scholarly journals The problem of using English reading strategies perceived by Thai EFL students

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 496-505
Author(s):  
Atichat Rungswang ◽  
Krishna Kosashunhanan
Keyword(s):  
Reading Strategies ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
Reading Speed ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
English Reading ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Unknown Words ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Suggested Reading

It is recognized that reading ability is essential for Thai EFL students and English reading is perceived as a difficult task among them. To understand the difficulty experienced by the students while reading English text, this study hence aimed at investigating problems of using English reading strategies perceived by Thai EFL students as well as providing suggested reading instructions for Thai lecturers to cope with the emerging problems. This study employed a mixed-method design. The participants of the study were 412 Thai EFL students who, in this study, were also considered as Gen Z students at a large-size university in Bangkok, Thailand. The participants were asked to complete an online questionnaire on 4-point Likert’s scale, which was adapted from Aebersold and Field (1997). Moreover, 10 students were recruited for two focus group interviews. The results revealed that Thai EFL students experience difficulties in using English reading strategies when they have to skip unknown words during the first reading (mean = 2.67, SD = 1.01) followed by varying reading speed rates according to the type of the reading passage (mean = 2.66, SD = 0.97), and guessing the meanings of unknown words by using the context clues (mean = 2.59, SD = 0.92) respectively. Based on both quantitative and qualitative results and personality traits of Thai Gen Z, suggested reading instructions including guided reading, improving student’s vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension, technology-blended classroom and critical reading were purposed.

scholarly journals The Relationship between Morphological Awareness and Vocabulary Knowledge of Thai EFL Students

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 34
Author(s):  
Sarunya Tarat
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Morphological Awareness ◽  
Northern Region ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Identification Test ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Unknown Words ◽  
The Relationship

This study focuses on the relationship between morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge of English among Thai EFL university students. All participants are taking English language as their major field in the universities situated at the lower northern region of Thailand. The morphological awareness identification test was employed to identify the linkage between morphological awareness and vocabulary gain Thai EFL learners. The test was divided into 2 parts: self-checking and morpheme identification. Fifty English vocabularies in intermediate and upper-intermediate level were used in the test in which the participants were requested to check whether they have seen the vocabularies in the test and also asked to break those vocabularies into morphemic units. The results showed that the participants possessed an adequate level of morphological awareness to break words into morphemes correctly even though they were unknown words of the participants. Additionally, the findings also revealed that there is no significant difference between male and female in acquiring morphological awareness of English and gaining English vocabularies.

Reading Strategies in L1 and L2

2002 ◽  
Vol 135-136 ◽  
pp. 1-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junko Yamashita
Keyword(s):  
Reading Strategies ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
Think Aloud ◽  
L2 Reading ◽  
Reading Processes ◽  
English Reading ◽  
L1 And L2 ◽  
Interdependence Hypothesis

Abstract This study compared LI (Japanese) and L2 (English) reading strategies reported by four groups of readers with different reading ability backgrounds. Information on the strategies was extracted by a think aloud method. The following points emerged. (1) Generally speaking, readers tend to transfer their LI reading strategies to their L2 reading. (2) Language independent strategies are more likely to be transferred from LI to L2 than language dependent strategies. (3) High LI reading ability compensates for weak L2 reading ability, but there is a limit to this compensation. These results suggested a stronger relationship between LI and L2 reading processes than is predicted by the linguistic threshold hypothesis. The possibility that we can explain the results by combining the linguistic threshold hypothesis and the linguistic interdependence hypothesis, which have often been treated as conflicting, was discussed.

