Reading for different goals: The interplay of EFL college students' multiple goals, reading strategy use and reading comprehension

Abstract

This study explored the effects of achievement goals on English as a foreign language (EFL) college students' reading strategy use and reading comprehension from the perspective of multiple goals. Fifty-seven participants verbalised their thoughts while reading an English expository essay. They also completed assessments on their reading goal profiles and reading proficiency. The results of stimulated recall indicated that participants with profiles characterised by strong mastery and strong performance goals used intra-sentential, inter-paragraph, intra-paragraph and monitoring/evaluating strategies significantly more frequently than did their counterparts. In contrast, participants with profiles characterised by strong mastery but weak performance goals utilised these strategies more often than those participants with weak mastery but strong performance goals. The strong-mastery-strong- performance goal profile served as a significant, positive predictor for degrees of reading comprehension. In line with these findings, suggestions for EFL reading pedagogy are provided. © United Kingdom Literacy Association 2007.