A study on improving esl reading skill of engineering students through reading strategies

Abstract

newline newlineReading is one of the most important language skills and if it is improved, the other three skills (listening, speaking and writing) can be improved. Reading improves one s language command which paves the way for good communication. So it is an essential component in any academic curriculum. But not much effort is taken to attend to this skill at the school or college level. Students do not cultivate the reading habit. This study attempts to make the students acquire the reading habit in English through reading strategies which will improve their reading speed, comprehension and retention. The hypothesis is that when reading is practiced continuously using strategies it will improve. This study was carried out in an engineering college located in a rural area. 36 first year students who had studied in Tamil Medium till their Plus 2 (Std. XII) were taken as participants for this experimental study. The reason for choosing regional medium students was to know if they transfer any of their mother tongue reading practices to their L2 viz. English. The students were given two regional language passages to ascertain their first language reading ability and later eight passages in English along with questions to test their comprehension for a period of 10 days during which various strategies were taught. newline newline newline newline newline newline newline