The Effects of Graphic Organizers on Reading Comprehension Achievement of EFL Learners

Graphic organizers (GOs) are visual frameworks assisting students in the comprehension of a text. Studies in literature have mostly focused on L1 readers and there is a lack of empirical research about the instructional effects of GOs on L2 readers. The purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of GOs on reading comprehension achievement of EFL learners. An experimental design with a control group was used in the study. 50 intermediate level EFL learners in the preparatory classes of School of Foreign Languages at Dokuz Eylül University formed the group of participants for the study. The participants were given the Reading Comprehension Achievement Test before the treatment. GOs were studied with the experimental group in reading selected passages. The same reading materials were studied in the control group without the instruction of GOs. After a twelve-week treatment, both groups were given the Reading Comprehension Achievement Test again. After the statistical analysis, it was found that there was a significant difference in the reading comprehension achivement of the groups in favor of the experimental one. The results have revealed that the instruction of GOs in EFL reading courses helps learners in the comprehension of reading materials in English.