Facilitating Second Language Acquisition: Examining the Influence of Sequential Event Alignment (the Structure Building Based) vs. Shifting in the Reading Proficiency of Upper Intermediate Iranian EFL Learners

The current study was conducted to comparatively investigate the effects of sequential alignment and shifting strategies on the reading proficiency of Iranian English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners. For the purpose of quantitative research, 130 students studying at the “IELTS Online Academy” language institute were selected. Then IELTS placement test was run to verify their level. The participants were divided into three groups with 30 members in each. As the instruments of the study, two tests were used; one reading pretest of IELTS that was run before the treatment and one posttest of reading IELTS that were run after the treatment. The results of paired-sample t-tests and one-way ANOVA tests revealed that both Sequential Alignment and shifting statistically significantly promoted learners’ reading comprehension ability. However, it was found that the sequential event alignment group had significantly outscored the Shifting one. Keywords: sequential alignment, shifting the events, EFL teaching, reading proficiency, IELTS tests