English Language Learners’ Level of Reading Proficiency and their Use of Reading Strategies

Abstract

The paper reports on a study that investigated undergraduate English language students’ use of reading strategies based on their reading proficiency level. The main objectives of the study were to identify any relationship between reading proficiency level and strategy use, and any significant differences among highly proficient, moderately proficient, and low proficient students in their strategy use while reading academic materials. The study also aimed at exploring the most frequently used reading strategies among the learners of these three proficiency levels. The study used a questionnaire survey and employed descriptive statistics and ANOVA tests on the data generated from 145 undergraduate English major students of a public university in Bangladesh. Results revealed that all three groups of participants used cognitive strategies most frequently. ANOVA test results showed a significant difference between highly proficient and low proficient participants in their reported use of several strategies. The highly proficient group scored higher than the other groups, which indicates a possible relationship between learners’ level of proficiency and their reading strategy use.