Unveiling the Impact of Concept Mapping on Reading Comprehension: A Classroom-Based Mixed Methods Study

Since reading maintains information acquisition, it is considered an essential skill. Reaching the ultimate goal of reading—reading comprehension—is not always assured, though, as was the case for a large number of master students of English at Biskra University. They possessed insufficient reading skills that may allow them to address the text's reading comprehension questions improperly and/or superficially. Therefore, the current study sought to determine the impact of employing the concept mapping strategy on the reading comprehension of the study's sample, which consisted of 26 students. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach, involving quasi-experimentation and a case study design. In this regard, pre- and post-treatment questionnaires, tests (pretest and posttest), and teacher interview were used to collect data. Research findings revealed that the participants had a variety of reading comprehension obstacles that might be caused by a variety of factors. Besides, the practicality of the concept mapping strategy was statistically reflected in the posttest scores, which were noticeably higher than the pre-test scores.