Exploring EFL Students' Reading Strategies: A Case Study At Pamulang University

prof. dr. h. abdul madjid latif, mm., m.pd.; siti zulaiha, m.a, ph.d; dr. burhayani, m.pd;

The aim of the research is to explore students’ reading strategies in comprehending
academic text and students’ perception on their reading strategies. A qualitative
study which is more focus on a case study as a method in this study is used. This
research is conducted at Pamulang University which involved 8 students as the
participants of the study. They are intentionally chosen based on their proficiency
level as a reader. The participants who got A in their previous reading score
categorized have a high proficiency level in English and those who got B in their
previous reading score categorized have a low proficiency level in English. There
are three instruments which are used by the researcher namely stimulated recall
interview, students’ note and students’ log. The result of this study shows that EFL
students with low proficiency level in English frequently used few strategies
because of their lack of awareness in reading strategies such as using referent
material (dictionary), reading the text many times and reading slowly. Meanwhile,
the EFL students with a high proficiency level in English used a variety of strategies
in their reading activity such as skimming, rereading, and using background
knowledge. The result also shows that there are common strategies the students use
regardless their level of proficiency. Using dictionary, re-reading and skimming are
strategies that are usually used by both types of students in comprehending the text. Moreover, students’ perception of their strategies in reading is different from one another. The low students seemed unaware of a variety of strategies in reading. On the contrary, the high students seemed aware enough to recognize and apply a
variety of reading strategies.