Abstract
In many contexts around the world, English has become a major means of daily communication and a language for research and technology. Reading in English plays a key role in students’ academic learning in many higher education contexts where English is the principal medium of instruction. This study measured reading strategies use as well as reading habits for everyday reading practices of EFL Saudi university students. For collecting data, Students completed a questionnaire and were interviewed by the two researchers. The quantitative and qualitative results yielded positive results that students were categorized as high users of reading strategies. Students employed different strategies to approach the complexity of reading texts. In addition, results indicated that there was a relationship between students’ motivation toward reading, reading habits of reading practices and the way students implement different reading strategies.
Highlights
It goes without saying that reading in English plays a major role in our daily lives because English has become a global language, and because English is the language of new technology, sciences and advanced research. Macaro (2003, p. 118) notices the importance of reading in a foreign language by stating that “once the learner has progressed beyond the beginner level, the vast majority of his or her input will be in the written form”For university students where English is the main means of instruction, students need reading most
This study aims at investigating the awareness of freshmen health sciences Saudi students about cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies before joining a health sciences university and how their reading habits and everyday reading experiences could influence their cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies
The study investigated the preferable reading strategies applied by Saudi university students when dealing with academic reading texts
Summary
For university students where English is the main means of instruction, students need reading most. This is due to the fact that students need reading to purse their studies by gaining more skills and strategies to cope with different academic reading texts in a critical and creative way Fairbairn and Fairbairn (2001). Krashen (2007) points out the vital role of extensive exposure to comprehensible input either through reading or listening in second language acquisition in the development of grammar, vocabulary. Coady and Huckin (1997) identify the symbiotic relationships between reading comprehension and vocabulary knowledge and how the two depend on each other. Building vocabulary through reading is a complex process that needs well-prepared and guided instruction (Coady & Huckin, 1997)
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