Reading is a process that requires much effort if students wish to comprehend the text. A large amount of research has been devoted to understanding the processes that contribute to reading comprehension. This research makes a significant contribution to knowledge by exploring the strategies used by Libyan TEFL university students while reading academic materials in class to achieve understanding. It also aims to contribute to knowledge by examining the relationship between level and gender and the use of reading strategies among university students. The study sampled 1st and 4th year male and female students from four Libyan universities. A combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods was utilised to collect data. A 48-item structured questionnaire was administered to 240 students and 12 focus group interviews were conducted with 72 students, in both cases equally balanced in terms of level and gender. SPSS software was utilized to analyse the questionnaire responses while grounded theory was applied to the interview data. Finally, the quantitative and qualitative findings were integrated to provide meaningful conclusions. The quantitative findings revealed different patterns of pre-reading, while-reading and post-reading strategies used by the participants. Some unexpected findings included that, interaction strategies were the least frequently used despite the fact that opportunities to practise the target language outside class were very rare. The qualitative data also provided a number of interesting findings, such as that preparing for the reading task in advance to build up sufficient background and consequently be more confident and relaxed in class, thus revealing a relationship between affective factors and strategy use. Furthermore, the results showed that learners' level had a significant influence on strategy use. 4th year students exhibited superior use of 7 out of 11 strategy types. The qualitative findings supported these conclusions, as even in cases of similar patterns, 4th year students showed more maturity and awareness of strategy use. Statistically significant differences were found favouring female students in the use of most strategies. According to the qualitative findings, female students also reported using more planning and preparing strategies, comprehension strategies, problem- solving strategies and social and supporting strategies. On the other hand, male students reported more use of interpretation strategies. Irrespective of the frequency of use, however, male and female participants expressed different attitudes as to how and why they used various strategies. The findings of the current study draw attention to the influence of other factors such as educational level, class size, and gender balance in class on strategy use, and further studies are needed to explore these issues in more detail and in different contexts. Additionally, the research findings provide empirical information that can be utilized in improving pedagogy in countries where English is taught as a foreign or second language.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:573682 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Ahmad, Ramadan Mohamed Sadik |
| Publisher | University of Sunderland |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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