LEVERAGING READ-ALOUD INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY (RAIS) FOR ENHANCING ENGLISH READING FLUENCY, ANXIETY, AND CONFIDENCE OF EFL CHINESE UNDERGRADUATES: A QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL MULTI-GROUP DESIGN

The perennial challenge of reading fluency, notably profound among Asian EFL learners, stems largely from linguistic disparities, conventional teaching paradigms, and ingrained cognitive practices. This study critically investigates the challenges Chinese undergraduates face with English reading fluency, notably due to linguistic disparities and historically rooted teaching methodologies. Leveraging the Read-Aloud Instructional Strategy (RAIS), this quasi-experimental study sampled 73 students from a private university in Thailand. Baseline assessments depicted similar fluency levels across groups. Post-intervention, the instructor-centered approach demonstrated profound efficacy, with the mean fluency score soaring to 4.35, compared to the student-centered mean of 2.69 and the near-static comparison group at 2.04. Additionally, confidence metrics evinced a remarkable ascent to 3.46 for the instructor-led group, a notable rise to 2.19 for the student-centered cohort, juxtaposed against the comparison group's minimal shift to 1.71. Furthermore, the instructor-centered method substantially ameliorated reading anxiety (d=1.378) and showcased stronger, albeit weak to moderate, post-intervention correlations between fluency, confidence, and anxiety. This comprehensive study underscores the transformative potential of RAIS, particularly the instructor-centered paradigm, in concurrently augmenting reading fluency, confidence, and reducing anxiety among Chinese EFL undergraduates. The implications herein suggest the exigency of reassessing prevalent pedagogical methodologies in Asian EFL environments.  Article visualizations: