Variables Influencing Korean College Students’ Strategy Use in Reading English Texts

Abstract

This study explored what variables influence Korean college students’ strategy use when they read academic texts in English. Academic majors, grade levels, gender, enjoyment of reading English texts, and self-perception of being a proficient English reader were selected to be discussed as primary variables. English reading proficiency was included as a covariate. This study employed a quantitative research methodology. The study used a well developed survey as a main instrument, which is Survey of Reading Strategy (SORS) developed by Mokhtari and Sheorey (2002). One hundred fifteen Korean college students participated in this study. Statistical analyses including Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) and Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) were employed to analyze collected data. The findings of this study were as follows: self-perception of being a proficient English reader was only a significant variable influencing Korean college students’ overall use of reading strategies after controlling for their reading proficiency. Korean college students’ reading proficiency was a significant factor explaining their use of certain reading strategy categories, but it was not significantly related to their overall use of reading strategies.