate the effectiveness of the strategies, with notable gains observed, especially in the critical thinking (inference) questions. Additionally, the findings reveal a gender distinction among the Omani students: female students outperformed their male counterparts, and the lead is consistently maintained across different types of questions and in both pre- and post-tests.