Students’ reflections on the teaching and learning of the reading techniques taught and learnt in an English module

Abstract

Research on how students reflect on their language skills development is conspicuously lacking, especially in higher educational environments where module evaluation is common practice for assessing academic learning and teaching effectiveness. This study aims to explore students’ perceptions of the reading techniques they learned in an English course at a South African university, focusing on whether, from their perspective, these techniques enhanced their reading skills. Fifteen students from the “ESP111/111E Reading, Writing, and Speaking” English course voluntarily participated in the study. A qualitative approach based on a non-experimental descriptive case study design was followed. Data were gathered using open-ended questionnaires and then thematically analyzed. The study showed that students found skimming and scanning techniques particularly helpful for improving their understanding of texts. In addition, the students were able to apply the reading techniques they learned in the English course to other subjects and language modules, including those of their first language. Activating background knowledge was found to enhance reading comprehension significantly, especially for culturally relevant texts.