an investigation into students’ efl reading strategy use at nguyen van linh high school

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

AN INVESTIGATION INTO STUDENTS’ EFL READING STRATEGY USE
AT NGUYEN VAN LINH HIGH SCHOOL

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of Master of Arts in TESOL

Submitted by NGUYEN DU KIM PHUNG

Supervisor: Dr. TRAN THI MINH PHUONG

HO CHI MINH City
November 2015


STATEMENT OF THE AUTHORSHIP

I certify that this thesis, entitled “An Investigation into Students’ EFL Reading Strategy
Use at Nguyen Van Linh High School”, is my own work.
Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis contains no material
published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I have
qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma.
No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main text of
the thesis.
This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other
tertiary institution.
Ho Chi Minh City, November, 2015
NGUYEN DU KIM PHUNG

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
When doing this research, I am deeply indebted to many wonderful people for all
their help. Without their support, it would be very difficult for me to complete this study.
Accordingly, I would like to acknowledge with profound gratitude for the significant
contribution they made.
Importantly, I am really grateful to my supervisor, Dr. Tran Thi Minh Phuong, for
putting a great deal of effort into instructing me how to produce a thorough research. She
has provided me with detailed comments, useful advice and precious research experience.
Her supervision kept me on the right track which allowed me to be able to complete my
study successfully.
I would also like to express my gratitude to a teacher of English and students at
Nguyen Van Linh High School for willingly cooperating with me during my data
collection. The teacher created favorable conditions for me to collect data from her
students, and the students were very pleased to answer my questionnaires and interviews.
My thanks go to M. S. Vu Huu Thanh for helping me analyze the data of my
study. Without his valuable assistance, my research would have been far from being
finished.
Last but not least, I wish to thank my family for the love and encouragement they
gave me while I was doing my thesis.

 

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ABSTRACT
This study aims to investigate students’ EFL reading strategy use at Nguyen Van Linh
High School. 133 students in 12th grade reported their use of reading strategies through a
28-item questionnaire adapted from Mokhtari and Sheorey’s (2002) Survey of Reading
Strategies (SORS) in three sub-categories: global strategies (GLOB), problem-solving
strategies (PROB), and support strategies (SUP). A reading comprehension test was used
to divide the participants into high, medium and low proficiency groups. Eight of them in
the high and low proficiency groups further took part in the semi-structured interviews.
Results showed that the students generally used reading strategies at a moderatefrequency level. Among the three sub-categories of reading strategies, they employed
PROB strategies the most often, followed by GLOB strategies and SUP strategies. The
five most used reading strategies were using typographical features to identify key
information, guessing the content of the text, reviewing the text to know about its length,
organization and main idea, getting back on track when losing concentration, and
underlining or circling information in the text. The five least used reading strategies were
reading aloud, asking questions to have answered in the text, paraphrasing, analyzing and
evaluating the information presented in the text, and thinking about the content of the text
and reading purposes. Moreover, the high proficiency students employed the three subcategories more frequently than the low proficiency ones. However, these differences
were only highly significant in the use of problem-solving strategies and support
strategies. Practical recommendations are given to teachers of English and authorities at
Nguyen Van Linh High School.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
 

STATEMENT OF THE AUTHORSHIP ...................................................................... i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................... ii

ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................. iv
LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................... viii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................... ix
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................. 1
1. 1 Rationale of the study ................................................................................................ 1
1. 2 Purposes of the study ................................................................................................. 3
1. 3 Research questions .................................................................................................... 3
1. 4 Significance of the study ........................................................................................... 3
1. 5 Structure of the study................................................................................................. 4
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................... 5
2. 1 Learning strategies ..................................................................................................... 5
2. 1. 1 Definitions of learning strategies ..................................................................... 5
2. 1. 2 Classifications of learning strategies ............................................................... 7
2. 2 Reading .................................................................................................................... 12
2. 3 Reading strategies .................................................................................................... 13
2. 3. 1 Definitions of reading strategies .................................................................... 13
2. 3. 2 Classifications of reading strategies............................................................... 14
2. 4 Skilled and unskilled readers ................................................................................... 17
2. 5 Learning strategy use and proficiency ..................................................................... 18
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2. 6 Previous studies ....................................................................................................... 19
2. 6. 1 Previous studies in different countries ........................................................... 19
2. 6. 2 Previous studies in Vietnam........................................................................... 26
2. 7 Summary of chapter 2.............................................................................................. 28
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY .............................................................................. 29
3. 1 Context of the study................................................................................................. 29

