THE ATTITUDES OF EFL LEARNERS TOWARDS USING MIND MAPPING SOFTWARE ON THEIR READING COMPREHENSION

Nowadays, the technological developments are one of the inseparable parts of teaching especially in English language teaching programs. Reading as one of the important and purposeful macro skills of literacy is mainly based on the interaction of an active reader and the text in order to get the meaning (Alderson & Urquhart, 1984; Koda, 2005). And as many stated, the comprehension is the most important part of reading (e. g. Pressley, 2006). There are lots of modern devices which suits reading comprehension. Mind mapping softwares are among them. This study aimed to search the attitudes of 31 EFL female students towards the use of mind mapping softwares on reading comprehension activities. They were sophomore students of business management at Hakiman university, Bojnourd, Iran. The research was conducted through an attitude questionnaire and the data was analyzed by calculating the frequencies of the answers to these 17 questions in the Lickert type. The results showed that the participants’ attitudes were significantly positive towards the use of mind mapping soft wares on their reading activities in order to enhance comprehension. Most of them found them an interesting tool, although expressed that it is more difficult to design a mind map by software in comparison to its handmade designation. They emphsized on some of the advantages of software mind maps like sharing or even designing their mind maps with others via internet.