RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN READING STRATEGIES AND READING ACTIVITIES IN EFL CLASSROOM IN HIGHER EDUCATION ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

The study explores the university undergraduate biotechnology students’ perceived use of foreign language reading strategies, their perception of EFL classroom reading activities, and their potential relationships. For this purpose, a total of 91 university biotechnology students, learning English as a foreign language at the Faculty of Agronomy, University of Kragujevac, participated in this quantitative research. Two instruments were used in the study – the Inventory of Reading Strategies in a Foreign Language and Students’ Foreign Language Reading Activities Evaluation Scale. The measures of internal consistency, descriptive statistics, and Pearson correlation analysis were used for data processing. The obtained data were analyzed using SPSS 20.0 statistical software. The study demonstrates that the students used EFL reading strategies at a moderate level when reading texts in English and that their attitude toward EFL classroom reading activities was positive. The perceived use of reading strategies showed positive correlations with the students’ perceptions of EFL classroom reading activities. The students considered EFL classroom reading activities and reading comprehension testing as effective practices in developing foreign language reading skills.