Little research has been conducted to investigate the effect of analogy on third language (L3, hereafter) reading comprehension though some experts believe that it has facilitating and debilitating effects on L1 and L2 respectively. This article explores the effect of analogies on reading comprehension of expository texts by students of English as…

This study explores the relative contribution to EFL reading comprehension of the following individual-difference variables: prior knowledge, topic interest, linguistic proficiency, gender, reading motivation, and metacognitive awareness. It also investigates the relationship between the aforementioned individual differences and the role of text…

This paper reports a study that explored the overall pattern of metacognitive awareness of reading strategy use and its possible relationship with reading comprehension. Moreover, the study investigated the influence of gender and proficiency level on the use of these strategies. The Survey of Reading Strategies Questionnaire (SORS), the…

With 73 students at an Iranian university, the present study investigated teacher's effect in topic familiarization in L2 reading context. The participants--Group B with and Group A without the presence of a teacher--experienced four pre-reading treatments and read four passages of unfamiliar topics, after which they were tested on…

Top-down models of reading emphasize methods and techniques that promote active reading which involves utilizing contextual clues to guess vocabulary meaning. This study aims at analyzing the correlation between EFL students' general reading proficiency and guessing patterns, and identifying the types of contextual clues actually used by EFL…

This study explored the effect of video games as a new tool for Iranian EFL (English as a foreign language) vocabulary learning. To conduct the study, 40 intermediate EFL learners, both male and female, were chosen through a TOEFL proficiency test. The participants were divided into two groups (10 males and 10 females in each): a control group and…

This study investigated the cognitive strategies used by Persian EFL (English as a foreign language) graduate students while reading a hypermedia text. Prior to the start of the study, the Nelson-Denny Reading Test was used in order to measure the reading ability of the students. Data was collected through think-aloud protocols, and the strategies…

The present research investigated the use of cognitive and metacognitive strategies by 60 young and 90 adult learners of different levels of education across different fields of study. The intermediate level young participants included junior-high and senior-high school learners between the ages of 14 and 17. The high-intermediate adult…

This study investigated the developmental and fossilized prepositional errors in Persian EFL learners' compositions at three levels of proficiency; participants were divided into lower-intermediate, upper-intermediate, and advanced levels. For each participant, four compositions were collected, and after identifying the prepositional errors for…

A major reading-achievement gap exists between English language learners and English-only students. In order for ELLs to experience school success, they must achieve English language proficiency. This article presents why vocabulary acquisition plays the most vital role in ELLs' learning of the English language. Factors include the severity and…

Reading Comprehension is one of the four components tested by the "MUET" (Malaysian University English Test) for Sixth-Form students in Malaysia, and school teachers are charged with the task of helping these students improve. This article discusses how "reciprocal teaching strategies" could help low-proficiency Sixth-Form students improve their…

This study examined the interrelationships of first language (L1) literacy, second language (L2) proficiency, and L2 reading comprehension with 246 Chinese college students learning English. L1 literacy and L2 proficiency were measured with college admission exams in Chinese and English. L2 reading comprehension was measured with the reading…

This case study investigates the metacognitive reading strategies of three advanced proficient trilingual readers whose native language is Hausa. The study examines the reading strategies employed by the three readers in English, French and Hausa. The aim of the study was to compare the reading strategy profiles of trilingual readers through…

As an experienced ESL teacher, the author understands that the discussion of the inherent strengths and weaknesses of nonnative English-speaking students in the English-speaking classroom usually focuses on the language proficiency and level of acculturation of the students. Now, however, she finds herself facing this issue, not in the context of…

Learning strategy research has been very prolific and much has been written about the field and its importance to language learning. This paper traces the history and development of learning strategy research by anchoring it in the field of cognitive psychology in the early years from 1970 to 1990 before reviewing the varied and descriptive nature…