The Exploration of Reading Strategies Employed by Thai EFL Students (A Case Study of Bangkok University)

Abstract

The purposes of this research were to 1) investigate the use of reading strategies of second-year students at Bangkok
University 2) compare the use of reading strategies between the achievers and underachievers 3) compare the use of reading
strategies of second-year students who have different years of studying English and different reading behavior outside of class.
The instruments used for collecting data were a questionnaire and an in-depth interview. Proportional stratified random sampling
was employed to formulate a sample of 370 students from nine faculties of Bangkok University. The data were statistically
analyzed in terms of mean and standard deviation. A t-test analysis was used to find the difference between the achievers and
underachievers on the use of reading strategies. In addition, One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the
use of reading strategies of students with different years of studying English and different reading behavior outside of class. For
the in-depth interview, six students with highest scores and six with the lowest scores are randomized through simple random
sampling technique to give their opinions on three questions provided, and the data were collected to assure the results of the
study. The results of this study showed that the overall usage of reading strategies of Bangkok University students was at a
medium level, and significant differences existed in reading strategies usage of three independent variables : 1) the achievers
and underachiever 2) the students with different years of studying English 3) the students with different reading behavior outside
of class. The findings of this research would help the teachers to improve the process and material for teaching and learning
reading strategies and raise awareness of reading strategies among the students in order to enhance the students’ reading
comprehension. Pedagogical implications into reading strategies were suggested.