Learning About and Becoming Aware of Reading Strategies and Metacognition in English by Adult Second Language Learners

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the need to learn and/or become aware of reading strategies and metacognitive strategies by adult English language learners while making sense of English texts. A mixed method grounded theory (MMGT) in a sequential design (quantitative Qualitative) with a qualitative dominant status was employed to collect and analyze data. In the quantitative phase of this study, data were collected by administrating a background questionnaire and the Survey of Reading Strategies (SORS). Data collected by these tools were statistically analyzed with descriptive analysis and one-way Analysis of Variance. In the qualitative phase of this study, data were collected through retrospective miscue analysis (RMA) and semi-structured interviews. Data collected by these methods were coded in order to verify reading patterns among participants. Quantitative results demonstrated that second language learners from different language backgrounds and English proficiency levels perceived the use of reading strategies differently. Qualitative results demonstrated that Saudi-Arabian second language learners tend to transfer their reading strategy in relying on small grain size units while reading in English. These results bring a new perspective to the second language reading field by demonstrating that second language learners from different language backgrounds apply reading strategies differently based on their initial reading development in their first languages