Abstract:
BACKGROUND: Many first-year students find the reading of academic texts to be challenging and
overwhelming. In particular, first-year students studying sociology at the South African
institution where the study was conducted complain of comprehension challenges. This may
be due to the presence of numerous theoretical and abstract concepts in sociology texts, which
have to be unpacked in order to gain a greater understanding of social phenomena. A high
level of reading proficiency is required in the reading of sociology texts; however, some
students are poor readers and find it difficult to cope.
OBJECTIVES: The article reports on a support programme aimed at improving first-year
sociology students’ academic reading proficiency.
METHOD: In addition to explicit strategy instruction, which has been used by many researchers
to improve reading comprehension, role play was introduced to the reading of sociology texts
during tutorials in order to promote deep reading and improve comprehension. Pre-tests and
post-tests, together with closed-ended and open-ended questionnaires, were used to determine
the efficacy of the intervention. The tests were analysed using t-tests, and the questionnaires
were analysed using descriptive statistics for the closed-ended section and content analysis for
the open-ended questions.
RESULTS: The findings showed that a significant number of students had improved their
reading proficiency and reported both cognitive and affective benefits.
CONCLUSION: Recommendations are made in relation to the use of role play in addition to
explicit strategy instruction in order to maximise the improvement of students’ academic
reading ability.
