Factors and Problems Affecting Reading Comprehension of Undergraduate Students

Abstract

This study aims to investigate factors affecting reading comprehension problems of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th-year students of English for International Communication (EIC) at Rajamagala University of Technology Lanna Tak. The study's objectives were 1) to examine the reading comprehension problems found most in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year EIC students; and 2) to investigate the main factors influencing the reading problems that in turn, greatly affected the reading competence of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th-year students of EIC and how they cope with these problems. In this study, 77 EIC students demonstrated reading problems and factors which were adopted from Manutsawee (2015). The results showed that these students reflected different perceptions related to their reading problems and the factors that had an impact on their reading problems. The reading problems for the 2nd year EIC students were related to grammar, vocabulary, understanding, and personal experience with an average of 3.50, 3.43, 3.25, and 3.25, respectively. Meanwhile, the 3rd year students showed that they had difficulty with vocabulary (3.19) and grammar (3.10), with understanding and personal experience having the same average score (3.00). Finally, the 4th year students' reading problems were in the area of vocabulary (3.50), understanding and grammar (3.25), and personal experience (3.14). Moreover, the factor that affected EIC students' reading problems the most was identified as follows. The 2nd year students perceived students' attitude as the most influential factor at 3.91. However, the 3rd year students thought classroom teaching had the greatest impact on their reading problems at 3.79. Finally, the student's attitude was also the most influential factor, at 3.91, for the 4th year students.