ACADEMIC READING STRATEGIES EMPLOYED BY ARAB ENGINEERING STUDENTS IN AN ENGLISH-MEDIUM LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

The kind of higher order or critical reading required in a university presents challenges to student readers in many environments. These challenges are even more complex for students reading in a second or foreign language [1,2]), as is the case in this study. Previous research has shown that explicit teaching of higher order reading skills (HORS) can be of benefit to these learners [3]. To operationalize such benefits, however, requires curriculum responses to reading issues which can be greatly enhanced by a better understanding of what strategies students apply to their different reading purposes. This preliminary study sets out to develop such an understanding. A reading strategies survey adapted from that developed by [4] was implemented to gather data on science and engineering students' reading strategies at pre-college level, and in the first and second years of study. From the data, the types of approaches employed by students are classified and analyzed as global, problem-solving and supportive strategies [4p]. Findings indicate that there was a higher reliance on supportive and global strategies in the pre-college programme and a higher application of problem solving strategies in the first and second year. The findings can inform a useful pedagogical discussion amongst teachers on explicit teaching of strategies and ways in which reading materials might be developed and utilized to provide maximum opportunity to student readers to employ these, as well as to enhance reader self-awareness