3. 2 Participants of the study .......................................................................................... 30
3. 3 Research design ....................................................................................................... 31
3. 4 Instruments to collect data ...................................................................................... 31
3. 4. 1 Reading comprehension test .......................................................................... 31
3. 4. 2 Questionnaires................................................................................................ 32
3. 4. 2. 1 Rationale of questionnaire .................................................................... 32
3. 4. 2. 2 Descriptions of questionnaire ............................................................... 33
3. 4. 3 Interviews ....................................................................................................... 34
3. 4. 3. 1 Rationale of interview .......................................................................... 34
3. 4. 3. 2 Descriptions of interview ..................................................................... 34
3. 5 Pilot of the study ..................................................................................................... 35
3. 5. 1 Pilot of questionnaire .................................................................................... 35
3. 5. 2 Pilot of interview........................................................................................... 36
3. 6 Data collection procedure ........................................................................................ 37
3. 7 Data analysis procedure ........................................................................................... 38
3. 7. 1 Questionnaire Data......................................................................................... 38
3. 7. 2 Interview Data ................................................................................................ 38
3. 8 Summary of chapter 3.............................................................................................. 38
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CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSIONS ......................................... 39
4. 1 Data analysis ............................................................................................................ 39
4. 1. 1 The students’ EFL reading strategy use ......................................................... 39
4. 1. 1. 1 Frequency of reading strategy group use ............................................. 39
4. 1. 1. 2 Frequency of individual reading strategy use ...................................... 42
4. 1. 1. 2. 1 Global strategies ......................................................................... 43
4. 1. 1. 2. 2 Problem-solving strategies .......................................................... 44
4. 1. 1. 2. 3 Support strategies ........................................................................ 45

4. 1. 2 The differences in the use of reading strategies between the high and low
proficiency students .................................................................................................. 47
4. 1. 2. 1 Findings from the questionnaires ......................................................... 47
4. 1. 2. 1. 1 Differences between high and low proficiency students in using
three reading strategy groups ......................................................................... 48
4. 1. 2. 1. 2 Differences between high and low proficiency students in using the
individual reading strategies .......................................................................... 49
4. 1. 2. 2 Findings from the interviews ................................................................. 54
4 . 2 Discussions of the study ......................................................................................... 57
4. 2. 1 The students’ EFL reading strategy use ........................................................ 57
4. 2. 2 The differences in the use of reading strategies between the high and low
proficiency students .................................................................................................. 60
4. 3 Summary of chapter 4 ........................................................................................ 62
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS .............................. 63
5.1 Research questions explicitly answered ................................................................... 63
5. 2 Limitations of the study ........................................................................................... 65
5. 3 Recommendations ................................................................................................... 66
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5. 4 Suggestions for further research .............................................................................. 68
5 . 5 Summary of chapter 5............................................................................................. 69
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................. 70
APPENDICES ............................................................................................................... 79
APPENDIX 1: READING COMPREHENSION TEST................................................ 79
APPENDIX 2: QUESTIONNAIRE (ENGLISH VERSION) ........................................ 84
APPENDIX 3: QUESTIONNAIRE (TRANSLATEDVERSION) ................................ 87
APPENDIX 4: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (ENGLISH VERSION) .......................... 90
APPENDIX 5: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (TRANSLATED VERSION) ................. 91

APPENDIX 6: A SAMPLE INTERVIEW SCRIPT (ENGLISH VERSION) .............. 92
APPENDIX 7: A SAMPLE INTERVIEW SCRIPT (TRANSLATED VERSION) ..... 94

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Stern’s list of 10 strategies of a good language learner ........................................ 8
Table 2: Naiman’s list of L2 learning strategies ................................................................. 9
Table 3: O’Malley and Chamot L2 learning strategy framework ..................................... 10
Table 4: Oxford’s learning strategy framework ................................................................ 12
Table 5: Overall frequency of the students’ reading strategy use ..................................... 45
Table 6: Reading strategies used by the students listed from least to most frequently ..... 46
Table 7: The students’ perceived use of global strategies ................................................. 48
Table 8: The students’ perceived use of problem-solving strategies ................................ 50
Table 9: The students’ perceived use of support strategies ............................................... 51
Table 10: Independent-Samples T Test results on three reading strategy groups for high
and low proficiency students ............................................................................................. 53
Table 11: Independent-Samples T Test results on individual global strategies for high and
low proficiency students .................................................................................................... 54
Table 12: Independent-Samples T Test results on individual problem-solving strategies
for high and low proficiency students ............................................................................... 56
Table 13: Independent-Samples T Test results on individual support strategies for high
and low proficiency students ............................................................................................. 58
 

