The application of semantic mapping technique to enhance English-majored students’ reading competence

Abstract

This study seeks to investigate the perspectives of senior students majoring in English about the effectiveness of semantic mapping as a pre-reading technique for enhancing reading comprehension. Semantic mapping is a frequently employed strategy to assist students in accessing their prior knowledge related to the subject matter and language of a reading text.Throughout the four-week intervention period, the participants were provided with the pre-reading intervention known as semantic mapping. The data was gathered using a pretest and post-test to compare the students’ reading comprehension accomplishment scores. Additionally, individual interviews were conducted to obtain the students’ thoughts on the intervention. The posttest results indicated a marginal increase in the students’ scores compared to the pre-test. The results also showed that the use of semantic mapping had a positive impact on the students’ attitudes towards improving the learning experience. Future suggestions entail increasing the sample size and performing pre-test interviews with students to ascertain the tactics employed during testing.