ESL Learners’ Use of Reading Strategies Across Different Text Types

Abstract

The current study sought to provide information on whether ESL learners’ use of reading strategies is associated with the type of text they are reading. To address this objective, 21 ESL learners read 20 different texts of varying types and answered the Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory by Mokhtari and Sheorey (J Educ Psychol 94(2):249–259, 2002) to measure their use of reading strategies. Using descriptive and inferential statistics, results showed that ESL learners generally applied a wide range of strategies consistently when reading different text types. These results were explained using a schema-theoretic view of reading. Findings further revealed that there was a significantly higher use of global reading strategies compared to the two other factors (i.e., problem-solving reading strategies and support reading strategies). Such a finding was attributed to the reading proficiency level of the learners. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.