EFL learners' text processing strategies across comprehension vs. integration reading task conditions

The present study investigated the reading strategies L2 readers used as they read multiple texts across two reading tasks: single-text comprehension vs. multiple-texts integration. Twenty-two advanced EFL learners participated in the study; they were randomly assigned to one of the two reading tasks mentioned above. The two groups were required to read three texts. While the single-text-comprehension reading task required the participants to read the texts and provide answers to intra-textual post-reading questions, readers in the multiple-texts-integration task were required to develop an essay by integrating the content across the multiple texts. As they read the texts, the two groups were involved in reporting their thought processes. The thought reports of the two groups were then analyzed and compared. The comparisons revealed significant differences in the strategic processing of the texts by the readers across the two reading tasks. Specifically, the results showed that the multiple-texts-integration reading task gave rise to a higher number of metacognitive reading strategies than the single-text-comprehension reading task both in total and in each of the “analytic cognitions” and “pragmatic behaviors” categories of processing strategies. However, no significant difference was found between the two tasks in the “language-oriented” category of strategies.