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

EFL:

English as a Foreign Language

ESL:

English as a Second Language

FL:

Foreign Language

L1:

The first language

L2:

The second language

ESP:

English for Specific Purposes

ELT:

English Language Teaching

ESO:

English for Speakers of Other Languages

SEM:

Structural Equation Modeling

TOEFL:

Test of English as a Foreign Language

TOEIC:

Test Of English For International Communication

CET-4:

College English Test Band-4

GCSE:

General Certificate of Secondary Education

SORS:

Survey of Reading Strategies

MARSI:

Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory

FLRAS:

Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale

SPSS:

Statistical Package for Social Sciences

GLOB:

Global strategies

PROB:

Problem-solving strategies

SUP:

Support strategies

S:

Strategy

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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
This chapter provides a background of the research which includes the rationale,
purposes of the study, research questions, significance, and structure of the study.
1. 1 Rationale of the study
Reading is the most emphasized skill in teaching English as a foreign language
(EFL) (Susser & Robb, 1989) because it has a lot of benefits for the development of
learners’ language proficiency.It is also the foundation for learning writing and speaking
skills. Harmer (1999) states that reading texts provide good models for English writing.
Students can acquire language knowledge such as vocabulary, grammar and punctuation,
and learn how build sentences, paragraphs and essays from reading texts. In addition,
these texts can introduce interesting topics, stimulate discussions and excite imaginative
responses, helping students speak and write well. Harmer (1999) also assumes that any
exposure to English is a good thing for language students because after reading English
texts, some of the language, at the very least, sticks in their minds as part of the process
of language acquisition. Agreeing on the importance of reading, Soliman (2012) says that
it is a source of learning English and through it students can learn much new information.
Therefore, it is essential for teachers of English to find an effective way to help their
students learn it well.
There has been a considerable change in language learning approach from teachercenteredness to learner- centeredness in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Instead of solely
seeking the right teaching methodology, educational researchers have been making a
great deal of effort to find out why some learners thrive in language learning while others
do not. The previous good language learner studies have suggested that one of the most
factors that affected learners’ performance was their learning strategies (Rubin, 1975;
Oxford, 1990; and Nunan, 1991), which means that skilled learners make effective use of
learning strategies while unskilled ones do not. Applying to reading, there are many
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factors affecting the reading proficiency. They are text types, school social environments,
students’ intelligence, learning motivation, teaching methods, and so on. One of the most
important factors is reading strategies. The use of reading strategies is regarded as being
conductive to successful reading comprehension despite the complex nature of the
reading process, which involves both readers’ language ability and reading ability
(Aldrson, 1984). Compared with unskilled readers, skilled readers flexibly employ a
variety of strategies in their reading process, thus attaining more effective reading
comprehension (Pressley, 2006; Cubukcu, 2007; Grabe and Stoller, 2011). Hence, it is
important for language learners to recognize the differences in reading strategy use
between skilled and unskilled learners so that they can be well aware of how to employ
reading strategies effectively.
Nguyen Van Linh High School is a government school for students from grade 10
to 12 and operates under Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training. In
order to transfer from a secondary school to a high school, every student in Vietnam has
to sit in an entrance exam after finishing grade 9. The exam includes 3 core subjects:
mathematics, literature and English while the total score is made up of double scores of
mathematics and literature together with the score of English. The passing score for
candidates at Nguyen Van Linh High School are often low, and the practice of teaching
and learning at this school shows that the students perform poorly in learning English.
They generally have little understanding and even are confused with what they read. In
addition, they do worry about unfamiliar vocabulary, long texts and short time limit
because these factors seemingly make their English reading more difficult and complex.
These problems may be the results of many elements, but to some extent due to the fact
that they are not well aware of reading strategies. In this way, it is necessary for teachers
of English to introduce reading strategies to the students here and study more about their
students’ reading strategy use when reading in English since knowledge about what goes
on in students’ minds during reading is a prerequisite for teachers’ decision-making in

