MINISTRY OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

UNIVERSITY OF ALGIERS 2 ABOU EL KACEM SAADELLAH

Faculty of Foreign Languages

Department of English
Master Dissertation
Specialism: Applied Linguistics and TEFL

Exploring Students Reading Habits:

A Case Study of Third Year Students at the English Department
University of Algiers 2

Dissertation submitted by: Supervised by:

Ms Meriem Abderahim Ms Maha GASMI

Academic Year: 2018/2019

 Board of Examiners

Supervisor: Ms Maha GASMI

Chair: Mrs Sihem GHRIS

Examiner: Prof. Faiza BENSEMMANE

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 Dedication

I am forever thankful to Allah who endowed me with courage and patience to

conduct my research.

This dissertation would not have been possible without the conscious intervention
of a soft hearted group of people. So I dedicate it:

To my parents, to those who helped me discover "knowledge" and gave

me everything tirelessly without counting. It is my turn to dedicate this
dissertation to you, which concretizes your dearest wish and which is
only the fruit of your advice and encouragement.

To my dear mother Farida Abderrahim

You represent for me the source of courage, kindness, and an example of

devotion, the person who has not stopped encouraging me and pushing me to
follow my studies, to hold on and always keep my head up despite the hurdles.
You did for me MUCH more than a mother can do for her child. May the almighty
God keep you by my side as long as possible and grant you health, long life and
happiness.

To my father's memory Djelloul Abderrahim

- May God welcome him in his vast paradise-
Dad, no tribute, no dedication can express the love, esteem, devotion, gratitude
and respect I have always carried for you. Among all the fathers, you have been
the greatest, you did manage to surround me with attention, to instil the noble
values of life, to teach me the meaning of work, honesty and responsibility.

Nothing in the world is worth your wisdom, your kindness, your generosity.
All the efforts made so that I have a good education, ensuring my well-being. You
have always been the pillar.

………I love both of you and I will be forever grateful to you.

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 TO MY DEArEST FRIENDS

At the top of the list; Chamsseddine Nour, Mohamed Nassim Ghanem and Halimi
Meriem. I would like to thank you for all your efforts, your support and the time
you devoted in helping me when it was needed.

I would like to express my deepest thanks to: Rosa, Kahina, Salim, Saida, Soumia,
Nassim, Billel, Biba, Imene for your support, your encouragement and help.

I would like to express my thanks to my former manager Amine Ait-Ali for his
understanding, without him I could not strike a balance between completing my
dissertation and my job.

To all who were with me, supporting me, motivating me, pushing me to
achieve this work and especially who drew the smile on my face and
who brought sun in my days during the time spent completing this
investigation….

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 Acknowledgments

I would like to thank very warmly my supervisor Ms Maha Gasmi who was very
patient with me and motivated me during this work. She was the one who
advised me and believed in me.

I’m greatly thankful to Dr. Fiziya Bouchama and Dr. Nesrine Bessai who gave me
the chance to make this dissertation concrete.

My gratitude also goes to Prof. Faiza Bensemmane and Dr, Yasmina Boukhedimi
who provided me with their precious educational and moral support.

Load of thanks go to the members of the jury who devoted their time to read this
humble work, to all teachers and students for their collaboration in filling in the
questionnaires.

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 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the substance of this dissertation is entirely the result of
my investigation and that reference or acknowledgement is made, whenever
necessary, to the work of other researchers.
I am duly informed that any person practicing plagiarism will be subject to
disciplinary sanctions issued by university authorities under the rules and
regulations in force.

Date: ……………………………..
Signed: ……………………….

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 Abstract

The present study aims at exploring the reading habits of 3rd year students, their
attitudes towards reading as well as how their habits impact their academic
achievement at the English to Department of University of Algiers -II-. For the sake
of gathering insights on the investigation, a qualitative case study was carried out. The
latter involves 65 students in addition to 4 of their teachers of linguistics and language
teaching specialism. On one hand, it was shown that the majority of the students relied
on printed summary versions of their own written lessons. In addition to browsing web
pages. On the other hand, teachers who presented their views regarding students’
habits claimed the importance of finding ways which motivate and help the student to
do more readings, furthermore, adopting appropriate strategies for reading will enable
them to not solely benefit more but also take their reading to the next level. Finally, the
teachers stated their wide awareness about the difficulties that hamper students to
benefit more from reading materials. This, as pointed out by teachers, was due to the
type of training they were exposed to at early stages, added to their lack of interest in
both extensive and purposeful readings. The teachers showed their readiness to urge
students in the light to overcome their reading difficulties. These efforts therefore will
enable them to give successful reading expressions and enrich their language abilities.

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 TABLE OF THE CONTENT
Board Of Examiners…………………………………………………..……………… II

Dedication ……………………………………………………………………………III

Acknowledgments ………………………………………............................................IV

Declaration ………………………………………………………..…………………..V

Abstract In English …………………………………………………………………..VI

Table Of Content ……………………………………................................................VII

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………….1

Chapter One: Review Of The Literature ……………………………...…..………..4

Introduction …………………..……...…………………………………………………
4

1.1 Reading Habits……………………………………………………………..……...

4
1.3 From Reading Skills to Reading Habits ……..…………………………………....5

1.4 The Good Reader ………………………………………………………..................5

1.5Reading Strategies………………………………………………………..................8

1.6 Developing Students’ Reading Ability……….

……………………………......... ..10

1.7 Reading Strategies………………………………………………………...............10

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1.7.1 Previewing………………………………………………………........................10

1.7.2 Skimming and Scanning ……………………..………………………………...10

1.7.3 Extensive Reading / Intensive Reading……………………………………….…

11

1.7.4 Critical Reading ………………………………………………………...…........13

1.7.5 Reading to Remember …………………………………………………….…..13

1.8 Strategic Reading and Self-Regulated Reading …………………….……………13

1.9 Cognitive Style and Reading Performance. ……………………………………..14

Conclusion ……………………..……………………………………………..............15

Chapter Two Research Design and Procedure……………………

Introduction ……………………………………………………………….....16

2.2 Sample and Setting ………………………………………………...…….......16

2.3 Data Collection Tools ……………………………………………..…………16
2.3.1 Teacher Qualitative Questionnaire……………………………..…………...18
2.4 Data Collection Procedure ………………………………………………….....18

2.5 Method Of Data Analysis ……………………………………………………..19

Conclusion ………………..……………………………………...………….19

Chapter Three Data Analysis and Presentation………………………………….

Introduction ………………………………………………………….………….20
3.1 Analysis and Presentation Of Student Questionnaire Entries. ……….......…… 20
3.2 Analysis and Presentation Of Teacher Questionnaire Entries…………………. 47
Conclusion………………………………………… ……………………. ……...50

Chapter Four Results Interpretation and Implication……………………………..

Introduction ……………...………………… ………………………………………..

51

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4.1 Data Interpretation ……………………...… ………………………………….
51
4.2.1 Types of Reading Materials Used By Students…………………………………
52
4.2.2 Students’ Utilization of Reading Materials………………… …………...…
…..53
4.2.2.1 Reading for Leisure & Reading for Assessment Preparation Have Different
Goals ………………………………………………………………………………….53
4.2.3 The Impact of the Students Reading Habits on Their Academic
Achievement….55
4.3 Pedagogical Implications…………………… ………………………………. 56
4.3.1 Understanding The Reasons Behind Students’ Low Interest In Reading….….
57
4.3.2 Training Students In Effective Reading Strategies ………………………… 57
4.3.3 The Influential Role of Teacher………………… …………………….…. 58
4.3.4 Motivating Students To Read More ………………… …………………… 58
4.3.5 Encouraging Personal Investigation. …………………… …………………58
4.3.6 Avoiding Translation When Reading. ……………..……… ………….……..59
Conclusion …………………… ………………………….. ……………….…… …59
Conclusion…………………… …………………… ……………………………… .60

References …………………… ……………………..…… …………………… ……

61
Appendices……………………… …….…….………… ……………………………
63
Abstract In Arabic ……………………………………………… ……………………
67

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1
 Introduction

Teachers at the English Department of University of Algiers II often complain that

students read only for assignments and exam purposes. However, at university, reading
is a pillar of learning and academic achievement. As Davis (12, 2016) put it: “We live
in an age where we overflow with information, but reading is the main way to take
advantage of it.” A further issue is that students have difficulties processing texts in an
efficient way and thus fail to fully benefit from the input provided within.

Research conducted by Block, (1986); Cohen, (1986); and Mcnamara, (2007) has
shown that good reading requires a set of effective strategies. It has also shown that
reading strategies and reading habits are tightly related. For instance, critical analysis,
selecting important ideas from non-important ones, inferring the meaning of words
from the context and reading with a purpose in mind would help students make the
most of their readings successful and enhance their learning.

