Using Tasks as a Pre-reading Procedure to Enhance L2 Reading Comprehension of Narrative Texts

Based on the assumption that preparing the reader before reading can foster reading comprehension, this research presents an empirical study in which the effects of pre-reading tasks on reading comprehension of narrative texts in English as a second language2 (L2) were investigated. Nine participants from a public high school took part in this investigation and to collect data, two Reading Comprehension Tests were fulfilled by participants right after reading each text. As stimuli, two narrative texts were selected. In the treatment condition, participants were exposed to the pre-reading tasks proposed by Willis and Willis (2011), which were adapted to fit the context of this research, prior to reading one of the narrative texts. In the control condition, the second text received a glossary at the end of the passage. The results provided evidence that pre-reading tasks are able to foster the reading comprehension of narrative texts in L2, since participants’ performance was higher in the treatment condition, endorsing previous research on reading. Furthermore, the results also go in line with Willis and Willis’ claim that pre-reading tasks are beneficial for reading comprehension of narrative texts.