Pragmatic Learning in the Development of Reading Comprehension Strategies in Basic Education Students

Abstract

This research aims to analyze how pragmatic learning influences the development of reading comprehension strategies in elementary school students. It arises from the need to promote pedagogical approaches that strengthen deep, functional, and contextualized reading comprehension through meaningful language use in real-life school situations. Within this framework, the study seeks to propose didactic strategies that integrate purposeful language use, fostering critical, active, and relevant reading among students. The study adopts a quantitative approach, with a correlational and descriptive design. A non-probabilistic sample of 100 fifth- and sixth-grade students from public schools in Quito, Ecuador, will be used. Two groups will be formed: an experimental group that will receive an intervention based on pragmatic learning, and a control group that will follow the traditional methodology. A standardized reading comprehension test will be applied before and after the intervention as the primary data collection instrument. Data analysis will include descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and the Student's t-test to identify significant differences between the two groups. Results show that pragmatic learning positively impacts the development of strategies such as identifying main ideas, making inferences, and summarizing. Furthermore, greater motivation and engagement were observed in the students from the experimental group. It is concluded that implementing pragmatic-based approaches significantly enhances the teaching and learning processes related to reading comprehension.