A comparative study on reading comprehension between Iranian simultaneous bilingual and monolingual EFL learners

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of simultaneous bilingual (i.e., Arab Speakers) and Iranian EFL monolingual (i.e., Persian) learners on reading comprehension. Since the researchers are in contact with a good number of Iranian bilinguals in the educational system, they have decided to investigate whether these bilingual learners who know both Arabic and Persian, can be different in learning reading comprehension. To perform this study, 110 senior high school bilingual and monolingual participants who were studying in four different schools of Mahshahr, Iran were selected through the administration of Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT). Sixty learners who were determined as the intermediate level were divided into four male and female (i.e. bilingual and monolingual) groups through convenience sampling method. They were given a teacher-made pre-test of reading comprehension before the treatment to determine how well the participants know the contents. During 16 sessions of reading comprehension courses, four groups covered eight passages selected from Select Readings: Intermediate (Lee Gundersen, 2011). The pre and post-test were validated through face and criterion validities and Cronbach Alpha reliability indexes. Collected data were analyzed through One-way ANOVA which compared the means of the pre-test and the post-test scores in four groups and Paired Samples t-test that was used to compare the pre and post-test of each group. Results showed that monolinguals performed better than the simultaneous bilinguals and also the female students were more successful than the male learners. Moreover, implications of the study give useful suggestions to teachers and learners who study reading comprehension in the bilingual contexts.