Examining the use of Affective and Social Strategies in Teaching Reading Comprehension in Pakistan

Developing ESL learners’ reading comprehension skills presents a significant challenge for English language teachers in Pakistan. This study aimed to examine the complexity of teaching reading comprehension skills by exploring the extent to which affective and social strategies are implemented. These strategies align with Dewey’s (1930) concept of learning by doing, emphasising that learning occurs through social interaction and engagement. This study also examined the challenges faced by the respondents that impact on their preference in teaching strategies. Using a descriptive, survey-based method, quantitative data were gathered from 200 randomly selected secondary school teachers through an adapted structured questionnaire and analysed using SPSS. The findings reported a low preference for affective strategies while there is a moderate use of social strategies. The respondents relied on text-translation methods, focusing on syllabus completion. This indicates a misalignment between the respondents’ teaching practices and the concept of learning by doing, hindering the development of reading comprehension skills. The findings suggest that the reliance on such methods are the impacts of the challenges in teaching reading comprehension skills such as time constraints and class size. This study highlights the need for a shift from exam-oriented learning to a learning environment that supports the employment of affective and social strategies. Various stakeholders such as policy makers, curriculum developers and education departments need to work together to develop proper mechanisms that can support such learning environment, reinforcing the need for experiential, engaging, and socially grounded education.