Seeing What They See: Elementary EFL Students Reading Science Texts

RELC Journal ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-411
Author(s):  
Yueh-Nu Hung ◽  
Hui-Yu Kuo ◽  
Shih-Chieh Liao
Keyword(s):  
Reading Strategies ◽  
Visual Representations ◽  
Science Text ◽  
Science Texts ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
English Reading ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Text Reading ◽  
Text Features

Science texts use various text features and multiple representations to communicate meaning to their readers. English science texts are challenging for elementary-level English as a foreign language (EFL) learners in Taiwan because they are familiar with reading language-controlled texts from textbooks. Teaching students to make use of various text features and visual representations will help them achieve a more successful science text reading experience. In this study, 27 Grade 6 Taiwanese students were instructed in science text reading strategies that included understanding text features, creating imagery, and using visual representations. Before and after the instruction, they took an English reading and writing test. Their eye movements during science text reading were recorded before and after the instruction to more fully understand their visual attention while reading English science texts. Eye movement performances such as number of fixations, mean fixation duration, and saccade size were examined. The findings showed that although the participants’ English reading and writing performance improved in the post-test, they focussed more on the written language than the visuals in both tests. More visual representation reading strategies should therefore be taught to help young EFL students read and learn from science texts.

scholarly journals Investigating Saudi EFL Students’ Knowledge and Beliefs Related to English Reading Comprehension

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saud Alenezi
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Reading Strategies ◽  
Comprehension Strategies ◽  
Reading Comprehension Strategies ◽  
Knowledge And Beliefs ◽  
English Reading ◽  
Northern Border ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
English Reading Comprehension ◽  
Preparatory Year

Reading is an essential strategic and a life-long skill required for success in learning. The current study explores the knowledge and beliefs of Saudi students of English as a foreign language (EFL) about English reading comprehension strategies. It also intends to determine if there is a significant correlation between the students’ foundational knowledge of English reading comprehension strategies and their beliefs about reading comprehension strategies. The study employed a quantitative method. The data were collected using a forty-item survey questionnaire. The respondents were 203 Saudi EFL students enrolled in Preparatory Year Program at Northern Border University in Saudi Arabia. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics to determine frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and a test of non-parametric correlation (Spearman’s rho correlation coefficient) was run to determine the relationship between the variables. The overall findings of the study revealed that the students have a good foundational knowledge of pre-reading, while-reading, and post-reading reading strategies. The correlational analysis showed a medium correlation between students’ foundational knowledge of reading strategies and their beliefs about reading strategies. In conclusion, the study suggests some implications for teaching English reading to EFL students.

scholarly journals An Exploration of EFL Students' Use of Online English Reading Strategies at University Level

2019 ◽  
pp. 1253-1257
Author(s):  
Kate Tzu-Ching Chen
Keyword(s):  
Reading Strategies ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Significance Level ◽  
English As Foreign Language ◽  
English Reading ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Significant Difference

The purpose of this survey method study was to explore English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ online English reading strategies using Taiwanese university students as examples. The relationships between online English reading strategy and individual students’ characteristics were also examined. Data was obtained through a self-developed questionnaire with a cluster sample of 537 students from 11 universities. The collected data was then analyzed using descriptive analysis, t-test, and one way ANOVA in SPSS v.23, with the significance level set at .05. The results indicated that the participated students used online English reading strategies in a medium level. No significant difference was found in students’ uses of these strategies in genders and years of English learning experience, but in grade level and perceived reading ability. This study results provided information that completes the literature and implications for practice and directions for further research.

scholarly journals Investigating Saudi EFL Students’ Knowledge and Beliefs Related to English Reading Comprehension

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 339-356
Author(s):  
Saud Alenezi
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Reading Strategies ◽  
Comprehension Strategies ◽  
Reading Comprehension Strategies ◽  
Knowledge And Beliefs ◽  
English Reading ◽  
Northern Border ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
English Reading Comprehension ◽  
Preparatory Year

