Author: Monica Tolcvay
Tolcvay, Monica, 2018 The use of reading comprehension strategies and individual differences: a case study of two Italian university students, Flinders University, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
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This study focuses on the reading strategies used by university students studying Italian as a foreign language. It aims to investigate the use of reading strategies and the extent to which individual characteristics affect strategy use. A think-aloud protocol approach was used to examine the reading strategies of two students, an advanced learner and a beginning student. Data was gathered through a questionnaire, Oxford’s Strategy Inventory for Language Learning, a think-aloud, and a follow-up interview. The students’ language learning experience and level was considered in relation to their reading level and the strategies that they employed during the think-aloud. This study finds that good language learners use a combination of strategies to suit themselves and the task, and also examines how individual differences play a part in strategy choice. This study calls for further detailed studies to be conducted in how language learning strategies relate to individual learner differences as well as studies that capture strategy use at different stages of the learner’s development.
Keywords: second language, strategies, reading, individual differences, Italian, think-aloud, reading strategies, language learning
Subject: Languages thesis
Thesis type: Masters
Completed: 2018
School: College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
Supervisor: Eric Bouvet