Measuring the use of reading comprehension strategies in L2 reading by Norwegian 7th grade pupils.

Abstract

This master thesis measures the use of reading comprehension strategies in L2 reading by Norwegian 7th grade pupils. The thesis investigates whether and to what extent the 7th grade pupils make use of reading strategies. It also investigates if there are gender differences in the pupils reported use of reading strategies and whether there is a relationship between self-rated reading ability and reported strategy use. Research has shown that pupils who use reading strategies perform better on experimental reading tasks (Bråten, I. & Anmarkrud, Ø. 2013) For the pupils to become really good readers, reading comprehension strategies, background knowledge and reading motivation are crucial (Anmarkrud, Ø. & Refsahl, V. 2019). This thesis shows that the pupils are aware of and use reading strategies, but to a different extent depending on the strategy. The theoretical background includes theories and research on reading strategies and reading. This is knowledge that is beneficial for teachers and teacher students to know about, especially if they are going to help to develop reading skills among the pupils. The data was collected by using the survey of reading strategies (SORS), which is a questionnaire designed to be used among L2 learners of English. The data was collected in two 7th grades from two different schools and the data was analysed using the SPSS. The findings show that the pupils make use of reading comprehension strategies during reading in L2, but the strategies are used to a different extent. There were several strategies that the pupils reported to be using with a high frequency. The results also showed overall no significant difference between the genders, with a few exceptions where the girls reported higher mean scores. There was also overall no significant difference between the self-rated reading ability and the reported strategy use, with a few exceptions, where the high ability reading group had the highest mean scores.