Reading is an essential strategic and a life-long skill required for success in learning. The current study explores the knowledge and beliefs of Saudi students of English as a foreign language (EFL) about English reading comprehension strategies. It also intends to determine if there is a significant correlation between the students’ foundational knowledge of English reading comprehension strategies and their beliefs about reading comprehension strategies. The study employed a quantitative method. The data were collected using a forty-item survey questionnaire. The respondents were 203 Saudi EFL students enrolled in Preparatory Year Program at Northern Border University in Saudi Arabia. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics to determine frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and a test of non-parametric correlation (Spearman’s rho correlation coefficient) was run to determine the relationship between the variables. The overall findings of the study revealed that the students have a good foundational knowledge of pre-reading, while-reading, and post-reading reading strategies. The correlational analysis showed a medium correlation between students’ foundational knowledge of reading strategies and their beliefs about reading strategies. In conclusion, the study suggests some implications for teaching English reading to EFL students.

scholarly journals Oral Language and Reading Among Bilingual Students Preprint

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Marc Goodrich ◽  
Lisa Fitton ◽  
Lauren Thayer
Keyword(s):  
Reading Achievement ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Oral Language ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
Dual Language ◽  
First Grade ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Literacy Skill ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
English Reading

Understanding factors that influence reading achievement among bilingual children is considerably more complex than it is for monolingual children. Research on dual language development indicates that bilingual children’s oral language abilities are often distributed across languages in varied ways, due to heterogeneity of dual language exposure and input. Consequently, there may be greater variability in the associations between oral language proficiency and reading ability among bilingual children than there is for monolingual children. This study evaluated how vocabulary knowledge and morphosyntactic ability in Spanish and English was associated with English reading achievement among 117 bilingual kindergarten and first grade children in the U.S. using both OLS and quantile regression. Results indicated that although English vocabulary and morphosyntax were both significantly associated with reading achievement, English vocabulary knowledge was most strongly associated with reading at higher quantiles of reading ability. Cross-language analyses indicated that both Spanish vocabulary and morphosyntax made significant contributions to predicting English reading achievement beyond the effects of English oral language. Spanish vocabulary was uniquely predictive of reading at high and low quantiles of English reading, whereas relations between Spanish morphosyntax and English reading did not differ across quantiles. These results were consistent with predictions derived from theoretical models such as the simple view of reading and suggest that Spanish vocabulary knowledge may provide more unique information about children’s underlying capacity for acquiring language and literacy skill than does morphosyntax.

scholarly journals CHALLENGES FACED BY OLDER PERSONS IN USING PRESCRIPTION MEDICATION LABELS: WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE?

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S709-S710
Author(s):  
Rahul Malhotra ◽  
Sumithra Suppiah ◽  
Yi Wen Tan
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Limited English Proficiency ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
Prescription Medication ◽  
Domestic Workers ◽  
System Level ◽  
Pharmacy Staff ◽  
Medication Information ◽  
English Reading ◽  
Depth Interviews

Abstract In Singapore, while many older people cannot read English, prescription medication labels (PMLs) are predominantly dispensed in English. This qualitative study documented the challenges faced and solutions employed by users (i.e. older Singaporeans) and dispensers (i.e. pharmacy staff) of PMLs. In total, 30 in-depth interviews were conducted; 20 were equally divided between older Singaporeans (≥60 years) who could read English and those with limited/no English reading ability, and 10 were conducted with pharmacy staff across 6 polyclinics. The audio-taped interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. The interviews with older Singaporeans and pharmacy staff revealed similar challenges in using PMLs. The first challenge related to reading and understanding PMLs by older people, mainly due to their limited English proficiency (LEP) or illiteracy. Consequently, older Singaporeans often relied on family members, domestic workers or pharmacy staff to help them interpret PMLs. Specifically, to address LEP, pharmacy staff reported translating PML instructions verbally and also handwriting them on PMLs. For illiterate patients, pharmacy staff reported drawing illustrations on PMLs to communicate key medication information. The second challenge related to PML readability, due to small font size. To address this, pharmacy staff routinely re-wrote medication information on PMLs in larger handwriting. Such improvised solutions by pharmacy staff to address the challenges faced by older Singaporeans in using PMLs indicate a pressing need for system-level improvements to PMLs. Improvements such as standardised and legible bilingual medication instructions and/or pictograms would appreciably facilitate medication counselling and allow for better understanding of PMLs by older Singaporeans.

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