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strategy-based instruction. For these points, this study is conducted to examine students’
EFL reading strategy use at Nguyen Van Linh High School.
1. 2 Purposes of the study
In an attempt to help Vietnamese EFL students to be more involved in their own
reading process and become more active, constructively responsive readers, this study
intended to:
1. examine Nguyen Van Linh High School students’ EFL reading strategy use,
2. explore the differences in the use of reading strategies between the high and low
proficiency students.
1.3 Research questions
To achieve the above two purposes of the study, the answers to the following
research questions are sought:
1. What is Nguyen Van Linh High School students’ EFL reading strategy use?
2. What are the differences in the use of reading strategies between the high and
low proficiency students?
1.4 Significance of the study
This study was carried out to achieve expected outcomes both in theory and in
practice. In theory, it can be a reference for those who are keen on the research field of
reading strategies, especially in educational contexts like in Vietnam. In practice, this
study will help students at Nguyen Van Linh High School assess the extent to which they
employed reading strategies and learn about the goals and intentions they hold when
coping with reading tasks. Such information can increase their awareness of their own
comprehension process and help them identify reading skills they already have and
highlight ones that need more developing to become a skilled EFL reader. Moreover, this
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study will also supply teachers of English at Nguyen Van Linh High School with deep

and comprehensive insights about their students’ reading strategy use and help them
better understand the needs of their students. In this way, they can identify their own
routes and techniques to meet their students’ needs, which contributes to teaching reading
more effectively.
1.5 Structure of the study
This thesis consists of six chapters. Chapter 1 introduces background information
of the study including the rationale, purposes of the study, research questions,
significance, and structure of the study. The literature review relevant to the study is
discussed in Chapter 2. It provides definitions and classifications of learning strategies,
definitions of reading, definitions and classifications of reading strategies, the differences
between skilled and unskilled readers, and the relationship between learning strategy use
and proficiency. Most importantly, empirical studies on reading strategies are critically
discussed. Chapter 3 is a detailed description of methodology used in the study. It
provides information about the context of the study, participants, data types, methods of
data collection and analytical framework. In Chapter 4, the researcher will analyze data
collected from questionnaires and interviews, and then discuss findings based on the data.
Chapter 5 concludes the thesis with main conclusions, limitations of the study, practical
recommendations, and suggestions for further studies.

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CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW

Chapter 2 presents the theoretical and empirical background to the study. It begins
with the theoretical dimensions of learning strategies, reading, reading strategies, and the
differences between skilled and unskilled readers. The relationship between learning
strategy use and proficiency is discussed in this chapter as well. Finally, previous
empirical research on reading strategy use is reviewed, and gaps in these studies are

figured out as reasons for this study.
2. 1 Learning strategies
2.1.1 Definitions of learning strategies
The definitions of learning strategies are considerable and not exactly the same.
Rubin (1975, p.43) first defines learning strategies as “the techniques or devices which a
learner may use to acquire knowledge”, while Tarone (1981) regards them as attempts
made by learners to improve their linguistic and sociolinguistic competence on target
language. However, these two definitions are not very clear and do not mention learners’
consciousness. Richards and Schmidt (2010, p.331) notes that learning strategies are
“intentional or potentially intentional behaviors carried out with the goal of learning to
better help them understand, learn and remember new information”. Having the same
idea, Cohen (1998) defines learning strategies as processes that learners chose
consciously to serve for their learning and using target language and emphasizes that the
element of choice plays an important role in giving a strategy its character. Scarcella and
Oxford (1992, p. 63) also describe learning strategies as “specific actions, behaviors,
steps, or techniques – such as seeking out conversations partners, or giving oneself
encouragement to tackle a difficult language task – used by students to enhance their own
learning”. These authors suggest that when processing new information or doing tasks,
learners either consciously or subconsciously apply learning strategies.
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All of the listed definitions show that learning strategies are the activities
performed out of learners’ behaviors which are observable, but some studies reports that
learning strategies are not always explicitly displayed. O’malley and Chamot (1990) and
Cohen (2011b) describe learning strategies as thoughts or behaviors consciously
employed by learners to assist them in comprehending, learning and retaining new
information. In other words, learning strategies can be identified sometimes by observing
and sometimes by reporting. Some researchers have also replaced the specific words
“behaviors and thoughts” with more general words such as “methods” (Bialystok, 1978,

