Investigating the Metacognitive Online Reading Strategies employed by Iraqi EFL Undergraduate Students

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the use of metacognitive online reading strategies among Iraqi students. The research seeks to answer the following research questions: (i) What are the metacognitive online reading strategies of Iraqi fourth year undergraduate students when they read online academic text? (ii) What are the difficulties faced by Iraqi fourth year undergraduates when they read online academic text? Using a quantitative approach, the study deployed questionnaires which were administered on 50 fourth year students of Al-Salam University College, Baghdad Iraq. The response of the metacognitive online reading strategies among the students was assessed differently. The students adopt online dictionaries, reading e-books and online journal articles are some of the ways to increase the students’ reading ability and enhance online reading among English as foreign language (EFL) students from Iraq. The researcher analyzed students metacognitive reading strategies usage and their problems. Based on the quantitative analysis of the students’ responses to the SORS questionnaire, the students showed that problem-solving reading strategies (µ=3.59) is the most frequently used strategy followed by support reading strategies (µ=3.49) and global reading strategies (µ=3.42). All these identified themes provide and help the students to improve their reading skills. The researcher recommends that future research examine other reading strategies with online or even print text. Moreover, reading strategies should be taught to English as foreign language (EFL) students.