INFLUENCE OF READING STRATEGY USE ON UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ SECOND LANGUAGE READING PERFORMANCE

Findings about the role of reading strategy use in second language (L2) reading have been inconclusive. This study, therefore, examined the reading strategies that distinguish high- and low-performing L2 readers. For this purpose, 32 Vietnamese ESL university students completed a fourteen-item TOEFL reading test and a survey of reading strategies consisting of 30 items measuring L2 learners' use of global, problem-solving and support strategies. The results of independent samples t-tests revealed no significant differences in their overall use of three strategy categories between high- and low-performing L2 readers, but the two groups showed significant differences in their use of three global strategies and one problem-solving strategy. These findings suggested that certain reading strategies could contribute to proficient reading in a L2.