Abstract
Knowledge of the reading strategies used by English Second Language learners can help teachers to plan appropriate lessons and apply relevant methods of teaching reading in order to enhance learners’ reading comprehension. The main objective of this study was to investigate the reading strategies used by Grade 9 English Second Language (ESL) learners and also to establish if there was any significant difference between perceived strategy use and gender. The respondents (192) were all ESL learners in Grade 9 in 2011 in a selected school. The study employed a quantitative research method. The study used convenience sampling on a group of 192 Grade 9 learners. The data collected through questionnaires was analysed by means of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. The findings revealed that the learners did not employ a wide range of reading strategies. The results further indicated that there was no significant difference between boys and girls in terms of strategy use. Based on the above findings several suggestions were made to help teachers improve their teaching and help learners improve their reading comprehension and also about possible areas for future research.
Highlights
The literature has shown that awareness of the reading process and reading strategy use of readers can improve learners’ reading comprehension (Porter 2010; Wessels 2007)
The study set out to discover if there was any significant difference between the perceived reading strategy use of boys and girls
The strategies that were used by the majority of learners were ‘I look for important information in the text’ and ‘I try to draw on my knowledge of the subject to generate questions about the text’
Summary
The literature has shown that awareness of the reading process and reading strategy use of readers can improve learners’ reading comprehension (Porter 2010; Wessels 2007). Educators’ knowledge about the reading strategies used by their learners is important for planning relevant lessons and for making an informed decision about whether to teach reading strategies explicitly or implicitly. Such a decision could be taken in order to develop the learners’ reading comprehension. Many studies conducted in South Africa and in other countries reveal that reading with comprehension is difficult for learners (Dreyer & Nel 2003; Porter 2010; Sheory & Mokhtari 2001; Wessels 2007). The current study seeks to make a contribution by exploring the reading strategies used by both boys and girls amongst the Grade 9 learners in a particular school and make recommendations on how the learners’ reading strategy use could be improved or stretched so as to develop their reading comprehension
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