THESIS TITLE ON: AN INVESTIGATING EFL STUDENTS' READING STRATEGIES USE AND THEIR READING COMPREHENSION ABILITIES: GRADE NINE STUDENTS AT ELOS SECONDARY SCHOOL IN FOCUS

Abstract

Reading is one of the languages skills that gives learners something to think about and contributes to their academic success. The aim of this study was to investigate EFL students' reading strategies use and their reading comprehension ability Elose grade nine in focus. A descriptive correlation design was adopted to ensure the objectives of this study. A total of 18 Elose secondary School students participated in this study. For this purpose, data were collected using questionnaires, reading tests and interviews. The results of this study indicated that compensation (M=2.76) and cognitive (M=2.68) reading strategies were the most commonly used strategies by English language students to develop their reading comprehension skills at low level. Besides, the results showed that there was a significant positive correlation between the reading strategies used by students and their reading comprehension abilities(r=0.583, p=.003, p>0.05). The study also ensures that when students maximize their awareness of using effective reading strategies, their reading comprehension improves. Therefore, this study recommends that English teachers should encourage and train students to use different reading strategies in and out of class to solve their reading problems