p. 71) and “approaches” (O’malley and Chamot, 1994, p.7) in order to overcome the
problematic issue of the interrelationship between observable behaviors and mental
thoughts.
A given strategy is not good nor bad until the context of its use is thoroughly
considered. According to Oxford (2003), a strategy is useful if it relates well to the task,
fits the particular student’s learning style preferences, is employed effectively and linked
with other relevant strategies by the student. Strategies that meet these requirements
“make learning easier, faster, more enjoyable, more self-directed, more effective, and
more transferable to new situations” (Oxford, 1990, p.8). This definition of learning
strategies mentions not only learners’ actions but also their emotions, so it is considered
as a comprehensive one and quoted by many researchers (Lee, 2010; Ketabi et al., 2012;
Oxford, 2003; Gong et al, 2011; Nguyen, 2007). Sharing the same viewpoint with Oxford
(1990), Weinstein and Hume (1998, p.12) states that “learning strategies are any
thoughts, behaviors, beliefs, or emotions a learner involved in during learning to
facilitate the acquisition, integration, storage in memory, or availability for future use of
new knowledge and skills”.

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2. 1. 2 Classifications of learning strategies
Different models have been suggested to categorize and create a hierarchy of
strategies on the basis of how they relate to students and tasks, and how they are
employed in the learning process. This section reviews some major models including
Stern’s (1975) list of 10 strategies of a good language learner, Naiman et al.’s (1978) list
of second language (L2) learning strategies, Rubin’s (1981) classification of direct and
indirect strategies, O’Malley and Chamot’s (1990) three-category strategy taxonomy, and
Oxford’s (1990) six-category strategy model.
Stern (1975, as cited in Naiman et al., 1978) proposes a list of 10 strategies of a
good language learner deriving from three main sources of problems that beginning

language learners face: (1) the difference between the first language (L1) and the second
language (L2); (2) the code-communication dilemma; and (3) the choice between rational
and intuitive learning.
Table 1: Stern’s list of 10 strategies of a good language learner (Stern, 1975,
cited from Naiman, 1978, pp. 4-5)
A personal learning style or positive learning strategy
An active approach to learning tasks
A tolerant and outgoing approach to the target language
and its speakers
Technical know-how of how to tackle a language
A methodological but flexible approach, developing the
new language into an ordered system and constantly
revising it
Constant searching for meaning
Willingness to practice
Willingness to use the language in real communication
Self-monitoring and critical sensitivity to language use
Developing L2 more and more as a separate reference
system and learning to think in it

Planning Strategy
Active Strategy
Empathetic Strategy
Formal Strategy
Experimental Strategy

Semantic Strategy
Practice Strategy
Communication Strategy
Monitoring Strategy

Internalization Strategy

The above table describes each of the ten strategies which are considered as the
foundation for several other models suggested later. However, Stern himself regards this
list as “highly speculative”; therefore, it needs to be confirmed and modified.

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Naiman et al. (1978) puts forward an alternative classification model which
contains five major groups and several sub-groups of learning strategies. The major
categorization consists of active task approach, realization of language as a system,
realization of language as a means of communication and interaction, management of
affective demands and monitoring of L2 performance. The following table clearly
illustrates Naiman et al.’s (1978) classification of L2 learning strategies.
Table 2: Naiman et al. ’s list of L2 learning strategies (1978, pp. 31-33)
Learning Strategies

Descriptions

Active task approach

Responds positively to learning opportunity or seeks and
exploits learning environment
Adds related language learning activities to regular
classroom program
Analyzes relevant problems
Makes comparisons between L1/L2
Make uses of the fact that language is a system
Emphasizes fluency over accuracy

Seeks communicative situations with L2 speakers

Realization of language as a system

Realization of language as a means of communication
and interaction
Management of affective demands
Monitoring L2 performance

Finds socio-cultural meanings
Copes with affective demands in learning
Constantly revises L2 system by testing inferences and
asking L2 native speakers for feedback