Therefore, the current study is conducted to explore the reading habits of 3 rd year
students at the English to Department of University of Algiers II- as well as their
attitudes towards reading. It also investigates how students’ reading habits impact their
academic achievement. The following research questions were raised:

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RQ1 - What kind of reading habits do third year students at the English to
Department of University of Algiers 2 use?

RQ2 - What type of reading materials do they use?

RQ3 - How do students’ reading habits impact their academic achievement?

The reading habits of 3 rd year students in the English to Department of University

of Algiers II - is undoubtedly an important learning aspect to explore in order to better
understand how students approach such an important source of input.
To meet the study objectives, a qualitative questionnaire was developed and
administered to 65 students and a second one to 5 of their teachers. The data were
analyzed using content analysis and coding and then quantified in order to identify
recurrent patterns.
This work is divided into four chapters:

The first chapter presents the review of the literature, which is an overview of the
reading skill and covers reading processes, strategies and habits.

The second chapter deals with the methodology adopted and describes the sample,
setting, data collection tools, data collection procedure and method of data analysis.

The third chapter reports the data analysis and presents the results.

The last chapter provides an interpretation of the analyzed data and the
pedagogical implications of the findings.

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 Chapter One
Review of the Literature

Introduction

In this study, the researcher plans to explore the reading habits of third year
students at the English Department of University of Algiers 2. Reading is considered
as a habit when it is done repeatedly and this should be started at an early age to create
a habit. Thanuskodi (2011: 70) defined reading as containing two words “‘reading’
and ‘habit’. Reading is an action of a person who reads and habit is a product of this
action or learning.

This chapter will discuss reading as a skill, habits of reading, the shift from
reading skills to reading habits, what is a good reader and moreover, the reading
strategies which encompasses the following: develop students reading ability,
skimming and scanning, extensive reading – intensive reading and reading for the sake
of remembering.

We will further explore the effect of effective reading and self-regulated

reading, in addition to cognitive style and reading style.

Finally, we will provide anconclusion on the points discussed above.

1.11 Reading Habits

“It is through reading that much of the world is opened to student.” stated
Cunningham and Stanovich (1998). Reading is an important process which starts from
the step of identifying symbols to that of grasping the meaning they convey. Since
reading is the basic tool of learning, it is important for students to develop this skill
and create a reading habit, but how to create a habit?

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 According to Blaha and Bennett (1993:86), “a habit, from the standpoint of
psychologist, is a more or less fixed way of thinking, willing, or feeling acquired
through previous repetition of a mental experience.” It means that a habit is the mode
of the function of mental when repeated processes are in mind. A habit is a
characteristic behavioral pattern that is learnt and reinforced in a manner realized in
every case automatically. Habits enter our lives at a slow pace and become established
after a certain period. If habits are not quitted, in time they become needs. When
reading, which is the basic manner of acquiring information, is transformed into a
habit, another notion called “reading habit” comes in being. A reading habit starts
from the early age when children are encouraged by their parents first then by their
teachers to read and discuss about the content of what they have been reading.
Canizares, (2019) a specialist in language and literacy language, stated that “when you
read aloud to your child, you are not only helping to prepare her to learn to read, you
are also exposing her to reach she otherwise might not hear”. Trough reading, there is
a constant enrichment of vocabulary, grammar and fluency. The more the child reads,
the more he develops an interest to know more and thus a reading habit is created in
his mind.

Reading is not a passive task or just the process of decoding but rather an active
one; it implies the simultaneous act of reading and understanding. For a quick
comprehension, a university student always matches his background knowledge to
new information he gets. It is an unconscious process for a fast understanding.
Reading has many benefits such as mental stimulation in that the brain always
functions as well as the mind since it is also a mental exercise. There is a continuous
flow of information which stimulates the brain. That is why reading should start from
an early age and will become a habit till the end of life.

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1.2 From reading skills to reading habits

Assuming that the reading skill is the ability to understand a written text, the best
way to do it well is to start reading at an early age, in order to store knowledge which
later will help the reader to develop the reading comprehension skills.

The regular practice of the reading skill will develop a habit called a reading
habit which is the key to a lifelong success. Bill Gates said that he reads fifty books a
year or roughly one book a week. Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook C.E.O (Chief
Executive Officer) also reads at least one book a week and he says: “Books allow you
to fully explore a topic and immerse yourself in a deeper way than most media today”.

1.3 The good reader

The primary goal of reading is to understand a text and for that only good
readers have the capacity to do that, but what is a good reader?

Good readers read fast and accurately which means that they read in groups of
words rather than plodding through a text word by word. A good reader is the person
who steps from decoding individual words to automaticity. As Grabe and Stoller
(2002: 20) observe that “Fundamental requirement for fluent reader is the automaticity
of word recognition”. During the reading process, the two cognitive elements which
are developed are: the word recognition ability and the oral comprehension skill. Both
of these elements help the reader to be aware of what he understands.

Word recognition

Reading comprehension.
Reading Process

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Figure 1.1: Description of Grabe & Stoller’s (2002: 20) reading processes

The good reader is also the person who reads with an objective, Reading cannot
be done just for the sake of reading. Reading can be done for leisure, for preparing
assessment or for getting or checking information. Once the reader establishes a
purpose, then the reading will be efficient. Any reading (light or serious) has its mental
or intellectual benefit. For example:
 Editorials and gossip columns can teach formal or/and informal varieties of
English. Letters can demonstrate good features of letter writing.
 Reports on record proceedings can illustrate questioning techniques providing
direct and indirect speech for grammar samples of study.
 Homework assignments bring to class vocabulary items and expressions
immensely valuable.

In fact, any reading contributes to develop the readers’ language performance.

As Krashen (2018) stated “Even light reading can contribute to language acquisition”.
He also agrees that “High school students should be encouraged to read lighter things
faster and in greater quantity”. However, research on reading habits do not only refer
to good readers, it also implies the issue of poor readers who lack automaticity in word
recognition “a fundamental requirement for fluent reading” as Grabe and Stoller
(2002: 20) highlighted. Frequently, students reading in a foreign language seem to read
with less understanding then one might expect them to have.

Now the question to be asked is about the causes of poor reading. A poor
reader is the one who cannot read as well as other children. His reading is slow and he
loses track of his thoughts because he must stop frequently in order to decode the
words.

In the book “Reading in a Foreign Language” Edited by J.Charles Alderson &

A. H. Urquhart(1984), The linguists Alderson (1984: 1) tried to explain the problems
of poor reading in a foreign language by exposing controversial views suggested by

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Jolly (1978), Coady (1979) and Yorio (1971). He asked the following: “Is poor
reading a language problem or a problem of reading?"

For Jolly (1978), “success in reading a foreign language depends crucially

upon one’s first language reading ability rather than upon the students’ level of
English” that means that one who masters the reading skill in his first language will
automatically have no problem for reading a foreign language. Coady (1979) shared
the same view by assuming that “foreign language reading is a reading problem and
not a language problem”. In other words, if the students read properly in the first
language, they won’t have any reading problem in the foreign language. Researchers
agree on the fact that poor first language readers will read poorly in the foreign
language and good first language readers will have no problems for reading a foreign
language. On the contrary, Yorio (1971) claims that poor foreign language reading is
mainly due to “Imperfect knowledge of the target language and to native language
interferences in the reading process”. It is due to bad use of reading strategies in the
first language which are transmitted to the reading of the foreign language and
therefore leading to an inadequate knowledge of the target language.

Finally, to answer the question Alderson & Urquhart (1984 ) “Is foreign
language reading a language problem or a reading problem?” They recognized that it
is equivocal, that means, at the same time, a language problem and a reading problem.

1.4 Reading strategies

Good readers are said to be strategic readers. For the linguists, the only way to
become expert readers is to use strategic training. Now the question to asked is what
are reading strategies? In fact, strategies which are conscious plans or sets of steps
used to make sense of a text. They start from the previewing or quick reading which
gives an idea of theme of the text. Previewing starts by reading the title and the author
details, the abstract if there is one, the main heading and sub-headings and the topic
sentence of each paragraph.

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 Once information about the text is obtained in this manner, the reader starts
other reading strategies sustained by Hosenfeld (1997) to improve reading proficiency
they are as following:
 To keep the meaning of the passage in mind.
 Read in broad phrases.
 Skip inessential words.
 Guess from context the meaning of unknown words.
 Read the title and make inferences on it and continue if unsuccessful at
decoding a word or a phrase.

This set of techniques are useful to EFL readers who have difficulties
understanding a text or those who “loose the meaning of sentences as soon as they
decode them, turn to the glossary for the meaning of new words, rarely skip words
and read word by word or in short phrases”. All these characteristics described by
Hosenfeld (1997) are those of unsuccessful readers in need of reading strategies.

After the previewing technic, skimming and scanning are two important
strategies for efficient and speed reading. They are used for different purposes.
Skimming is used to read quickly in a short time. Generally, the reader’s objective is
to extract the general or main idea. There is a series of technics for good skimming
starting by reading only the topic sentence of each paragraph to extract the main idea
or the gist, then move to important pieces of information such as dates, names and
events.

