شبكة المعلومات العربية التربوية

The information and communication environment has been deeply altered in the 21st century. Web 2.0 technologies have encouraged instructors and scholars to reevaluate their services as the needs of their students have changed. In this an ever-changing environment of constant information, new social media technologies and digital content, students’ needs have become more complicated. Learning and literacy for this generation are about the ability to carry out multitask. Therefore, the traditional way of asking students to read textbooks on specialized topics has become inappropriate where the multimodal approach in which video clips and other resources are available on the Internet. Nowadays, classrooms need to contain multiple platforms to teach students the reading skills required for the 21st century work environment. Such changes have their reflections on both teaching strategies and academic research, which have to adapt to the changing circumstances and no longer concentrate only on the written text. This rapidly-changing situation represents a clear challenge for ESP scholars who are required to read new topics for various purposes as new methods, terminologies and approaches should be adopted to determine the features of an ESP programme in today’s world of multiple communication platforms. The present study aimed at investigating the effect of using a proposed programme for developing trans reading skills for the biology department students at faculties of education. The study sample consisted of thirty students studying at the department of Biology at the Faculty of Education in Damietta University. The researcher used a quasi-experimental approach with one group. A pre-post trans reading test was implemented. The results of the study showed that using the proposed programme was effective in developing trans reading skills. The study offers suggestions for further studies. (Published abstract)