Reading performance and perceptions of Lao EFL pre-service teachers following a culture of thinking implementation

A culture of thinking (CoT) is defined as “a place where a group’s collective as well as individual thinking is valued, visible, and actively promoted as the regular, day-to-day experience of all group members” (Ritchhart et al., 2011, p. 219). This study aimed to determine the effects of a CoT implementation on Lao English as a foreign language (EFL) pre-service teachers’ reading comprehension development and to investigate their perceptions towards the CoT-based reading instruction. To achieve the objectives, two intact classes of year three EFL pre-service teachers were randomly assigned to implementation and control conditions and measured with pre-, post- and delayed post-reading tests. Focus group interviews were also conducted to obtain in-depth insights into their perceptions of the CoT-based learning. The findings revealed that the implementation class outperformed the control class in terms of reading comprehension development and had a strong effect size (Cohen’s d = 1.0183). In the focus group interviews, pre-service teachers generally expressed positive views towards the CoT-based reading instruction.