Reading literature and its major problems : a qualitative analysis of EFL students' perceptions

Abstract EN

Teaching and learning language skills is a complex enterprise.

Reading is one of the skills that requires interaction between the reader and the reading material, aiming at the creation of meaning in a comprehensive way.

Factors such as cultural knowledge, linguistic proficiency and motivation make EFL reading more challenging than L1 reading.

In a reading context dominated by orality and lack of reading habits, EFL reading becomes a challenging experience.

The present study shows that EFL students face many reading problems, in that they are not only slow readers, but unskilled in comprehending the meaning of literary texts.

Here appears the significance of this study which takes place in an Algerian EFL context.

The qualitative collection and analysis of data reveals that vocabulary words are the main problem for readers and the paper offers recommendations for further research.