Authentic Texts and Pakistani Learners' ESL Reading Comprehension Skills: A Mixed-Method Study

Abstract

This paper highlights the varied perspectives towards authenticity and discusses a study which investigated the effects of utilizing authentic texts instead of the traditionally used passages on the Grades VI and VII students in an Asian ESL context, namely Pakistan. The research adopted a mixed method approach incorporating an experimental design and semi-structured questionnaires and involved 154 students of two private schools. The results showed that the reading comprehension abilities of more proficient and average learners who were exposed to authentic texts improved significantly as compared to the abilities of those who only had exposure to the traditional textbook material. The questionnaire responses indicated that the students were interested in reading authentic texts and they wanted these texts incorporated in their syllabus. Thus it is proposed that authentic texts should be utilized in second language classrooms, which can lead to the development of more proficient readers. The theoretical beliefs underpinning the concept of authenticity in relation to language teaching have been undergoing considerable perceptional shifts in the last few decades which call for further investigations in actual educational environments. Initially, authenticity was only linked to texts which were taken from the world outside the classroom; thereafter with the importance being placed on language activities and learners, the scope of authenticity was extended to include varied aspects of the educational environment (Joy, 2011; Mishan, 2004). However, these changes in points of view also tended to obscure the concept. At the same time, a section of the literature (e.g., Berardo, 2006) continued to emphasize the importance of authentic texts in the acquisition of reading comprehension skills but without decisive evidence in support of the co-relation. Thus this article, while discussing the theoretical beliefs related to authentic texts, importantly presents a small scale study which attempted to provide empirical evidence indicating the positive influence of these text types on the second language reading comprehension skills of Pakistani learners.