By using skimming, the unknown information is quickly located and mastered.

The unnecessary details are quickly illuminated or skipped and time is spared.

Scanning is another useful strategy to speed up reading. when in a hurry, the

reader will focus his attention on the specific information he needs without reading
everything. It’s essential for scanning to establish one’s purpose, locate the appropriate
material, reading a train or bus schedule, locating a word in a dictionary. Generally, for
scanning the information is arranged in order; it can be chronological, alphabetical or
numeral.

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 Finally, skimming and scanning are both technics which help the readers to gain
time but they have different purposes. While scanning is used to find a word in a
dictionary or check something on a list, skimming is used to have an idea of the
content of a book or a newspaper and also the TV program to see if it is interesting.

1.5 Developing Students’ reading ability

It is said that reading well takes practice, The most important factor that helps
develop reading ability is to state a purpose of a reading, for instance, reading for
academic purpose and reading for leisure or for information do not have the same
purpose since the effort is different for each of them. Understanding and remembering
a text for academic achievement is less enjoyable than reading and understanding the
content of a text for leisure. Even the techniques are different either extensive or
intensive in addition to steps or strategies which are essential for reading
comprehension.

1.6 Reading strategies

Oxford and Crookall (1989) defined strategies as learning techniques,

behaviors, problem-solving. These are study skills which make learning more effective
and efficient. Among these techniques or reading strategies, there are previewing,
skimming, scanning, extensive reading, intensive reading, critical reading and reading
to remember.

1.6.1 Previewing

It helps students become good readers, saves times, gives an idea about the text
and helps comprehension, so that the readers quickly see the type of writing they deal
with, fiction, non-fiction, poetry, biography.

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1.6.2 Skimming and scanning

Skimming and scanning are the means for quick reading without wasting time
to read all the text with the same attention and care. Scanning is used for fast reading
and skimming is also used for fast reading but with the intention to get the gist or the
general idea. Scanning is generally used for finding specific information, while
skimming is just reading for getting a general idea. It is used to see what is in the news
in a newspaper or on a specific website, to look through the extra information given on
internet to see what sites it suggests.

1.6.3 Extensive reading and Intensive reading

It is a reading for fun, it is not vital to understand any single word in order to
get a general idea for a particular paragraph. Fluency and total comprehension are not
necessary for extensive reading. Possible examples of extensive reading materials are:
magazines, novels even comic books … etc.

Intensive reading is reading where understanding the literal meaning of what is

being read is vital. Reading intensively often includes note taking and attention to
details. Testing, evaluating and increasing knowledge is the primary focus of this type
of reading. Some possible examples of intensive reading materials are: notes, news
articles, short stories.

Strategic reading also refers to other approaches which are complementary and
which strengthen and enhance the readers’ language competence. The intensive
reading approach emphasizes mainly on comprehension. Reading intensively often
includes note taking and attention to details in order to understand the literal meaning
of the content of the text.

In intensive reading there is an emphasis on deconstructing sentences to

understand grammar and syntax rules. When reading intensively, the reader devotes
great concentration and great care in order to extricate the details of the topic. It is a
search for accuracy. Intensive reading means that the readers take a text, study it line
by line and refer at very moment to the dictionary about the grammar of a text itself.

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The possible examples of intensive reading materials are; reports, contracts, news
articles, short pieces of texts such as short stories, financial and legal documents and
academic reports. While extensive reading is a completely different approach. Reading
for fun, fluency and total comprehension are not necessary for extensive reading. It’s
not vital to understand any single word in other to get a general idea of a particular
paragraph. The reading materials are easy and they aim at enjoyment as well as
information. Possible examples of extensive reading materials are magazines, journals
and even comic books.

To summarize, extensive and intensive reading are two approaches beneficial

for improving the students reading comprehension but there is a tendency in favor of
extensive reading. Among the linguists who promote this type of reading is Krashen
(1982) for whom “the unconscious process of language acquisition such as enjoyment
is more attractive and successful then conscious learning.” Krashen (1997) also
declared that extensive reading was a means for shy and reluctant students, those who
lack confidence to enhance their reading competence. Other linguists like Hafiz and
Tudor 1989, Robb and Susser (1989) have observed the same attitude. However,
Waring (1997) and Stahl (2003) argue that intensive reading is useful for learning
vocabulary and understanding how a text is organized. They found that “there is a
strong relationship between intensive reading activities and overall language
proficiency.”. In other words, both strategies are complementary because extensive
reading alone is not sufficient for developing the reading skills and for that intensive
reading is needed. Other variables known as cognitive, linguistic and metacognitive
are part of the strategies used to explain how the reading process occurs. Linguistic
ability deals with the readers’ formal knowledge of vocabulary, syntax and discourse.
When used during the reading process, these elements help to master the
comprehension of texts. The second variable is called cognitive, it’s interact with the
comprehension process and deals mainly with meaning using formal knowledge of the
readers’ interaction with texts. It is the combination of text information with their prior
knowledge that good readers use to compensate their language short falls when it
comes to historical or cultural topics.

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 The last variable used when reading a text is related to the metacognitive
dimension. It is also linked to the understanding and interpretation of texts and control
or monitoring. In this phase, readers use conscious mechanisms that regulate and
improve comprehension. “Good readers use metacognitive strategies to think about
and have control over their meaning.” Several monitoring strategies maybe used such
as identify where the difficulty occurs, identify what the difficulty is, restate the
difficult sentence or passage in one’s own words, look back through the text and look
forward in the text for information that might help resolve the difficulty.

1.6.4 Critical reading

Critical reading is useful in that the reader questions “the strengths and
weaknesses of the reading arguments” and does not take for granted all that he reads.
“To read critically, you must think critically” as said Jennifer Duncan. After having
analyzed and interpreted the ideas and the arguments developed in the text, therefore
the reader can interpret and judge. This is what makes the difference with reading in
general. When reading focuses on “what a text says” critical reading focuses on “what
a text means”. i.e interpreting the ideas according to the cultural and historical context.

1.6.5 Reading to remember

Good reading habits not only help to read more but also help to read in a better
way. Active readers keep in mind what they read because they develop mental models
that select the good arguments from the bad ones and passive readers forget very
quickly what they have read because of the lack of reading strategies which will help
them enjoy and remember what they read.

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1.7 Strategic reading and self-regulated reading

According to Zimmerman (1986), self-regulated readers are those who have

specific goals when reading with an effective selection of reading strategies and a
good monitoring of the comprehension of the text. There is a strong relationship
between the reader’s capacity of reading and his own motivation to read and learn as
well as the value of the reading task which should be at a high level with a strong
belief of the efficacy of the act of reading. Bandura (1994) also argued that People’s
thoughts, feeling, motivations as well as actions are strongly influenced by efficacy
beliefs. In other words, self-efficacy is the incentive to perform the readers’ self-
achievement and enhance their level of self-regulation as well as their reading
effectiveness.

For Zimmerman (1986), self-regulated learners decide, conduct and control

their behavior by themselves. They compare their performances with their goals and
adjust their learning strategies to acquire knowledge and skill. Nota et All (2004). To
develop reading comprehension, the readers have to use self-regulated learning
strategies mainly poor readers who do not master the reading process. They are
expected to look for the main idea and spot the parts they have not understood. By
using this type of strategies “the readers become self-aware, knowledgeable and
decisive in their approach to learn” Zimmerman (1990).

1.8 Cognitive style and reading performance.

Cognitive style is the way individuals think, perceive and remember

information. It is also called thinking style because used in cognitive psychology. It
can be compared to cognitive ability which refers to the person’s ability to think and
process information. What is the relationship between cognitive style and reading
performance.

As cognitive style refers to the way people perceive, remember or think of

information, there is a strong similarity with the reader’s self-efficacy as Bandura 1994
explained while exposing the self-regulation technics to control the learner’s behavior.
Reading being “the process of getting linguistic information via print” as Widdowson
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(1979) said, it is evident that the process of perceiving, thinking and remembering
implied activities of the cognitive style. When reading, people perceive a message,
recognize the writer’s purpose and the underlined values (social, cultural and historical
influences). They think by linking ideas in the text to other ideas and texts. Finally,
they try to remember the information they stored in their memory and recall them
when they need them. Reading is essential for a student, the more he reads, the more
he acquires knowledge.

Conclusion

This chapter has highlighted the importance of reading habits. To have a better
understanding of these habits, the researcher carried out a case study which will be
tackled in the next chapter.

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 Chapter Two
Research Design and Procedure

Introduction
This chapter presents the methodological approach adopted for this research. It
describes the sample and setting, research tools’ design, the procedure of data
collection and the method of data analysis. The study aims at exploring the reading
habits of third year students at the English Department of University of Algiers 2 using
a qualitative approach towards the following objectives:

 To identify the reading habits used by third year students at the English
Department of University Algiers 2.
 To investigate students’ use of those reading materials.
 To determine the impact of students’ reading habits on academic
achievement.

