Comparing first and second language reading: the use of metacognitive strategies among Norwegian students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5617/adno.5579Keywords:
metacognitive awareness, academic reading, L2 reading, English as a second language, reading strategiesAbstract
Metacognitive awareness is one of the key predictors of successful reading, in particular for second language and academic reading. This article presents a study that investigated Norwegian university students’ metacognitive awareness when reading academic texts in Norwegian (L1) and English (L2). 316 students answered a questionnaire which included a 30-item survey of reading strategies and self-ratings of reading proficiency in both languages. The analysis reveals a surprisingly similar awareness of reading strategies in L1 and L2. The main differences found were in the use of two specific reading strategies: reading more slowly and using resources such as dictionaries. Despite overall similarities in the approach to L1 and L2 reading, participants rated their own proficiency as much higher in L1 reading than L2. Regression models show significant associations between self-ratings of proficiency and the number and type of reading strategies reported, particularly in the L2, demonstrating that there is an important connection between these. Research on other populations has shown a much higher use of reading strategies in L2. However, the similarity in approaches to L1 and L2 reading among the university students in this study may reflect a higher level of L2 proficiency among these students, as well as high expectations of proficiency, meaning they do not feel a need to use reading strategies for decoding L2 text. Instead, these students may benefit from additional training in the use of higher level reading strategies to improve their comprehension of L2 academic texts.
Keywords: metacognitive awareness, academic reading, L2 reading, English as a second language, reading strategies
Sammenligning av første- og andrespråkslesing: bruk av metakognitive strategier blant norske universitetsstudenter
Sammendrag
Metakognitiv bevissthet er avgjørende for gode leseferdigheter, spesielt når det gjelder leseferdigheter i andrespråk og akademisk lesing. Denne artikkelen presenterer sentrale funn fra en studie som undersøkte norske universitetsstudenters metakognitive bevissthet ved lesing av akademiske tekster på norsk (L1) og engelsk (L2). 316 studenter ble bedt om å fylle ut et spørre-skjema med 30 spørsmål om lesestrategier, samt å vurdere egne leseferdigheter i begge språk. Deltakerne viser en overraskende lik bevissthet omkring bruken av lesestrategier i L1 og L2. De største forskjellene som ble funnet, angår bruken av to spesifikke lesestrategier: det å lese sakte og det å bruke ressurser som ordbøker. Til tross for generelle likheter i studentenes tilnærming til lesing i L1 og L2, vurderer deltakerne sine egne leseferdigheter som mye bedre i L1 enn i L2. Regresjonsmodeller viser signifikante sammenhenger mellom egenvurderingen av leseferdigheter og antall og type rapporterte lesestrategier, særlig i L2, noe som viser at det er en viktig relasjon mellom disse. Forskning på andre populasjoner har vist en mye høyere bruk av lesestrategier i L2. Likheten i tilnærminger til L1- og L2-lesing blant universitetsstudenter i denne studien kan indikere et høyere nivå av L2-leseferdighet blant disse studentene, samt høye forventede ferdigheter, noe som betyr at de ikke føler behov for å bruke lesestrategier for å dekode L2-tekst. I stedet kan disse studentene dra nytte av opplæring i bruk av lesestrategier på mer overordnet nivå for å forbedre forståelsen av L2 akademiske tekster.
Nøkkelord: metakognitiv bevissthet, akademisk lesing, andrespråkslesing, engelsk som andrespråk, lesestrategier
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Content published in Acta Didactica is - unless otherwise is stated - licensed through Creative Commons License BY-NC-ND 4.0. Content can be copied, distributed and disseminated in any medium or format under the following terms:
Attribution: You must give appropriate credit and provide a link to the license
Non-Commercial: You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
No derivatives: If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.
No additional restrictions: You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
Notice: No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.
Authors who publish in Acta Didactica accept the following conditions:
Author(s) retains copyright to the article and give Acta Didactica rights to first publication while the article is licensed under the Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. This license allows sharing the article for non-commercial purposes, as long as the author and first publishing place Acta Didactica are credited.
The author is free to publish and distribute the work/article after publication in Acta Didactica, as long as the journal is referred to as the first place of publication. Submissions that are under consideration for publication or accepted for publication in Acta Didactica cannot simultaneously be under consideration for publication in other journals, anthologies, monographs or the like. By submitting contributions, the author accepts that the contribution is published online in Acta Didactica.