The Use of Translation as a Support Strategy in Reading Comprehension

Reading, as A complex process, involves readers performing actions of planning, questioning, reviewing and evaluating. While reading academic texts, students tend to use strategies which help in better understanding and comprehension. Translation as a support strategy has played a significant role in different teaching methodologies through decades regardless of the importance that it has to some of them. This study measured the frequency of EFL learners' use of reading strategies in general and of translation strategy in particular. It utilized a quantitative method design and the data collection instrument was adapted from SORS (Survey of Reading Strategies) which measured the use of Global, Problem Solving and Support reading strategies. The participants were 118 senior students from four high schools in Tirana, Albania. The findings revealed that students tend to frequently use problem solving strategies and the strategy of translating the academic text into first language is among the least used strategies.