2.1 Sample and setting

The subjects of the study were 65 third year students studying at the English
department of University of Algiers 2. They were 65 from two different groups of
Linguistics and Language Teaching, aged between 19 and 28 years old.

The other participants were four teachers of third year Linguistics and Language
Teaching at the English Department of University of Algiers 2. Teachers’ information
is displayed in table 2.1.

Teachers Gender Years of teaching experience

Teacher 1 Female 16 years
Teacher 2 Female 20 years
Teacher 3 Female 11 years
Teacher 4 Female 10 years

Table 2.1: Teachers information

1
2.2 Data collection tools
2.2.1 Students qualitative questionnaire
The type of questionnaire chosen is a qualitative questionnaire (see Appendix A)
that consists of 5 open-ended questions with two close-ended questions (yes/no).
These two (yes/no) questions ask for justifications that are open-ended to allow for
spontaneous answers (see table 2.2). The rationale for the design of the student
questionnaire is presented in the table below.
Questions Rationale behind the question
Q1: What reading materials do you - To identify the leisure reading materials
use for leisure reading? used by the students.
Q2: What reading materials help - To identify the reading materials that
you prepare for tests and exams? students rely on for tests’ and exams’
Say how? preparation.
Q3: What reading materials help - To identify the reading materials that
you improve your English help students improve their English
proficiency? proficiency.
Say how?
Q4: Are the readings you do - To determine the usefulness of
beneficial to you? students’ reading.

Yes or No?
If yes, in what ways?
If No, why not?
Q5: According to you, is reading  To examine students’ attitude towards
important for academic reading
achievement?
Yes, No.
Justify your answer.

1
2.2.2 Teacher qualitative questionnaire

A second open-ended questionnaire was administered to the four teachers of our

study sample (See appendix B). There are 5 open-ended questions. The teachers’
teaching
Table 2.2: Rationale for the Design of the Student Questionnaire Items experience and
expertise would
help us induce some insightful recommendations for our pedagogical implications.
Table 2.3 provides the rationale for the teacher questionnaire design.

Question Aim of the question

Q1: What do you think about  To identify the teachers’ views about
students’ reading habits? students’ reading habits.

Q2: Do you think that the teacher can  To have an idea about teachers’ role
play any influential role in that? in students reading habits
 Yes, No
 If yes, How?
 If no, why not?

Q3: Do you personally encourage your  To investigate teacher’s motivating-

role regarding students’ readings.
students to read?
 Yes, No
 If yes, how?

Q4: According to you, how can - To gather some interesting teachers’

students improve their reading habits? suggestions for improving students’
reading habits.

2.3 Data collection procedure

Table 2.2: Rationale for the Design of the Items of the Teacher Questionnaire 1
The student questionnaire was administered at the English Department of
University of Algiers II during a class taking place in an amphitheatre where the two

1
groups of the sample were studying. The introductory part of the questionnaire
explained the purpose of the project and what was required from the participants.

The teacher questionnaire was handed and collected from teachers by the
researcher. This step took a period of few days to be completed.

2.4 Method of data analysis

The data generated from the students’ questionnaire were analysed, and this was
done using content analysis and coding. Thomas (2006:242) argues that “the data
analysis procedure is to develop categories into a framework or a model”. This
framework can summarise the raw data and convey key themes or processes. These
categories are developed from the coding.

After reading the answers of each questionnaire, the researcher induced

categories and extracted statements from both students’ and teachers’ questionnaires.
Final categories and sub-categories emerged after responses had been analysed
through inductive coding and marked on the coding matrix sheets that helped to well
organise the data analysis procedure.

Conclusion

This chapter provided a description of the research design and procedure

including the sample, setting, research tools, data collection procedure and method of
data analysis. The next chapter will deal with the analysis and presentation of the
collected data.

1
 Chapter Three
Data analysis and Presentation of the Results

Introduction
This research was conducted to explore the reading habits of third year students
at the English department-University of Algiers 2. In this chapter, we will analyze and
present the data collected from the students and teachers through the qualitative
questionnaires.

3.1Analysis and Presentation of Student Questionnaire Entries.

The data obtained from the student questionnaire were analyzed through content
analysis and coding generating categories, which were then quantified in order to
compute percentages and determine dominant responses. The results are summarized
in the tables below, including: categories, percent and illustrative student entries for
each item of the questionnaire.

Questions 1: What reading materials do you use for leisure reading?

This table presents the categories that describe types of reading materials that
students use for leisure reading.
Leisure Reading Materials
Percen
Category Numbers Sample responses
t
Digital 1 0,78%  “I got use to my phone
Novels
and I’m addicted to it, so
I try to find a way to get
benefits from it by reading
digital books”
 “When I read for
leisure, I usually use e-

1
 books”.

 “I don’t read usually but

when I did I prefer to use printed
books because I am visual and I
have to highlight the important

Printed 22,48 things like quote - in addition to

29
books % that I like the smell of the books”
 “Usually, I use printed books
and very rarely e-¬books”
 “I often read printed
books...etc.”
 “Usually it is said that
printed novels are better than
Printed
novels
12 9,30% reading e-books”
 “I like to read shot printed
novels”.
 “I sometimes read journals,
Magazines 3 2,33%
magazines and …
 “The reading materials I use
for leisure reading are printed

Printed articles…”
6 4,65%
articles
 “ …Although , I prefer if I
read the actual printed articles
version”
Online 23 17,83  “I use books, newspaper and
articles %
magazine but all those thing I do I
do it online”
 “I do use technological
materials as computers and cell
phones to read various books”
 “In my leisure time, I use
internet and sometimes e-books to

1
 read which help me gain new
vocabulary at any place, at any
time”.
 “The reading materials I use
for leisure reading are usually …
Handouts 6 4,65%
and the handouts given by the
teacher”
 “generally I use e-books for
leisure reading”
 “the reading materials I use
Digital 17,83 for leisure reading are e-books”
23
Books %
 “I use e-books more than
normal books because most of what
I read is modern novels and they
are not availuable in Algeria ”
Online  “… and I most of the time
5 3,88%
magazines read online magazines”
 “I like reading
printed short stories
because it’s not too long
Printed and I don’t get bored”
short 8 6,20%
Stories  “Printed short stories
are for me the best way to
entertain and to read for
leisure”.
 “In my leisure time, I use
Internet internet”
(general l 2,33%
culture)  “I also read from my phone
… and facts like general culture”
 “ I use newspapers every day
to read”
Printed
newspapers
5 3,88%  “I usually read newspapers”
 “ I like to read…and daily
newspapers”
1
  “Reading materials I use for
Historical
books
1 0,78% leisure reading are historical
books…”
Psychologic  “I prefer reading fiction
1 0,78%
al books novels, andpsychological books…”
 “I don’t read for leisure”
None 3 2,33%  “unfortunately I do not read
for leisure”
Total 129 100%

Table 3.1: Student's Leisure Reading Materials

Digital Novels

Printed Books

Printed Novels

1%2%1% Magazines
4% 1%
2%
22% Printed Articles
6%
Online Articles
4%
Handouts

Digital Books
9%
18% Online Magazines

2% Printed Short Stories

5% Internet (General
5% Culture)
18%
Printed newspapers

Historical Books

Psychological Books

None

Figure 3.1: Student's leisure reading materials

1
 Question 2: What reading materials help you prepare for tests and exams?
Say how?

The table 3.2 presents the categories that describe types of reading materials that
students use to prepare for tests and exams.

Reading Materials

Category Numbers Percent Sample responses

Handout

- “Reading materials that help

52 42.28%
a.

me prepare for tests and

exams are my handouts
Copyboo

- “I use note taking on copybook to

b. 15.44%
k

develop my information”
- “My copybook is full of personal
Internet

- “Internet is very useful in

13 10.57%
c.

my studies especially during

the exam period because it
-
Printed
articles

“For me, usually a printed

11.38%
d.

14
book is better than any
other source of getting
-
articles

“Searching on online
Online

23 18.70%
e.

articles is time saving

and it’s the best source

1
Dictionari
- “ I use dictionaries to

es
2 1.63%
f.
better understand what is
written”
TOTAL 123 100%

Table 3.2: Students’ Tests and Exams Preparation Reading Material.

1
 Handouts

2%
Copybook
19%

Internet
42%

11%

Printed
Articles

11%

Online Articles
15%

Dictionaries

Figure 3.2: Students’ Tests and Exams Preparation Reading Material

Utilization of Reading materials used for assessment preparation

Handouts

 Clarifying ideas 14 8.97%

 Facilitating comprehension 19 12.17%

 Easy memorization 26 16.66%

1
  Time saving 3 1.92%

 Note taking 7.69%

12

Copybooks
 Clarifying ideas 3.84%
6
 Facilitating comprehension 9 5.76%

 Doing research/collect extra 9 5.76%

 information
Internet

 Time saving 1.28%

2
 Collect extra information 2 1.28%
Printed Articles/Books

 Comprehension 10 6.41%

 Scanning (highlighting) 1.28%

2
 Better comprehension 14 8.97%
books/articles

 Extra information 12.82%

Online

20
 Brain storming (generating 2 1.28%
ideas)

The table 3.2.1 presents the categories that describe the utilization students make of
the materials used assessment preparation

Table 3.2.1: Utilization of reading materials used for assessment preparation

Question 3: What reading materials help you improve your English proficiency?
The table 3.3 presents the categories that describe the reading materials students use
to improve their English proficiency.

