Exploring the Experiences and Attitudes of Post-Year One University of Botswana Students on Academic Reading

This paper investigated the reading experiences and attitudes of post year one students who studied academic communication and study skills at the University of Botswana. There was a niche for this investigation because while the Communication and Study Skills Unit (USSU) teaches basic language skills including speaking, listening, reading and writing to all first-year students from different faculties of the university, it hardly gets feedback from students on how they cope with reading in subsequent levels to improve their academic performance. The study adopted a qualitative research approach to investigate the problem using open ended questionnaires and focused group discussions. The findings indicated that students appreciated the reading skill from year one as it improved their writing skills, it helped them to pay attention to key details amongst other things when reading and it improved their performance due to using relevant citations and knowing how to analyse them. The study concluded that lecturers of various disciplines and faculties should emphasise the reading skill and appreciate its importance towards students’ academic performance.