Exploring the Link Between Reading Difficulties and Reading Strategies

Abstract

Reading is fundamental to language development, yet many ESL and EFL learners continue to encounter significant comprehension difficulties. These challenges are often linked to limited vocabulary, weak decoding skills, and insufficient strategic awareness. Reading strategies, particularly cognitive and metacognitive techniques, are essential in supporting comprehension and improving performance. This study investigates whether significant relationships exist between reading difficulties and reading strategies across demographic variables, including gender, age, and reading preferences. It also examines learners’ perceptions of their reading difficulties as well as their use of reading strategies. The study explores the overall relationship between reading difficulties and reading strategies. The research aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how individual differences and perceptions influence the interplay between reading challenges and strategic reading behaviours. To achieve the objective of the research, a 5 Likert-scale survey based on reading difficulties (Abeeleh and Al-Sobh, 2021) and online reading strategies proposed by Amer et al (2010) is utilised. This survey focuses on reading difficulties, global reading strategies, problem-solving reading strategies and support reading strategies. The survey obtained responses from 130 participants. Findings of the research suggested that, relating to reading difficulties, it is pertaining to the students’ perception that made them feel that reading academic texts is a difficult task. Looking at the global strategies and problem-solving strategies, these learners have the tendency to refocus their attention, so that they are able to obtain better comprehension of the academic texts. In relation to supporting reading strategies, the learners depended on their translation abilities, as well as referred to other materials to gain more understanding. Several pedagogical implications are also addressed in the present study.