The Effectiveness of the Paraphrasing Strategy (RAP) in Developing Reading Comprehension among Eighth-grade Students in Ibb City Schools

Abstract

The study aimed to identify the effectiveness of the paraphrasing strategy (RAP) in developing reading comprehension among eighth-grade students at Ibb schools. To achieve the objectives of the study, the researchers used the experimental method with a quasi-experimental design, on a sample of (50) male and female students from the eighth grade in schools in the city of Ibb, distributed into two groups, the experimental group and the control group. The researchers prepared a list of skills at reading comprehension levels, a teacher’s guide for teaching strategy, and a reading comprehension test. The study's results showed that there were statistically significant differences at the significance level (0.05) between the average scores of the experimental and control groups in the post-application of the reading comprehension test at the levels of reading comprehension (literal, inferential, and critical) separately, and the total score of the reading comprehension test in favor of the experimental group due to the paraphrasing strategy (RAP). In light of the results of the study, the researchers recommended: Using the paraphrasing strategy (RAP) in teaching reading, because it contributes to developing reading comprehension skills.