The reading strategies used by Thai English as a Second Language (ESL) students

The present study examined the utilisation of reading strategies by Thai ESL students who read narrative and expository texts in two different languages, Thai and English. The three research questions posed were: (1) what reading strategies were used by Thai ESL students while reading across languages and across text types, (2) how were those reading strategies used, and (3) why were those reading strategies used. The study involved seven Thai ESL students enrolled at universities in Australia. The participants were required to read eight passages: two Thai and two English narratives, two Thai and two English expository texts. Data were gathered through miscue analysis, think-aloud reports, retrospective interview, and retelling. By using these research instruments, it was found that some reading strategies were utilised similarly across languages and across text types, and some differently across the given texts and across the individual participants. The data from the miscue analysis revealed that the participants in the study employed four general reading strategies, including selecting, predicting, confirming, and correcting, for reading different texts. In addition, the participants made use of some reading strategies such as re-reading, reducing reading pace, and pausing to cope with reading difficulty or comprehension breakdown. The data from the verbal protocols illustrated that several reading strategies were transferred across languages and across text types, and some reading strategies were used for a particular reading task. The reading strategies that were used only for Thai readings included using text structure, and questioning. Those used only for English readings were paraphrasing and using context. The strategies used only for narrative readings were restating text, paraphrasing, questioning, predicting, and visualising; and those used for expository readings were invoking prior knowledge, and evaluating. It should be noted that the number of the participants who used these reading strategies for certain tasks was very small. Nearly every participant drew on bilingual strategies, such as translating and code-switching, when reading English narrative and expository texts. xiv The retrospective interview data demonstrated several reasons for the utilisation of reading strategies across the given texts by the participants. Such reasons were purpose of reading, the possession of content schemata, and the individual differences in terms of experience in learning to read, styles of reading or reading habits, and educational levels. The reasons for the similarity and difference in the utilisation of reading strategies among the participants across Thai and English texts included the differences of Thai and English language rules, the participants’ perspective on reading in different languages, the participants’ exposure to English reading. Other reasons included the styles of paragraph structure of Thai and English writings, the genre of literature, and the writer’s literary style. The reasons for the similarity and difference in the use of reading strategies among the participants across narrative and expository texts were the participants’ perspective on reading texts in different genres, and the participants’ reading interest. Overall, the study demonstrated that Thai students’ reading strategies in dealing with narrative and expository texts in English and Thai were transferable across languages and text types. The ability to transfer the use of reading strategies effectively was reduced as the texts became more difficult, due to the combination of two factors: language and text type.