Good vs. Poor Readers’ Strategies in Narrative Comprehension: A Think-Aloud Study among Chinese EFL Learners

The use of reading strategies is closely linked to readers’ proficiency levels. While extensive research has examined strategy use among EFL readers with varying proficiency, there remains a gap in qualitatively understanding the characteristics that distinguish good and poor EFL readers in narrative texts. The study addresses this gap through a qualitative case study involving four good and four poor Chinese college EFL readers. Data were collected primarily through think-aloud protocols to gain in-depth insights into their strategy use. Findings indicate that good readers effectively employed inference-making strategies to enhance comprehension and actively monitored their reading progress. Conversely, poor readers relied heavily on translation, struggled with making inferences, and demonstrated ineffective comprehension monitoring. These contrasting behaviors revealed three key differences between the two reader groups: approaches to assisting comprehension, inference-making abilities, and monitoring of comprehension. The study concludes that successful narrative comprehension depends on both linguistic competence and strategic reading awareness. It recommends explicit instruction on rephrasing and inference-making strategies, alongside guidance for active comprehension monitoring and adaptive strategy use. Future research is suggested to examine how strategy use evolves over time and how targeted instruction influences EFL readers’ strategic behavior.