1
 English Proficiency reading materials
Category Numbers Percent Entries
Newspa Printed  “As an English student, I
a.

42 36.52% want to be a good user of the

language whether in speaking or
 “I usually read newspapers
b.
Onlinenovels/b

2 1.73%
pers

in English so that I can

improve my english and at the
 “I improve my english by
articles
c.

18 15.65% reading online articles that

are available in many web
sites”
 “Printed articles helps me
to learn about english language
structure”
 “It helps when you
Printed articles

practise, you have the

opportunity to remember more
13 11.30% and also when you forgot you
d.

can back to the book not like

internet that can include
uncertain information”
 “They help you develop
autonomy since you rely on
yourself to collect information
 “I prefer reading books
Online books

online because it’s more

17 14.79% accessible for me and it helps
e.

me to get a better
comprehension”.
All kinds of

- “According to me all the reading

Reading

materials are important and helps for

f.
Materials

2 1.73%
sure to improve english language since
we do it seriously and with
concentration, this for sure gives a good

1
 - “I read magazines because

Magazines
I’m interested about the topics
g. 3 2.60% and because at the same time it
helps me improve my English, so
I can say two birds with one
 “Dictionaries are for me
Dictionaries

one of the best material for

h. 6 5.22% improving the language,
enriching the vocab and
improving reading skills”
 “Through internet I can have
Internet

access to all what I need to improve my

i. 2 1.73%
English so everything is positive for me”
 “Internet now has everything,
 “Most
improving myofEnglish will Iberead
the time veryshort
easy
stories, it makes me read and makes me
Short
stories

j.
2 1.73%
improve the language at the same time”

 “the handouts that are given in

Handouts

class are sufficient for me to improve

k. 1 0.87%
the english language it stays on the
topics that are taught in class and it is in
english so it is enough for me”.
 “I don’t read in order to improve
None

l. 3 2.60% my English proficiency”

 “I don’t read”

Total 115 100%

Table 3.3: Students’ reading material for English proficiency improvement.

1
 Printed
Novels/books

Newspapers

1%3% Online Articles

2%2%
5%
Printed Articles
3%
2%
Onlibe Books
37%
All kinds of
15% reading
materials

Magazines

12% Dictionaries
2%
17% Internet

Short Stories

Handouts

None
.

Figure3.3: Students’ reading material for English proficiency improvement.

The table 3.3.1presents the categories that describe students’ utilization of the
reading materials that help improve their English proficiency.
Utilization English proficiency
 Vocabulary enrichment 37 40.66%
 Improving writing skills 7 7.69%
 Improving reading skills 2 2.20%
 Fluency 2 2.20%
 Pronunciation 5 5.49%
 Spelling 5 5.49%
 Better comprehension 10 10.99%
 Discovering cultures 2 2.20%
 Grammar 3 3.29%
 Autonomy 1 1.09%
 None 17 18.68%

1
 TOTAL 91 100%

Table 3.3.1 Utilization of reading material used for improving English proficiency

Question 4: Are the readings you do beneficial to you? If yes, in what ways? If
no, why not?

This table 3.4 presents: firstly, students’ attitudes towards reading through
their answers to the Yes/No question about reading benefits or lack thereof.
Secondly, categories that justify their answers are also provided with corresponding
illustrative entries.

Yes (Benefits in reading) No (No benefits in reading)

N (frequency of N (frequency of
Percentage Percentage
occurrence) occurrence)
61 93.84 % 4 6.16 %
Grand Total
N
(frequency
65
of
occurrence)
Percentage 100%

1
 Sub- Sub-
N Percent N Percent
category category
- “The readings I do are - ” the reading I do is
beneficial to me because not beneficial at all in
reading is a receptive terms of my academic
skill which improve my studies”.
productive skill
(speaking and writing”
- “My readings are very
Improving writing skills

beneficial to me because

No academic benefits
I encounter new words
that I can use in the
24 18.18% future in different 1 25%
contexts also I see a lot of
new things like writing
styles”
- “I feel like I gained a
new vocabulary and now
I have more words in my
brain when writing, it
will be easier when I can
express my thoughts
better”.
- “In many ways, like it - “I don’t read because
Degree oriented

helps me to express it’s not beneficial, but

myself more freely” when I do it it’s just
Improving speaking skills

13 9.84% “When I read more I can 1 25% for obligation and for
have the ability to finally getting my
improve my speaking diploma”.
and then speak fluently”.

1
 - “Every time I read I - “Reading is not

Poor memorization
Vocabulary

learn new vocabulary” beneficial because I

- “I’ve been reading too have a memory of a
37 28.03% much for the past three 1 25% fish. It is hard for me to
years and I learnt a huge remember how words
amount of vocabulary”. are written.”

1
 - “They provide me with “I don’t read because
knowledge about the when I do it I loose
world about everything, intreste and get bored
reading what is written pretty fast”.
on newspaper and
articles, reading keeps
me updated”

- “it improve my
knowledge in different
fields”
- “When I read, I try to
read critically to put all
the chances to gain
knowledge and to fix it
in my mind since I’m
critical, it makes me
intrested with the
Knowledge and culture

subject so it’s a positive

reading, I do this all the
time”.
Boredom

16 12.12% 1 25%

1
 - “It helps me to correct
Correcting

my spelling mistakes
because when you read
you pay attention to the
way words are written
5 3.79% and this is very
beneficial for me”.
- “Reading is beneficial
because it corrects the
mistakes we make in
language”.
- “I read books about
Improving mental and physical

everything, this
improves my mental and
stimulate it so it keep my
brain active keep it
health

strong. And when I feel

1 0.76%
stressed I just lose
myself in reading
something that distract
me and keep me in the
present moment”.

1
 - “it is beneficial because
it helps me improve my
english in all the fields”
- “In terms of
Proficiency

improvement - I can say

16 12.12% that my english has
really improved since I
started reading and
using a variety of
reading materials”.
- “Reading is beneficial
because it corrects the
mistakes and make us
memorizes words and
expressions and thus
Memorizing words

having a better
command of the
5 3.79% language”
- “since I’m visual,
reading improve my
writing skills because
when I read I memorize
words the first time I see
Developing critical thinking

them”

6 4.54% - “Reading develops for

sure critical thinking,
this is the case for me”
- “ When I read I’m
completely engaged in
the text I read and when
I get interested of the
topics it pushes me to try
to understand why
things are written like
this, and start to
question myself and
argues critically with
others”.

1
 - “Everytime I read I
make an effort to
concentrate and focus on
Developing focus and concentration

the content, in the

beginning it was difficult
for me but now I learn
to master how to keep
focusing on my reading”
2 1.51% - “ For me reading is very
beneficial to gain in
concentration because
when you start reading
you need to stay
concentrated until the
end of the subjects”.


- “In many ways, like

None (No reason given) Gaining confidence

expressing myself more

freely and with a full
1 0.76% selfconfidence”.

“I don’t read a lot” 

6 4.54%

Grand 132 Grand

100% 4 100%
total total

Table 3.4: Beneficial/No beneficial reading.

1
 Colonne1

6% YES
NO

94%

Figure 3.4: Beneficial/No beneficial reading

Question 5: According to you, is reading important for academic achievement?

Yes or no? Justify your answer.
This table presents students’ responses to the Yes/No question as well as the
categories that help determine students’ awareness of lack thereof of the important
contribution of reading to their academic achievement.
Yes (Reading is important for academic No (Reading is not important for
achievement) academic achievement)

N (frequency of N (frequency of
Percentage Percentage
occurrence) occurrence)

63 96.92 % 2 3.08%

Grand Total

N
(frequency
65
of
occurrence)

Percentage 100%

XSub- Percen Sub- Percen

N   N  
categor t category t
1
 y

-  “Without
reading we can’t
really achieve the
point where our
English is perfect in
this way academic
Correct
achievement will
never be achieved.
reading may improve
our spelling and help
us to know how to
spell words correctly” Because it
a waste of
-  ”yes, it is because time and
It helps to improve energy It’s
Spelling better to
your vocabulary and
spelling level” learn by
Waste of
heart the
18 17.30% time & 1  
lesson and
energy
to
memorize
what it is
teached
than to
-  “It helps you read
enrich your
 
vocabulary, avoid
spelling and
grammatical
mistakes”.