After synthesizing all results from her observations and students’ self-reports,
Rubin (1981) proposes a classification scheme in which learning strategies are divided
into two main categories. The first category includes 6 types of strategies contributing
“directly to learning”: clarification/ verification, monitoring, memorization, guessing/
inductive inferencing, deductive reasoning and practice. The other category consists of 2
types of strategies contributing “indirectly to learning”: creating opportunities for practice
and using production tricks. However, Rubin includes communication strategies in
production tricks, which causes controversy among scholars because learning strategies
and communication strategies are considered disparate. Moreover, Rubin just mentions
cognitive functions when classifying learning strategies, but ignores metacognitive, social
or affective functions.
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In O’Mally and Chamot’s framework (1990), language learning strategies are
divided into three main categories: (1) metacognitive strategies; (2) cognitive strategies;

and (3) social/affective strategies. The following table presents the classification and the
definition of each language learning strategy they proposed.
Table 3: O’Malley and Chamot L2 learning strategy framework (1990, p.45)
LEARNING
STRATEGIES
MA.
Metacognitive
Planning
Advance organizers
Directed attention
Functional planning
Selective attention
Self-management
Monitoring
Self-monitoring
Evaluating
Self-evaluation
CB. Cognitive
Resourcing
Repetition
Grouping
Deduction
Imagery
Auditory
representation
Key word method

Elaboration

Transfer

Inferencing
Note taking

DEFINITION
Thinking about the learning process, planning information, monitoring the
learning task and evaluating how well one has started.
Previewing the main ideas and concepts of the material to be learned, often by
skimming the text for the organizing principle.
Deciding in advance to attend in general to a learning task and to ignore the irrelevant
distracters.
Planning for and rehearsing linguistic components necessary for an upcoming task.
Deciding in advance to attend to specific aspects of input, often by scanning for key
words, concepts and/or linguistic markers.
Understanding the conditions that help one’s learning and arranging for the presence of
those conditions.
Checking one’s comprehension during listening or reading or checking the accuracy
and/or appropriateness of one’s oral or written production while it is taking place.
Checking the outcomes of one’s own language against a standard after it has been
completed.
Interacting with the material to be learned, manipulating over the material
mentally or physically, or applying specific techniques to a learning task.
Using target language reference such as dictionaries, encyclopedias or textbooks.
Imitating a language model, including overt practice and silent rehearsal.
Classifying words, terminology or concepts according to their attributes or meaning.
Applying rules to understand or produce the L2 or making up rules based on language
analysis.
Using visual aids (either mental or actual) to understand or remember new information.
Planning back in one’s mind the sound of a word, phrase or longer language sequence.
Remembering a new word in the L2 by (1) identifying a familiar word in the first
language that sounds like the new word or otherwise resembles that new word (2)

generating easily recalled images of some relationship with the first language homonym
and the new word in the L2.
Relating the new information to prior knowledge, relating different parts of new
information to each other or making meaningful personal associations with the new
information.
Using previous linguistic knowledge or prior skills to assist comprehension or
production.
Using available information to guess meanings of new items, predict outcomes or fill in
the missing information.
Writing down keywords or concepts in abbreviated verbal, graphic, or numerical form
while listening or reading.

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Summarizing
Recombination
Translation
SC. Social/Affective
Questioning for
clarification
Cooperation

Making a mental, oral, or written summary of new information gain through linguistic
skills.
Constructing a meaningful sentence or larger language sequence by combining known
element in a new way.
Using the first language as a base for understanding and/or producing the L2.
Involve interacting with other people or ideational control over affect.
Eliciting from a teacher or peer additional explanations, rephrasing, examples or

verification.
Working together with one or more peers to solve a problem, pool information, check a
learning task, model a language activity or get feedback on oral or written performance.

In this framework, metacognitive strategies involve “thinking about the learning
process, planning for learning, monitoring of comprehension and production while it is
taking place and self-evaluation after the learning activity has been completed”.
Cognitive strategies are more “directly related to individual learning tasks” and “entail
direct manipulation or transformation of the learning materials”. Social/affective
strategies involve “either learner’s interactions with other people or learner’s ideational
control over affect”. (O’Mally and Chamot’s framework, 1990, p.8). This classification
overcomes the weaknesses in that of Rubin (1981) because it successfully describes all
cognitive, metacognitive and affective/social aspects of language learning. Nevertheless,
its subcategories still lack “conclusiveness” (Yuhua, 2005, p.15).
Based on earlier research into learning strategies, Oxford (1990) develops a new
language learning strategy system, which includes two main classifications: direct
strategies and indirect strategies. The former are divided into memory, cognitive and
compensatory strategies because they directly involve processing or using the language
that is being learned. Memory strategies entail the mental processes for storing new
information in the memory and for retrieving them when needed. Cognitive strategies
entail conscious ways of handling the target language. Compensation strategies enable
learners to use the language either in speaking or writing despite knowledge gaps.
The latter consists of metacognitive, affective and social strategies because they do
not involve the language itself, but allow learners to manage themself with regard to the
following: planning, organizing, monitoring, evaluating, maintaining motivation,
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lowering anxiety, and learning with others. Metacognitive strategies enable learners to
control their own cognition. They are strategies which entail overviewing and linking

