Focus on Form and Focus on Meaning in Teaching Reading : Effectiveness and Feasibility Dilemma

ELT literature is relatively rich in terms of Focus on Form (FOF), Focus on Meaning (FOM) and Focus on Forms (FOMs) research mainly applied in teaching structural, and communicative aspects, though their effectiveness is still controversial. The issues are rather challenging when their application in teaching language skills including reading is concerned. Along with the effectiveness issue various versions of these F-like instructions, their feasibility in relation to language skills is also challenging. As an attempt to accommodate both challenges and dilemmas, this volume is a report of an empirical study done in the Iranian EFL setting in which the effectiveness and feasibility of FOF and FOM were comparatively investigated. The results were in favour of effectiveness of FOF-based instruction, while FOM-based one proved more feasible in teaching reading skill; indicating that the dilemma warrants further studies. Though both mechanisms were evaluated equally well- functioning, the findings warrant further explorations on the nature of the dilemma.