   

1
 “Reading im“Reading
improve writing style and
enrich the learner with
the large vocabulary that
he needs in his learning”

“It is beneficial in term of

language structure
(producing correct “reading is
sentences in writing)” good, but
it’s not the
most
important
and not the
“it is very important only factor
because by reading we for
Preference
develop a sophisticated academic
Writing for other
27 25.96% writing style and learn 1   achievement
skills language
proper language”.prove for instance,
skills
writing style and enrich interactions
the learner with the large with native
vocabulary that he needs speakers,
in his learning”, listening to
news,
writing are
the most
important”.

“It is beneficial in term of

language structure
(producing correct
sentences in writing)” and
“it is very important
because by reading we
develop a sophisticated
writing style and learn
proper language”.

1
 - “Reading is important because it helps the students
to know how to structure their language this helps a
XLanguage lot in succeeding in their studies because of this it
helps on developing writing and organizing
paragraphs and essays (avoiding mistakes)”

19 18.26  

-“Of course reading is an important habit in many

way and all sides of life and especially for academic
achievement. If I am studying pragmatics and I read
books about it then I will understand better, I will
structure
improve my language and better structure it, in
addition to that reading different kind of books will
help you improve a lot in many fields and get a lot of
skills”

-  “It is beneficial in term of language structure

  producing correct sentences at the grammatical and
semantic level”.
   

1
 X

“As they say “readers are leaders” so we

Vocabular
have to read to enrich our vocabulary and
y
feed our minds as it is required by reading”

37.5 “Reading is one of the important skills in

39
enrichment % learning a foreign language, it allow the
reader to discover new words and cultures

“Reading improve writing style and enrich

  the learner with a large vocabulary that he
needs in his learning”.

“ reading helps a lot to enrich vocab and

Better 0.75 improve spelling, but in my opinion, reading
1
attention % helps and push the reader to better
concentrate and for a long moment”.

Grand
132 100% Grand total 2 100%
total

Table 3.5 : Importance of reading for academic achievement

1
3.2 Analysis and presentation of teacher questionnaire entries

The content analysis of teachers’ responses is summarized in the tables below.

Question 1: Based on classroom interaction and formal assessment, what do you

think of third year students’ reading habits?

Teachers’ perceptions of students reading habits

Sub-category N Examples
“Very poor reading habits and lack of
concern in reading even when asked to
Poor reading 4 read”.

“I think most of them have poor reading

habits”

Grand total 4

1
 Question 2: Do you think that the teacher can play any influential role in that?
Yes, No. If yes, How? If no, why not?

Table 3.6 : Teachers’ perceptions of students’ reading habits.

Table 3.7: Teachers influence on students reading habits.

1
Question 3: Do you personally encourage your third year students to read?
Yes, No. If yes, how do you do that?

Yes No
N (frequency of N (frequency of
Percentage Percentage
occurrence) occurrence)
3 75 % 1 25 %
Grand Total

N
(frequency
4
of
occurrence)
Percentage 100%
Sub-category N Percentage Sub-category N Percentage

Oral Not enough time 1 100 %

Encouragemen 1 25 %
t

Lesson oriented 75 %
2
reading

Table 3.8: Teachers encouragement in reading

1
Question 4: According to you, how can students improve their reading habits?

Category N Examples
“They can improve by implementing daily
reading routine. This routine should be
Daily reading
short lived but regular like one “hour a day
implementatio 1
because students generally think that they
n
should spend a lot of time reading and this
does not fit into their individual schedules”

“Integrate literary clubs at the university so

Participating at
that the students can share with others what
university 2
they read and this will motivate them to do it
literary clubs
and to use different reading materials”
“To buy books that interest them (literature,
science...etc)”
Reading for
2 “They can also read short articles related to
interest
other areas of their

interest”

“Students should read gradually from one page

Gradual reading 1
a day to a chapter and then whole books”

“it’s not always necessary to read whole books,

students can attempt selection of chapters or
sections relevant to their modules, this will be
Lesson oriented more effective for the students especially during
2
reading their studies”
“Frist they can start reading for the sake of
their studies (reading abstracts of books,
introductions, single chapters, etc....)”
Grand total 8  
Table 3.9: Teachers’ advice on improving student

3.3 Conclusion

This chapter has presented the analysis of the collected data which were
displayed in tables and pie charts. The results will be discussed in the next chap

1
 Chapter Four
Results Interpretation and Implications

4.1Introduction
The present study was undertaken to investigate the reading habits of 3 rd year
students at the English Department – University of Algiers II. Based on the results of
the analysis of the questionnaires’ data, this chapter will be devoted to the discussion
of results and their implications for teaching and learning.

4.2 Data interpretation

This study had raised three research questions:

 RQ1: What kinds of reading materials do third year students at the

English to Department of University of Algiers II use?

 RQ2: What utilization do students make of those reading materials?

 RQ3: How do students reading habits impact their academic

achievement?

Thus, data will be interpreted under the following sub-sections:

 Types of reading materials used by students.
 Students’ utilization of reading materials.
 The impact of the students’ reading habits on their academic achievement.

1
4.2.1 Types of reading materials used by students
From table 3.1 and table 3.2, we can observe that the reading materials used
by third year students at the English department –University of Algiers 2 (Linguistics
& Language Teaching) can be divided into two categories: leisure reading and reading
for assessment.
A- Regarding leisure reading, the student questionnaire revealed the majority
of the students (22.48%) prefer using printed books since it is their first choice, they
are faithful to traditional printed papers and rarely digital screen for their leisure
reading activities. Then comes as a second preference digital books (17,83%) and
online articles (17,83) since they are more accessible and easy to get, it avoids them
purchasing reading materials, and wasting time looking for books in libraries, they also
provide the students with several facilities which are faster, cheaper and ready to be
read at anytime and anywhere. Students can get information just with a click on their
laptops or smartphones carried on their bag or pocket.
In next positions come printed novels (9,30%), printed short stories(6,20%)
and printed newspapers (3,88%), the students claimed that they preferred to read
printed format rather than reading e-books. In the other position comes the magazines,
where they can find a variety of articles and photos. Everyone can find his interest in
this kind of literature.
The other material is “the handouts” which are less read because of practical question.
They are less easy to carry than a book is. Online magazines are less preferred leisure
reading books due to the bright background colour of the screen and to protect eyes
from radiation coming from the screen.
Psychological (0,78%) and historical (0,78%) books do not interest 3rd year students, in
these fields, they find no interest in the sociological fields.

B- Apart from leisure reading, 3rdyear students also use reading materials to
prepare for their tests and exams. Table 3.2 shows that the majority (42,28%) of the
students use handouts for their assessment preparation. It is a means of obtaining
focused information in a few pages. Copybooks with a percentage of (15,44%) are
also a good means to gather notes which help them work on their lessons. However, to
complete information of the handouts and copybooks, extra research is needed through
1
internet which is used by (10.57 %) of the students. Online books and articles have an
immediate benefit for a better comprehension and help the activity of brain storming.
Printed books and articles (11,38%) are also used by the students to complete their
knowledge while dictionaries are less used for assessment preparation; only a few
students (1.63%) use dictionaries.

4.2.2 Students’ utilization of reading materials

4.2.2.1 Reading for leisure and reading for assessment preparation have
different goals
The first one is devoted mainly to get enjoyment and relaxation. It also helps
them formulate and communicate ideas. According to S. Krashen (1982:3) “Even light
reading can contribute to language acquisition, implying comic books.” For him,
through leisure reading, vocabulary is best acquired incidentally, and effortlessly.
Even newspapers have a positive effect. “The immediate benefit of reading for leisure
is the fact that just one issue of a newspaper may contain material for learning various
types of writing: description, analysis and synthesis, comparison and contrast and
process of description they provide modals of good written form: paragraphing, topic
sentence, introduction, conclusion…etc.” Forum n°3 1995. Joe Pemagny. Apart from
newspapers, 3rd year students also use printed book, printed articles, online articles for
leisure reading.
The second utilization of the reading materials by the 3 rd year students is
devoted to preparing for tests and exams. In this case, the objective is quite different. It
is no more to get relaxation or fun but to be evaluated and judged by teachers and there
is a real engagement from the part of the students to read thoroughly, skim and scan
the giving topics. For this, handouts copybooks, internet, printed articles, online
articles, dictionaries: all these materials pave them the way to get ready for all type of
assessments. The majority of the students (42.28%) prefer using the handouts “to
memorize easily and save time” as one of the students said it. Since the course is
summarized, it is easy for them to keep it in their mind. Another one prefers handouts
because he stays in the subject and he takes notes to develop the information”. With
1
the handouts the students avoid to be out of topic and stay focused on the subject
matter. The other category of students (15.44%) are stuck to their copybooks because
everything is gathered in one single material in which they can easily find all the notes
they took in the classroom.
After the handouts, comes the internet as the second means for the students to
prepare their tests. (10.57%) have chosen this technological device using e-books,
tablets, computers and mobile phones to satisfy their reading interest. The majority of
them said that they spend two or three hours a day online to collect extra information.
It’s a fact that online books or articles bring any kind of information on any
topic in a matter of a few seconds and avoids wasting time through traditional means
such as: visiting libraries and conducting exhaustive researches.
Finally and unfortunately, the last material which is less used by the third year
English students is the dictionary: a tool which helps giving definitions, spelling,
pronunciation and grammar. On the other hand, only (1.63%) of the students use a
dictionary for the reading comprehension. They think that “it’s not necessary to grasp
the meaning of a text”, according to the students.
In fact, in my opinion, the use of dictionaries should be done only when the
context of the sentence is not clear, but it stays an indispensable tool for getting
knowledge. Similarly, none of the students is interested by psychological books. The
results of the study to assess the utilization of the reading materials by 3 rd year students
of the English Department – University of Algiers II, show that the students have good
reading habits for the preparation of their assessments, since the majority of them refer
to their handouts as a first step to stay in the topic. Later, they look for other reading
material through which they could increase the amount of information which is
adequate to their course. This shows an effective strategic use of the reading materials
among the students.

