Abstract—To examine the impact of schema theory, the
researcher conducted single-group pre-test-post-test
experimental research investigating the effect of schema theory
as a reading tool to enhance the professional reading
competence of engineering students at Bangkok University,
Thailand. Reading comprehension tests and a self-reported
questionnaire were used as data collection tools to acquire
information. The pre- and post-test scores were calculated by
descriptive statistics and compared using a dependent t-test
measure. It was found that students obtained higher scores for
the post-test than for the pre-test at the 0.01 level of significance.
That is, schema activated via pre-reading self-generated
questions can help students develop their reading competence.
Additionally, students stated that activating schema via
self-generated questions during a pre-reading activity helped
them to understand text better. This study strongly confirmed
the previous studies showing that schemata significantly
promote reading competence.
Index Terms—EFL, reading comprehension, schema theory,
self-generated questioning.
N. Munsakorn is with the Language Institute, Bangkok University,
Bangkok, 12120, Thailand (e-mail: nuttanuch.m@bu.ac.th).
Cite: N. Munsakorn, "Schema as a Springboard for Professional Reading Competence: Activating Schema via Self-Generated Questioning," International Journal of Information and Education Technology vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 270-273, 2015.