Abstract
This article examines the association between interest and prior knowledge with regard to reading and listening comprehension of online news articles/podcasts for 72 students studying English as a foreign language (EFL). Intermediate- to upper-intermediate level students studying sophomore English for non-English majors at a university in Taipei, Taiwan, rated both their interest and prior knowledge of four news stories. Following this, reading (two articles) and listening (two podcasts) comprehension of the news stories was assessed. Significant correlations between interest and prior knowledge were obtained for three of the topics. Paired t-tests found statistically significant differences in the comprehension scores for reading and listening separately. While interest and prior knowledge did not display any significant associations with comprehension test scores, overall interest in English news topics showed a significant correlation with overall grade for the course. Follow-up interviews with 10 students showed considerable differences in attitudes and interest towards studying English between students who provided high ratings for interest and prior knowledge of the news stories and those who provided low ratings. The implications are considered and suggestions for instruction are offered.
Copyright of articles is retained by authors and CALL-EJ. As CALL-EJ is an open-access journal, articles are free to use, with proper attribution, in educational and other non-commercial settings. Sources must be acknowledged appropriately.