Effective Strategies for Teaching Reading Comprehension in EFL Classrooms: A Literature Review

Reading comprehension in English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms requires more than accurate word recognition: learners must integrate linguistic knowledge, background knowledge, and strategic regulation of meaning. This narrative literature review synthesizes theoretical contributions, empirical studies, and research reviews concerning effective reading comprehension instruction. Twenty-five selected scholarly sources were examined through thematic comparison, with attention to cognitive and metacognitive strategies, vocabulary and knowledge development, interactive instruction, extensive reading, and digital literacy. The synthesis identifies six teachable strategies—predicting, questioning, visualizing, inferring, summarizing, and making connections—whose value depends on purposeful modelling, guided practice, and alignment with text and learner characteristics. Evidence from intervention studies and meta-analyses supports explicit strategy instruction and sustained reading opportunities, although findings from first-language settings cannot be transferred uncritically to EFL learners. The review proposes a flexible instructional cycle integrating preparation, scaffolded reading, collaborative interpretation, and formative assessment. It concludes that effective EFL reading pedagogy coordinates linguistic resources, strategic agency, and meaningful engagement rather than relying on a single universally superior strategy.