The Interaction between Persian and English in Enhancing Iranian EFL learners' Reading Comprehension Ability

This study was intended to raise learner autonomy among Iranian native speakers of Persian in their L2 (English) and L1 (Persian) reading comprehension through cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies instruction (CMRSI) in L2. The participants were divided into intermediate and advanced English language proficiency levels and then put into control and experimental groups. The data collected showed that as a result of CMRSI in L2, the reading strategy awareness and effective use as well as reading ability of students increased not only in L2 in which the instruction was given, but also in L1. It is concluded that in order to have readers who are autonomous in reading in a given language, say L1, L2, or any further language, we should familiarize students with strategic reading and learning. The improvements can also be observed in other languages as a result of cross-linguistic transfer of strategies. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.