Reading experiences in English as a foreign language in disadvantaged schools and their impact on a reading comprehension test

Abstract

This paper analyzes the results obtained in a census-based English as a foreign language reading comprehension test administered in relation to exposure of different genres and (un)favourable school contexts. The test was administered to the students in their last year of secondary education in schools that belong to the municipal state in Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2016.
First, we present a summary of the design and implementation processes of the criterion referenced test and the general results of the census. Then, we contrast the results obtained in two groups of schools. In one group we include two institutions located in relatively favoured communities and in the other, two institutions of underprivileged contexts. We also examine the impact of reading experiences in terms of frequency of exposure to different genres and the students´ attitudes towards the learning of foreign languages.
In the present study no correlation has been found between the conditions of the school context, the exposure to different text types and the levels of performance in the test results.