The Effectiveness of the Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) Strategy in Jordanian EFL Tenth-Grade Students’ Reading Comprehension

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate to what extent the Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) strategy affects Jordanian EFL tenth grade students' reading comprehension. Methods: The study followed the quasi-experimental design, which is based on a one-group pre- and post-test design (repeated measures) to measure the dependent variable before the treatment was implemented and once it was implemented. The treatment lasted for eight weeks during the first semester of the academic year 2021–2022. The sample of the study consisted of 30 male students in the tenth grade who were purposefully selected from Turra Secondary School in Al-Ramtha Directorate of Education. To achieve its objectives, a DRTA-based instructional program and a pre- and post-reading comprehension test were developed. The results were statistically analyzed using SPSS. Results: The study results showed that using DRTA made a statistically significant difference (at α = 0.05) between the mean scores on the pre-test and the post-test. They also showed improvement in the sample’s reading comprehension resulting from the reading activities in which the participants were involved in the program. Conclusions: The study recommended using DRTA to improve students’ reading comprehension. The study concluded that using DRTA is an effective learning strategy for improving students' comprehension. DRTA combines four techniques: predicting, reading, confirming or refuting, and justifying. These techniques are used to enhance reading comprehension.