An investigation into Reading Strategies used by English Major Students at the Faculty of Arts in Al Qubba Campus, university of Derna

Abstract

This study examined cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies employed by Libyan English major students at university of Derna, faculty of arts in Al Qubba Campus. This study is guided by a question: what are the most frequently used reading strategies cognitive or metacognitive among Libyan English major students in the faculty of Arts in Al Qubba Campus at the university of Derna? The participants in this study were 72 students (26 males and 46 females). A 36-item self-report questionnaire developed by (Phakiti, 2006) was used to collect the data. The findings indicate that participants employed metacognitive reading strategies more frequently than cognitive strategies. Specifically, within metacognitive strategies, planning and monitoring strategies were more prevalent than evaluating strategies. Among cognitive reading strategies, retrieval and memory strategies were found to be more commonly employed than comprehending strategies. The findings have significant recommendations and pedagogical implications for EFL teaching practices, emphasizing the importance of employing both cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies in EFL classrooms.