Most used students’ reading materials for English proficiency

improvement.

Table 3.3 reveals that (36.52%) of the 3rd year students at the English department use
printed novels and books to improve their English proficiency. When doing so, they

1
enrich their vocabulary, they get a better comprehension of any writing as well as a
fluency in the foreign language. They also get a mastery of the writing skills which are
necessary for the improvement of language proficiency. Online articles are also the
means used by (15.65%) of students to ameliorate their vocabulary, grammatical skills
and get a better comprehension. Online readings provide a variety of articles which
help enrich the students’ culture and personality.

4.2.3 The impact of the students reading habits on their academic

achievement.

Table 3.3, table 3.3.1 and table 3.5 shows that the majority of students (36.52
%) use printed books and novels, followed by online books and articles (14.79 %) and
(15.65%). Printed articles (11,30%) are also used to increase their knowledge as well
as other kinds of reading materials. Dictionaries (5,22% )are another means of research
in the vocabulary meaning. At last, short stories and newspapers are rarely used in the
students’ reading habits, only 1.7% use this type of reading materials. But what do
they say they find in all these materials? For the great majority of them (40.66%), it’s a
means of learning a great deal of new words and therefore enrich their vocabulary.
(7.69%) of them think that it improves the writing skills. In fact, it’s a strategic use of
writing since it provides models of good written forms such as: paragraphing, topic
sentence, introductions and conclusions.
Fluency is another benefit gained from the reading habits (2.20%) think that
they can speak easily once they have read a lot of books. For (5.49%), reading can
provide a good pronunciation and spelling. This is right but it can be done only with
the help of a teacher or a native speaker who can supervise how the words are told.
According to (10.99%), the second most important benefit brought by the reading
habits is comprehension. It’s a fact that the more the students read, the more they get
good comprehension of tests and the only condition to understand words, concepts,
ideas or word phrases is to master the reading skills such as decoding, fluency,
vocabulary, and sentence building. As well as grammar is concerned, only (3.29%)
think that reading is a beneficial tool for acquiring good grammatical habits. It’s quiet
1
a little number in regard to the tremendous benefits brought by reading, not only to
create their own sentences correctly in their written tasks but also to help them
improve their communication skills in both spoken and written English.
Discovering other’s people culture through reading is another aspect of the
benefits brought by reading but unfortunately, only (2.20%) has developed this idea.
These results stay beyond the normal belief because reading brings much more than
the writing and the reading skills. It’s an open window over the world’s culture just as
the media do. As a result, the above interpretation leaves us the idea that much more
students think that reading is just a matter of a vocabulary enrichment and a better
comprehension of a language. They pay less attention to the enormous bringing of
reading and writing skills advantages with the knowledge of others’ culture. The gap
between these different interpretations is very important so that we would state that the
reading habits for this type of students are unbalanced since they do not see reading as
an activity which brings equivalent benefits but just part of it.

Academic achievement in reading habits requires a lot of efforts and strategies.

Reading habits provide uncountable benefits for the improvement of language skills
including listening skills, speaking skills, reading skills and writing skills. It enriches
the vocabulary, corrects spelling mistakes, and develops memorization, concentration
as well as critical thinking. (37.5%) of the students think that reading habits enrich
their vocabulary, while (25.96%) say that reading habits improve their way of writing
including vocabulary, grammar and ideas. The other category of students 16% declare
that reading habits ameliorate their knowledge and culture.

4.3 Pedagogical implications

Based on our study results, the following are some pedagogical implications:

4.3.1 Understanding the reasons behind students’ low interest in reading

According to the teacher participants, “very few students show that they do

1
read at home”, students “lack concern in reading even when asked to do so” and
“when evaluating their papers, there is no evidence of additional reading a part from
the lesson input”. The main incentive for reading being motivation, the question to be
asked now is: what is the reason of this lack of interest?
Reading is an activity which starts form the early age. Parents read stories to their
young children before they sleep. It is at this time that they develop their interest for
story books and later try to find out the story by themselves. A few parents in our
country do so: they do not read to their children at bed time. This could be one of the
reasons why 3rd year students at the English Department – University of Algiers II are
not motivated for extra readings. Moreover, sometimes they have difficulties to work
on texts which are not easy to cope with. Because of ineffective reading strategies,
they cannot grasp the meaning of the text, and therefore, they neglect the reading
activities assigned to them. Finally, the other reason could be a bad choice of the
theme studied in class. If the topic doesn’t interest them, therefore they will not feel
concerned and will do just limited readings. Last but not the least is the overwhelming
use of online reading. Teachers know that many students get stuck looking at their
smartphones and tablets so that reading becomes a real challenge. That is the reason
why teachers should be aware of their students’ difficulties and try to find a solution.
But how?

4.3.2 Training students in effective reading strategies

Teachers can help students read more and efficiently by teaching them the
techniques to become efficient readers and therefore enhance their proper thinking
methods, teaching them which paragraphs of a text can be skimmed and which ones
need to be scanned. Ask them to avoid superficial reading for a whole text but try to
extract the hidden message coping to the question. Teacher participants, for instance,
advise that “instead of simply lecturing they can base their teaching on specific
reading materials processed in the classroom”. Another teacher suggested that “teacher
should make lessons on the students’ findings about a specific topic given to them
previously. This can push them to make research and read”.

4.3.3 The influential role of teacher

1
 As discussed in the previous section, the 3 rd year students of the English
Department – University of Algiers II lack motivation and interest for extra reading. It
could be improved thanks to the teachers’ contribution by first assigning extensive
reading: as one of the teacher participants suggested: “instead of simply lecturing,
teachers can base their teaching on specific reading materials processed in the
classroom”.

4.3.4 Motivating students to read more

Teachers often complain about the lack of motivation, concentration and cultural
knowledge from the part of their students who find difficulties in grasping the meaning
of a text. It’s because either they don’t like the topic or the text is too difficult for them
to understand. That’s why the teachers’ responsibilities in selecting or creating
appropriate texts is important. The main incentive for reading being motivation,
teachers should help their students in the choice of their reading materials; the once
suitable to the topics studied in class and ask them to give a summary of what they
have read to make sure that the reading has been done.

4.3.5 Encouraging personal investigation.

Teachers report that there is not enough investigation in their students’ task
because of a lack or poor extra research. (42.28%) use their handouts for assessments
preparation in which they reproduce word by word an avoid personal feedback which
needs a self-study followed by self-thinking and self-analysis a process which needs
real motivation and will from the part of the students as the majority of them prefer
reading in their first language or stay addicted to electronic reading; That’s why it is
advisable to avoid providing ready handouts which are sometimes incomplete but give
them just titles and subtitles and ask them to make their own research mainly in library
toenrich the content of their courses.

4.3.6 Avoiding translation when reading.

1
 Translation has always been an important issue for the learners because of the
similarities between French and English in the trap of English False Friends - (ex: “an
issue une issue” and “assister  to assist”) and this can mislead the reader. That’s
why it is advisable to ask students to use a dictionary for synonyms when they cannot
guess the meaning from the context. It is a useful tool but should be used not very
often because of the loss of time and loss of interest from the part off the reader.

4.4 Conclusion

This chapter had dealt with the discussion of findings brought out by our data
analysis. Implications and recommendations for pedagogical practice were also
resulted from those findings.

1
 Conclusion

This research aimed at exploring the reading habits of 3rd year students at the
English Department – University of Algiers II. Its purpose was to identify the students
reading approaches, their objectives, their strategies and their weaknesses using the
data collected by means of two open-ended questionnaires attributed to 65 students
and 5 teachers.

This case study enabled sixty five 3rd year English students of linguistics and
five (5) teachers specialized in the same module, with 8 to 20 years of experience to
take part to the survey.

In the light of the qualitative data collected through investigations we could

have an idea about the real students reading habits, the type of reading materials they
preferred using, the manner they prepared their texts and exams as well as their point
of view on reading in general. On the other part, teachers are aware of the students’
weaknesses but they also carry appreciation of their reading habits.

