Reading strategies employed by secondary school students in comprehending an English language (L2) reading text / Atar Monok

This study investigates reading strategies employed by secondary school students in comprehending an English (L2) text. Fifty Form One students of SMK Datuk Patinggi Abdul Gapor, Stampin,Kuching, Sarawak were randomly selected and given questionnaires to fill in. Later, another six from the group were also randomly selected for the think-aloud protocols and retrospective interviews. “Reading Profile” of each subject was composed of information obtained from a Personal background Questionnaire, which specifically addressed individual reading habits in the LI and/or in additional languages; types of reading English written articles and the number of hours spent per for school-based reading and personal reading. In the think-aloud verbal protocols, subjects were asked to think-aloud in the language of their thought. In the retrospective interviews, subjects were asked to listen to their tape-recorded think-aloud protocols and were asked to clarify and explain their thoughts. The results of the study confirmed that reading comprehension is directly affected by the mother tongue of students and they resort to the dictionary mainly to verify their inferences.