Hypermedia reading strategies employed by advanced learners of English

Abstract

Abstract This study investigated the strategies used by advanced learners of English while reading a hypermedia document in order to determine whether they are essentially different from those reading strategies reported in the literature for printed texts. Moreover, the role of prior knowledge about the topic was explored in relation to strategy use. Data were collected from 10 advanced learners of English through think-aloud protocols. The strategies that emerged from the data were compared with those reported by Anderson [Anderson, N.J., 1991. Individual differences in strategy use in second language reading and testing. The Modern Language Journal 75, 460–472] for reading printed texts. Moreover, the strategies used by high prior knowledge and low prior knowledge participants were compared. Results indicate that processing strategies used by advanced learners of English in hypermedia reading are not essentially different from those reported for printed texts. However, certain processing strategies are not used in hypermedia reading. Moreover, strategies used in utilizing annotations and navigating through the text were identified. Finally, readers with high prior knowledge used certain cognitive and metacognitive strategies more frequently. However, low prior knowledge readers were able to compensate for their lack of prior knowledge by using annotations that provided background information about the topic and by navigating through the text in a coherent manner.