Abstract
The ability to read and interpret textbooks and other assigned material is a critical component of success at university level. Therefore, the aims of this study are twofold: to evaluate the reading levels of first-year students when they first enter the university to determine how adequately prepared they are for university reading. It is also to find out if there will be any significant improvement after going through the academic literacy course offered to first-year students. The participants were 51 first-year undergraduate humanities students enrolled in the Communication and Academic Literacy course at the University of Botswana. The data were collected through a reading test adopted from Zulu which was administered at the beginning of the first semester. The same test was administered at the end of the semester after the students had gone through the academic literacy course to see if there was any difference in performance. The findings of this study indicate that there is a mixed and wide variation of students reading competency levels when students first enter the university and that a significant number of first-year entrants are inadequately prepared for university reading.
Highlights
The ability to read and interpret textbooks and other assigned material is a critical component of success at university level
The assessment was based on the University of Botswana (UB) assessment criterion to determine the level of proficiency of the students
The results seem to corroborate other studies which seemed to indicate that the majority of students enter the university with poorly developed reading skills and strategies which cause huge reading difficulties for them (Nel et al 2004; Pretorius 2000, 2002, 2003; Zulu 2005)
Summary
The ability to read and interpret textbooks and other assigned material is a critical component of success at university level. Reading skills form the basis for learning and are an important element for obtaining knowledge in academic learning in all subject areas. Research on both L1 (first language speakers) and L2 (second language speakers) reading indicate that proficient reading is a complicated process that involves a combination of different abilities and strategies at the same time to compensate for each other in processing a text. Research indicates that proficient L2 readers, unlike less-proficient readers, are able to use a wider range and combination of these abilities and strategies to aid them understand and interpret a text Research indicates that proficient L2 readers, unlike less-proficient readers, are able to use a wider range and combination of these abilities and strategies to aid them understand and interpret a text (e.g. Anderson 1991; Carrell 1989; Rumelhart 1984; Stanovich 1980)
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