Use of Reading Strategies in English Academic Reading

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate how Thai undergraduate students do to improve their reading comprehension skills. This paper presents a qualitative investigation. A semi-structured interview is served as the main source of data. Forty students from different faculties of Khon Kaen University participated in the study. The transcribed interview data was analyzed with ‘open and axial coding’ techniques. The data analyses revealed two main emergent categories of reading strategies: 1) reading comprehension strategies (RC); and 2) reading comprehension enhancement strategies (RCE) with altogether 39 individual reading strategies. The interview result showed that the most frequently found strategies being reported were from the first category, e.g. looking for unfamiliar vocabulary items and then searching for their meanings before reading (BRC 1), and searching for the meanings of unfamiliar vocabulary items while reading (WRC 1). On the contrary, the students reported not to rely heavily on the strategies from the second category