Revealing Ninth-Grade EFL Students’ Reading Engagement Through the Read-STOP-Write Strategy

Dwi Arif Wibowo; Rudi Hartono; Rahayu Puji Haryanti; Intan Permata Hapsari

doi:10.24256/ideas.v14i2.13056

Authors

Dwi Arif Wibowo Universitas Negeri Semarang, Indonesia
Rudi Hartono Universitas Negeri Semarang, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9331-8744
Rahayu Puji Haryanti Universitas Negeri Semarang, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0009-0005-6393-6011
Intan Permata Hapsari Universitas Negeri Semarang, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0894-3188

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24256/ideas.v14i2.13056

Keywords:

EFL, junior high school, mixed methods, Read-STOP-Write, reading engagement

Abstract

Reading engagement is considered important for learning to read in a foreign language, yet little is known about how lower-secondary learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) engage across the stages of a demanding multistep reading and writing routine such as Read-STOP-Write. This explanatory sequential mixed-methods study examined ninth-grade students’ reading engagement during six Read-STOP-Write sessions in an Indonesian junior high school. Questionnaire data came from 64 students in an experimental and a control class (n = 32 each); qualitative data came from narrative observations of the six sessions, interviews with six students, and an interview with their teacher. Self-reported engagement rose in both classes (experimental: 54.28 to 59.84; control: 55.34 to 58.88), but after controlling for pretest scores the classes did not differ at posttest (adjusted difference = 1.84, 95% CI [−3.95, 7.63], p = .528), nor on any of the four engagement dimensions. Individual change was far more variable in the experimental class (gain SD = 15.01 vs. 7.09). Observations and interviews showed volunteering, presenting, rereading, dictionary use, and peer help alongside passivity, fatigue, copying, and confusion, with engagement stronger once students reached writing and presentation. The findings do not show that Read-STOP-Write increased engagement. They indicate that engagement was conditional on task complexity, language demands, scaffolding, time, fatigue, and peer interaction.

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