with material already known, paying attention, delaying speech production, organizing,
setting goals and objectives, planning for a language task, looking for practice
opportunities, self-monitoring and self-evaluating. Affective strategies assist students to
manage their emotions, motivation, and attitudes associated with learning. They can be
achieved through lowering anxiety, encouraging oneself, and taking emotional
temperature. Social strategies facilitate language learning through interactions with
others. These strategies are divided into three sets, namely as asking questions,
cooperating, and empathizing with others.
Table 4: Oxford’s learning strategy framework (1990, p.17)
Direct

Strategy group
Memory strategies

Cognitive strategies

Compensation strategies
Indirect

Metacognitive strategies

Affective strategies

Social strategies

Strategy sub-group
Creating mental linkage
Applying images and sounds
Reviewing well
Employing action

Practicing
Receiving and sending messages
Analyzing and reasoning
Creating structure for input and output
Guessing intelligently
Overcoming limitations in speaking and writing
Centering your learning
Arranging and planning
Evaluating your learning
Lowing your anxiety
Encouraging yourself
Taking your emotional temperature
Asking questions
Cooperating with others
Empathizing with others

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2. 2 Reading
Reading is one of the receptive skills which is very important in language teaching
and learning. The importance of reading for second language acquisition has been widely
acknowledged (Day & Bamford, 1998, 2002; Grabe, 2004). Since reading is an important
skill in language learning, it is necessary to define it.
According to Stauffer (1969, p.5), reading means “getting information from the
printed page”. It can be understood from this definition that one of the reason for reading
is to get some information out of the text in order to find out something or in order to do
something with the information you get. Therefore, it is necessary to read selectively
depending on the purpose. Grellet (1981, p.3) also defines reading as “the process of
extracting the required information from a written text as efficiently as possible”, while

Grabe and Stoller (2002, p.5) view reading as “an ability to derive understanding from
written text”. Compared to these authors, Anderson (1991) describes reading more
concretely as “an active and fluent process which involves the reader and the reading
material in building meaning” (p.1).
Goodman (1967) states that reading is a “psycholinguistic guessing game” that
connects both language and thoughts together. In order to be able to comprehend reading
texts, learners have to make good use of graphic, semantic, and syntactic cues to guess
what in these texts, and then confirm these guesses by using their prior knowledge. In
addition, reading is the kind of process in which one needs to not only understand its
direct meaning, but also comprehend its implied ideas. As Tierney (2005) states,
“learning to read is not only learning to recognize words; it is also learning to make
sense of texts” (p.51). Through the active reader-text interaction, the reader obtains a
comprehension product by activating a set of cognitive and metacognitive processes
(Meneghetti, Carretti and De Beni, 2006). Thus, reading comprehension requires the
usage of prior knowledge, the association of readers’ own knowledge with the messages
expressed in the text, the ongoing monitoring and regulation of comprehension according
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to the goals of reading, accomplished by the use of appropriate and effective strategies
(Alexander & Jetton, 2000).
2. 3 Reading strategies
2. 3. 1 Definitions of reading strategies
The readers’ involvement in the text is very important as they should develop,
modify and even reflect on all or some of the ideas displayed in the text. Guthrie and
Wigfield (1999, p. 199) highlight that “a person is unlikely to comprehend a text by
accident. If the person is not aware of the text, not attending to it, not choosing to make
meaning from it, or not giving cognitive effort to knowledge construction, little
comprehension occurs”. Readers need to employ a wide range of strategies while they
are engaged in comprehending texts (Paris, Wasik, & Turner, 1991), since reading