The study conducted in the students reading habits revealed that students had a
selective reading. Handouts were the favourite materials they used to prepare their
assessments and exams while online articles come on the second position.

They are aware that reading improves their writing skills because of the
vocabulary and grammatical structures they get through reading.

On the other hand, when evaluating their tests, the teachers realize that there is
“no evidence of additional reading apart from the lesson input”. Some do not read
other materials except their handouts and copybooks. That’s why meeting the different
needs of their students is a constant challenge for the teachers. Once the students’
reading problems are determined it’s up to teachers to find clues to eradicate them.

It is never too late to develop a successful reading habit. Today’s readers are
tomorrow’s leaders.

1
1
 Bibliography

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2 (XIV), 121-149.

Bad Lip Reading [Bad Lip Reading]. (2018, Avril 24). Interrogating Zuckerberg.
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zCDvOsdL9Q

Blaha, B. A. & J. M. Bennett (1993). Yeni okuma teknikleri. İstanbul:Rota Yayınları

(Translated by: D. Şahiner).

Block, E. (1986). The comprehension strategies of second language readers. TESOL

Quarterly, 20, 463-494. doi:10.2307/3586295

Canizares. (2019). For the love of words [Blog post]. Retrieved from
http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=8100

Coady, J. (1979), “A Psycholinguistic Model of the E.S.L. Reader”, in Reading in a

Second Language, edited by R. Mackay, B. Barkman, and R. Jordon, Newbury House,
Rowley, Mass., U.S.A.

Cohen. D. A. TESOL Quarterly. Vol. 20, No. 4 (Dec., 1986), pp. 747-751.

Cunningham, A., Stanovich, K. (1998) What reading does for the mind. American
educator, (22), 1-8.

Davis, G. (2016, 12). Why is reading important? [Blog post]. Retrieved from
https://www.learn-to-read-prince-george.com

Jolly, D. (1978). The establishment of a self-access scheme for intensive reading.

Paper presented at the Goethe institute, British council. Colloquium on reading, Paris,
October, 1978.
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Mcnamara, Danielle.S. (2007). Reading Comprehension Strategies: Theories
Interactions, and Technologies. Laurence Erablaum Associates.

Quartsz.[Quartz]. (2017, September 10). How Bill Gates reads. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTFy8RnUkoU

Thanuskodi, S. 2011. Reading Habits among Library and Information Science

Students of Annamalai University: A Survey. Int J Edu Sci, 3(2);p:79-83

The Conduit Hypothesis: How Reading Leads to Academic Language Competence

(2018). Language Magazine.

William, P, G., Fredricka L, S. (2002). Teaching and Researching: Reading: Pearson

Education Limited.

Yorio, C. A. (1971). Some sources of reading problems for foreign language learners.
Language learning, 21, 107-115.

1
 Appendix A: Student Questionnaire

Dear student,
My name is Abderrahim Meriem and I am doing my Master 2 research. My
study aims at exploring your English reading habits this year and this questionnaire
will help me to collect valuable data for my project. Your responses will be kept
anonymous. Thank you so much for your cooperation.
Important:
In the following questions you will encounter the term “reading materials”.
It refers to all types of English texts: printed and digital texts, namely,
printed books/e-books, printed articles/online articles, handouts, etc.

Age: ...................... Gender: Male: ................ Female: ..............

1- What reading materials do you use for leisure reading?

…………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
…..……………………………………………..
……………………………………………………………………………………...
……………………..…………………………..

2- What reading materials help you prepare for tests and exams?
…………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………..…
Say how.
……………………………………………..
……………………………………………………………………………………...
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………...............................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................

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...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................

3- What reading materials help you improve your English proficiency?

…………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………...........................................................................................................
.......................................
Say how.
……………………………………………..
……………………………………………………………………………………...
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………...............................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................

4- Are the readings you do beneficial to you?

Yes ................ No ....................

If yes, in what ways? If no, why not?

…………………………………………………………..
……………………………………………………………………………………...
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………….

5- According to you, is reading important for academic achievement?

Yes .................. No ....................

Justify your answer.

1
…………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………..…………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………….
……………………………………………..……………………..

Appendix B: Teacher Questionnaire

Dear teacher,
My name is Abderrahim Meriem and I am currently doing my Master 2 research, which
aims at exploring third year Students’ reading habits. I would be grateful if you could devote
some of your precious time to contribute with your valuable views to my study data. Thank
you so much for your help.
Gender: …………………. Years of teaching experience: ……………………
1- Based on classroom interaction and formal assessment, what do you think
of third students’ reading habits?
…………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………
….
……………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………….........
2- Do you think that the teacher can play any influential role in that?
Yes ............ No ............
If yes, how? If no, why not?
…………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………
….
……………………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………….…
3- Do you personally encourage your third year students to read?
Yes ............ No ...........
If yes, how do you do that?
…………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………
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 ….
……………………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………
….
……………………………………………………………………………………….

4- According to you, how can students improve their reading habits?

………………………………………………………………………………………
…………….
………………………………………………………………………………………
….………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………
….…………………………………………………………………………………….

Appendix C: The Third Year LMD Curriculum

Specialism: Linguistics & Language Teaching

Fundamental Unit

Module 1: Critical Writing

Module 2: Oral Communication

Module 3: Theories of First and Second Language Acquisition/Lesson Plan and

Classroom Activities

Module 4: Methods in Teaching and Assessing Languages Skills/Textbook

Description and Analysis

Methodology Unit:

Module 5: Methods of Curriculum and Syllabus Design/Ethno-methodology

Discovery Unit:

1
‫‪Module 6: Neurolinguistics/Discourse Analysis and Pragmatics‬‬

‫‪Module 7: Arabic Philology‬‬

‫‪Transversal Unit:‬‬

‫‪Module 8: Applied Statistics‬‬

‫‪Module 9: Foreign Language‬‬

‫ملخص الدراسة‬

‫‪ Ⅱ‬هذه الدراسة تخص البحث والتحليل لعادات القراءة عند طلبة السنة الثالثة لقسم اللغة اإلنجليزية لجامعة الجزائر‬
‫وهدفها هو طرح استراتيجيات القراءة تقنياتها الغاية منها ومعرفة المشاكل التي يوجهها الطلبة عند قراءة كتاب أو‬
‫‪.‬جزء منه‬
‫وللوصول الى الغاية المرجوة ثم توزيع استبيان على ‪ 65‬طالب من قسم السنة الثالثة لغة انجليزية يحتوي على ‪05‬‬
‫‪.‬أسئلة واستبيان اخر موزع علي ‪ 05‬أساتذة بطات القسم يتضمن ‪ 04‬أسئلة‬
‫قيما يخص األسئلة المطروحة على الطلبة‪ ،‬فتمحورت حول الوسائل والدعائم الخاصة للفراءة والمستعملة لتحضير‬
‫الدروس واالمتحانات‪ ،‬وأيضا وسائل القراءة المفضلة لديهم‪ ،‬مع مطالبتهم بتدقيق آرائهم حول مدى تأثير القراءة‬
‫‪.‬على معارفهم المكتسبة‬
‫من جهتهم‪ ،‬قدم األساتذة وجهات نظرهم حول عادات القراءة لدى طلبة قسم اللغة اإلنجليزية‪ ،‬وارتأوا ضرورة‬
‫البحث عن طرق من شأنها ترغيب الطالب في القراءة أكثر‪ ،‬إضافة الى تلقينهم تقنيات تساهم في تحسين مستوى‬
‫المطالعة لديهم‬
‫على ضوء النتائج المحصل عليها فقد تبين أن أغلبية الطلبة‪ ،‬يعتمدون في مراجعتهم على الملخصات المطبوعة‪،‬‬
‫الدروس المدونة على كراريسهم اضافة الى االطالع على مواقع االنترنت‬
‫في ذات السياق‪ ،‬لم ترق تلك النتائج الى تطلعات األستاذة بسبب ضعف نسبة المقروئية لدى الطلبة‪ ،‬واكتفائهم‬
‫بالدروس المقدمة فقط‪ ،‬دون تكليفهم عناء القيام باألبحاث الشخصية لتوسعة صيدهم المعرفي‬
‫في األخير أوضح أساتذة قسم اللغة اإلنجليزية معرفتهم المسبقة بالصعوبات التي يوجهها الطلبة‪ ،‬بسبب سوء‬
‫التكوين منذ األقسام االبتدائية‪ ،‬و عدم الهامهم بتقنيات القراءة و المطالعة ‪ ,‬كما أبدى ذات األساتذة استعدادهم لحث‬
‫‪1‬‬
‫الطلبة على تحسين مستواهم في القراءة و الذي سيسمح لهم بتطوير مكتسباتهم اللغوية و اثراء قدراتهم في التحرير‬
‫‪.‬و التعبير الشفهي‬

‫‪1‬‬