L2 learners' conceptions of academic reading and themselves as academic readers

Despite the recent proliferation of L2 research that examines learners' conceptions about their own learning (i.e., learners' metacognitive knowledge or beliefs), little research has been conducted to investigate how such conceptions are constructed and developed. This exploratory study attempts to describe EFL learners' conceptions of academic reading and also themselves as academic readers. Through in-depth interviews with 10 Japanese college students in an intensive EAP setting in Tokyo, Japan, particular focus was placed on (1) how individual learners conceptualize academic reading/readers, and (2) what factors individual learners attribute to the development of self-conceptions as academic readers. As represented in the self-reflective accounts of the participants, their conceptions of L2 reading have undergone considerable change through the experience of a major transition from traditional EFL to academic, content-based EAP contexts. This suggests that learners' conceptions are constantly being revised or reconstructed as they become more aware of needs or expectations in a specific social and educational context.