comprehension “involves conscious and unconscious use of various strategies, including
problem solving strategies to build a model of meaning” (Johnston, 1983, as cited in
Anastasiou and Griva, 2009, p. 283).
Reading researchers have suggested various definitions of the term reading
strategy. Paris, Wasik and Turner (1996, p. 610) provided a broad definition of reading
strategies as “tactics that readers use to engage and comprehend text”, while Afferbach,
Pearson and Paris (2008, p. 15) note that reading strategies are “deliberate, goal-directed
attempts to control and modify the readers’ efforts to decode text, understand word, and
construct meanings out of text”. According to Singhal (2001), reading strategies indicate
how readers conceive of a task, how they make sense of what they read, and what they do
when they do not understand. Including the notion of intention and consciousness in her
definition of reading strategies, Oranpattanachai (2004) defines reading strategies as a
deliberate action, consciously taken by the readers to enhance their reading
comprehension. Similarly, Pritchard (1990) defines this term as a deliberate action that
readers take voluntarily to develop an understanding of what they read. Garner (1987, as
cited in Mokhtari and Reichard, 2002) also says that reading strategies are generally
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deliberate, planned activities undertaken by active learners, many times to remedy
perceived cognitive failure.
In short, reading strategies have the following characteristics: (1) deliberate,
conscious plans, techniques and skills; (2) aiming to enhance reading comprehension and
overcome comprehension failures; and (3) behavioral and mental. They are of interest for
what they reveal about the way readers manage their interaction with the written text and
how these strategies are related to text comprehension (Carrell, 1989).
2. 3. 2Classifications of reading strategies
Different classifications were posited and a variety of types of reading strategies
were identified. Paris, Wasik and Turner (1996) identify strategies according to the
different stages of the reading process and divided them into pre-reading, while-reading

and after-reading strategies. They find that good readers use certain strategies before they
began reading such as establishing a good physical environment, setting reading
purposes, accessing prior knowledge, skimming for general ideas, reviewing instructions
and predicting what might be read, etc. While they are reading, good readers use some
strategies to facilitate and aid their reading comprehension. For example, they check their
comprehension, identify the text’s main idea, make inferences, look for discourse
markers, monitor vocabulary knowledge, compare what is read with what is known,
evaluate the value of what is being learned, reread text or skip ahead. The reading process
does not end when the readers reach the end of the text. Rather, Paris, Wasik and Turner
(1996) point out that good readers continue to appreciate the text and writer, revisit prereading expectations, review notes, reflect on text understanding, consolidate and
integrate information, review information, elaborate and evaluate, determine what
additional information is needed, apply new information to the task at hand, relate the
text to own experience, or critique the text. It is pertinent to note that the classification of
reading strategies suggested by Paris, Wasik and Turner (1996) provides a perspective for
reading researchers to identify reading strategies based on the time and stage. However,
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the literature on reading strategy use indicates that there are cases when the same strategy
is used at different stages. This complex nature of effective strategy use continues to be
discussed in many reading research studies (Paris, Wasik and Turner, 1996; Mokhtari and
Reichard, 2002; Vandergrift and Goh, 2012).
The classification of learning strategies also had influence on the categorization of
reading strategies. O’Malley and Chamot (1990) suggest that learning strategies can be
categorized

into

three

main

types:

metacognitive,

cognitive

strategies

and

social/affective strategies. In this study, the researcher will focus on the cognitive and
metacognitive strategies. Cognitive strategies are specific and localized, involving
manipulating the material to be learned or applying a specific technique to the learning
task. In contrast, metacognitive strategies are more general and globalized. They oversee,
direct and regulate the learning process by thinking about the learning process, planning,
monitoring and evaluating learning. When applied in reading, cognitive reading strategies
address specific reading activities. They are employed to manipulate the reading material,
to process the incoming information or to perform specific tasks. Some examples include
the following reading abilities: using prior knowledge to help comprehension, adjusting
one’s speed of reading when the material becomes difficult or easy, reading aloud when
text gets hard, trying to stay focus on reading, pausing and thinking about reading,
rereading for better understanding, and guessing the meaning of unknown words
(Sheorey and Mokhtari, 2001). In contrast to cognitive strategies, metacognitive reading
strategies are used to regulate the execution of the aforementioned strategies. They are
employed with a purpose to understand and regulate the task performance for a better and
successful cognitive processing result by focusing on the planning, monitoring and
regulating of the cognitive activities of reading process. Examples of metacognitive
reading strategies include understanding the conditions under which one learns best,

analyzing the problem at hand, identifying which important aspects of a message to apply
to the task at hand, separating important information from less important information,
detecting how to strategically proceed, monitoring to track attention and comprehension,
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