The Effect of Academic Setting on Reading Strategy Use by Iranian EFL University Students

Abstract

English language learners are presented with a large number of texts during their academic studies. Certainly, the awareness and utilization of appropriate reading strategies can help them to be successful readers in addition to increasing their reading motivation and comprehension. The present study was an attempt to determine the effect of the length of academic setting on the language learners’ choice of reading strategies. To do so, 48 freshmen and sophomores (first group) and 48 juniors and seniors (second group) all EFL learners at Vali-e-Asr University of Rafsanjan were given the Survey of Reading Strategies (Mokhtari & Sheory, 2002). The data thus gathered was tabulated, analyzed and interpreted based on the instructions of the questionnaire as well as inferential statistics. The results of the study showed significant differences between the two groups both at the level of using single strategies and the overall strategy use, confirming the relative effectiveness of the length of exposition to academic settings on the language learners’ choice of reading strategies.