Classifying Parts of Speech through Google Sheets to Improve Reading Comprehension in EFL Learners

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to find out whether word recognition through parts of speech classification using Google sheets improves reading comprehension in a group of 22 participants at a private school in Guayaquil. A mixed-method design was used to gather quantitative and qualitative data. Pre and post tests were used to measure students’ reading comprehension and quantify the number of words classified into parts of speech. After the innovation, it was demonstrated that participants increased their reading comprehension and improved their ability on word recognition through its classification into parts of speech. A medium effect size of 0.53 was calculated in reading comprehension results while a large effect size of 1.63 in parts of speech. Similarly, p values of 0.002 and 0.000 respectively indicated that the results did not occur by chance. Additionally, student’s perspectives towards learning vocabulary were measured with pre and post surveys using a Likert scale. It was shown that students improved their perspective after the innovation. These findings demonstrated that classifying vocabulary into parts of speech is an effective technique that can be used by teachers and learners in EFL reading comprehension classes.