Reading English Islamic Texts: Students' Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary Knowledge, and Religious Literacy

Syamsiah Depalina Siregar* -  STAIN Mandailing Natal, Indonesia
Khairurijal Khairurijal Khairurijal -  STAIN Mandailing Natal, Indonesia
Ali Jusri Pohan -  , Indonesia

Abstract


Reading English texts on Islamic topics has become increasingly important for students at Islamic higher education institutions, as a growing body of academic and religious resources is published in English. However, successful comprehension of these texts requires not only linguistic competence but also sufficient religious literacy to interpret concepts within their appropriate contexts. This study aims to examine undergraduate students' ability to comprehend English Islamic texts by investigating the relationships among reading comprehension, vocabulary knowledge, and religious literacy. Employing a quantitative correlational design, the study involves students from the English Education and Islamic Education departments at an Islamic university. Data are collected through a reading comprehension test based on authentic Islamic English texts, a vocabulary knowledge test, and a religious literacy questionnaire. The findings are expected to reveal the extent to which vocabulary knowledge contributes to reading comprehension and how religious literacy facilitates students' understanding of both the explicit and implicit meanings embedded in Islamic texts written in English. The study argues that reading comprehension in this context extends beyond language proficiency, encompassing students' ability to integrate linguistic knowledge with religious understanding and contextual interpretation. The findings are expected to provide empirical evidence for the development of English for Islamic Studies materials that are linguistically accessible, pedagogically meaningful, and culturally responsive to the needs of students in Islamic higher education.

Keywords


English Islamic texts; reading comprehension; vocabulary knowledge; religious literacy; English for Islamic Studies

Full Text:

PDF

References


Afflerbach, P., Pearson, P. D., & Paris, S. G. (2017). Clarifying differences between reading skills and reading strategies. The Reading Teacher, 71(3), 364–373. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1674

Alderson, J. C. (2020). Assessing reading (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Anderson, N. J. (2019). Exploring second language reading: Issues and strategies (3rd ed.). Heinle Cengage Learning.

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2023). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (6th ed.). SAGE Publications.

Darmayenti, D., Besral, B., & Yustina, L. S. (2021). Developing EFL religious characters and local wisdom-based EFL textbook for Islamic higher education. Studies in English Language and Education, 8(1), 157–180. https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v8i1.18263

Dinham, A., & Francis, M. (2016). Religious literacy in policy and practice. Policy Press.

Field, A. (2024). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS Statistics (6th ed.). SAGE Publications.

Grabe, W., & Stoller, F. L. (2020). Teaching and researching reading (3rd ed.). Routledge.

Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2022). Multivariate data analysis (9th ed.). Cengage Learning.

Hasan, M., Abdullah, N., & Rahman, M. (2022). Vocabulary knowledge and academic reading comprehension among tertiary EFL learners. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 13(5), 1041–1052.

Imamah, F. M. (2024). Exploring religious literacy as an alternative approach to religious education in Indonesia. Analisa: Journal of Social Science and Religion, 9(1), 55–72.

Jahnke, F. (2023). Religious literacy: A review of conceptual and educational debates. Journal of Religious Education, 71(2), 173–190.

Karakoç, D., & Köse, G. D. (2017). The impact of vocabulary knowledge on reading, writing and proficiency scores of EFL learners. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 13(1), 352–378.

Koda, K. (2020). Second language reading and literacy: Crossing the boundaries (2nd ed.). Routledge.

McNamara, D. S., & Magliano, J. P. (2021). Toward a comprehensive model of comprehension. In D. S. McNamara (Ed.), Reading comprehension in educational settings (pp. 3–28). Routledge.

Nation, I. S. P. (2022). Learning vocabulary in another language (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Nation, I. S. P., & Webb, S. (2019). The Routledge handbook of vocabulary studies. Routledge.

Nouri, A., & Zerhouni, B. (2016). The relationship between vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension among Moroccan EFL university students. Arab World English Journal, 7(2), 124–138.

Nurpratiwi, S., Suyatno, S., & Wantini, W. (2021). Improving religious literacy through Islamic religious education based on the flipped classroom model. Istawa: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam, 6(2), 233–248.

Pajarianto, H., Sari, P. M., & Kurniawan, A. (2025). Religious literacy as a mediator in the ecosystem model of religious moderation and tolerance. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 24(2), 65–84.

Perfetti, C. A., & Stafura, J. Z. (2018). Word knowledge in a theory of reading comprehension. Scientific Studies of Reading, 22(1), 22–37. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888438.2017.1341968

Rochmahwati, P. (2019). Integrating Islamic values into ESP reading materials for Islamic higher education. NOBEL: Journal of Literature and Language Teaching, 10(2), 126–141.

Snow, C. E. (2019). Reading for understanding: Toward an R&D program in reading comprehension. RAND Corporation.

Suciati, S. (2024). Vocabulary mastery and students' reading comprehension in English as a foreign language context. SAGA: Journal of English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics, 5(1), 15–28.

Ubani, M. (2025). Religious literacy as a literacy? Conceptual elaboration and educational implications. Religious Education, 120(1), 43–58.

Wati, N. S., & Hidayat, M. (2024). Integrating English language materials and Islamic values in Islamic higher education: A research and development study. Tapis: Jurnal Penelitian Ilmiah, 8(2), 145–162.

Webb, S., & Nation, I. S. P. (2017). How vocabulary is learned. Oxford University Press.

Westwood, P. (2021). Reading and learning difficulties: Approaches to teaching and assessment (3rd ed.). Routledge.

Wigfield, A., Gladstone, J. R., & Turci, L. (2016). Beyond cognition: Reading motivation and reading comprehension. Child Development Perspectives, 10(3), 190–195. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12184

Woolley, G. (2020). Reading comprehension: Assisting children with learning difficulties (2nd ed.). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26550-2

Yapp, D., de Graaff, R., & van den Bergh, H. (2021). Effects of reading strategy instruction on English reading comprehension: A meta-analysis. Educational Research Review, 32, Article 100373. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2020.100373

Zhang, D., & Koda, K. (2018). Vocabulary knowledge and second language reading comprehension: A structural equation modeling study. The Modern Language Journal, 102(2), 345–364.

Zhao, X., Guo, Y., & Dynia, J. (2023). Vocabulary breadth, vocabulary depth, and reading comprehension among English language learners. Reading and Writing, 36(4), 963–987. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-022-10346-4




DOI: https://doi.org/10.24952/ee.v14i1.20518

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

English Education: English Journal for Teaching and Learning

Publisher : Tadris Bahasa Inggris Fakultas Tarbiyah dan Ilmu Keguruan UIN Syekh Ali Hasan Ahmad Addary Padangsidimpuan 

ISSN Print : 2338-8781 ISSN Online :  2579-4043

Jl. T. Rizal Nurdin Km. 4,5 Sihitang Padangsidimpuan Sumatra Utara 22733 Indonesia

Phone: 0634-22080 Fax: 0634-24022

Email: englishjournal@uinsyahada.ac.id

Flag Counter View My Stats