Fostering reading competence in English as a second language students: exploring motivation, strategies, and contextual factors

Abstract

This contribution is associated with the research project entitled "Improvement of pedagogical practices in educational institutions in the southern area of Manabí". Reading persists as one of the least popular practices among students of all educational levels in Ecuador, despite its contribution to strengthening communication skills in using a foreign language. This bibliographic review study presents the perspectives of educational practices applied worldwide and analyzes the elements such as motivation and success strategies that contribute to improving reading competence in their students. This work aims to recognize the factors that can influence students' reading comprehension abilities of English as second language (ESL) or as a foreign language (EFL) in various contexts. In pursuit of this objective, the authors reviewed 70 scientific articles available on the Scielo, Web of Science, and Scopus platforms to explain the characteristics of students of English as a second language, the understanding of reading practices, and finally, the review of the influential factors of the process. They concluded that motivation factors, reading strategies, and elements of the student's context affect ESL students' reading comprehension ability.