Promoting EFL learners’ reading comprehension and critical thinking through online reading circles activities

This study employed an experimental design to investigate the role of online reading circles (RC) in the reading comprehension and critical thinking of Chinese EFL learners. A total of 116 year-one students from three classes at a provincial university in East China participated in the study. The participants were randomly divided into an online RC group (n = 39), an offline RC group (n = 39), and a traditional teacher-led reading instruction group (n = 38). The former two engaged in RC activities in online and offline environments, respectively, while the latter received traditional offline reading instruction guided by their instructor. All three groups completed pre- and post-intervention reading comprehension tests, as well as a questionnaire assessing critical thinking skills. The online RC group also provided feedback on their attitudes towards online RC through a post-intervention questionnaire and a follow-up interview. After an 18-week intervention, the results revealed that the online RC group outperformed their counterparts in both the offline RC and traditional reading instruction groups on the reading comprehension tests. Moreover, the learners in the online RC group demonstrated more frequent use of critical thinking skills on dimensions of interpretation, analysis, evaluation, inference, explanation, and self-regulation, compared to the traditional teacher-led group. However, offline RC presented mixed results across the six dimensions. In addition, learners held positive attitudes toward online RC in terms of self-efficacy, behavioral engagement, perceived usefulness, and affective responses. They expressed a strong interest in participating in online RC activities, which helped them develop their communication skills, collaborative abilities, critical thinking, and language proficiency. These findings have important implications for EFL reading instruction and the integration of technology in language learning environments.