The effect of semantic mapping strategy training on reading comprehension of scientific texts among matriculation students

The objective of this study is to examine the effects of semantic mapping on the reading comprehension of scientific texts among Matriculation college students. This study sought to determine if there are any benefits in instructing Matriculation students to use semantic mapping as means of improving their comprehension of information in scientific texts. The sample consisted of 60 Matriculation students in two different Biology Science classes from Perak Matriculation College (KMPk). One class was assigned as the experimental group, while the other class as the control group. Both experimental and control groups were given the pretest and posttest. The experimental group received the semantic mapping training while the control group did not receive any special training except for normal learning sessions. The 60 students chosen for this study were those considered to be above average in English proficiency as determined by the results of the Malaysian University English Test (MUET) 2004. The findings indicated that semantic mapping strategy training affected the reading comprehension performance of scientific texts among Matriculation college students. The experimental group that received the semantic mapping training improved significantly in their posttest. The findings imply that ESL teachers should encourage their students to use semantic mapping in their reading instruction as it facilitates comprehension.