English as a Foreign Language Learners’ vs. Teachers’ Attitudes toward Summarizing Strategy and Its Impact on Reading Skill

The overarching purpose of this study was to investigate Iranian EFL students’ and teachers’ attitudes toward verbal and written summarizing strategies and its effect on reading skill. To do so, this study employed a survey-based design. First, to ensure that the instruments and procedures were reliable and valid, the researcher conducted a pilot study. Then, during the main study, a total of ۱۲۰ Iranian EFL intermediate male and female students as well as ۵۰ teachers with at least six years of teaching experience filled out the modified version of a summarizing strategy questionnaire designed by Nguyen and Nguyen (۲۰۱۷) consisting of ۱۵ items. Based on α-Cronbach, the reliability of learners’ and teachers’ questionnaires was ۰.۸۱ and ۰.۸۳, respectively. Both scales were developed on a five-point Likert scale whose responses varied from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the quantitative data. The results of teachers’ and learners’ attitude questionnaires indicated that both instructors and learners held positive attitudes toward verbal and written summarizing strategies and its influence on reading skill. The theoretical and pedagogical implications are discussed in relation to the effectiveness of verbal and written summarizing strategies in enhancing EFL learners’ reading comprehension.