Paper Title
Reading Practices of ESL Learners: Literacy Theories and Pedagogical Implications
Abstract
This paper sheds light on the reading practices of English as Second Language (ESL) Learners. It aimed at identifying some of their basic reading strategies, making a link to literacy theories, and suggesting some teaching implications that could contribute to reading literacy development. Another objective is to contribute to the argument whether or not first language (L1) reading strategies can be transferred into second language (L2) practices. The literature review showed that learners read in their L1 for different purposes and employ various strategies. Although some of them apply those strategies automatically and easily in L1, they might not be able to transfer those skills into L2 practices. In addition, ESL learners with limited L2 literacy mostly use lower level processes. The current paper also provides practical and essential insights with respect to adopting teaching methods that could effectively and efficiently meet the needs of ESL learners. Finally, it gives some suggestions for future research in the field of reading literacy of ESL learners.
Keywords - Literacy Practices, Reading Strategies, Interdependence Hypothesis, Common Underlying Proficiency Theory, Threshold Hypothesis