Advance organizer strategies reflect learners’ preparation before actual reading, which can be reflected through the use of four particular strategies (Jiang, 2021). Learners should be reminded before engaging in reading activities that setting and following reading purposes are essential (Jiang, 2021) because they are lights that guide them during reading process to make sure they follow the right track (Phakiti, 2006). Based on reading purposes, learners can choose reading materials that are suitable for their reading proficiency (Jiang, 2021). This is because too-easy or too-difficult texts may cause interest loss or mind wandering (Feng et al., 2013; Soemer & Schiefele, 2019). Additionally, reading activities
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necessary for efficient study vary significantly among various subjects because each subject has its own vocabulary, signs, symbols, and other means of thought representation (Alvermann & Hruby, 2001). That leads to the suggestion that learners might use different reading methods when reading different kinds of texts to maximize reading efficiency (Jiang, 2021). Furthermore, learners can also make reading plans by specifying the number of reading materials or allocating time properly for reading activities (Jiang, 2021). Research has found that personalized reading plans helped learners spend less time on off-task behaviors and engage in reading better (Miles & Ari, 2022).
Selective attention strategies (Planning strategies)
Selective attention strategies emphasize the status of being ready to notice particular information of entire materials. Jiang (2021) developed seven items to measure the use of this strategy type. Learners should read the title of reading materials, scan the whole texts, and pay attention to headings and graphic aids (Jiang, 2021) so as to become aware of the main ideas and overall structure of the material (Almasi, 2003; Phakiti, 2006; Soifer et al., 1990). This strategy has a close relation to the top-down approach that refers to higher-level reading processes.
Using this approach means learners construct their understanding of the texts as a whole, and then the individual elements of the text (Nuttall, 1996; Suraprajit, 2019).
On the contrary, if learners use the bottom-up approach, they mainly follow sequential and lower-level processes in which the meaning of the text are constructed through a process of joining smallest linguistic parts into the meaning of the whole text (Nunan, 1999). After language structures are introduced as a set of rules in isolation, learners will practice grammatical exercises to practice through repetition (Carrell, 1989; Grabe, 2009).
When learning about a particular topic, it is essential for learners to consider what they already know to be linked to their present reading (Jiang, 2021). This top-down approach helps learners beware of prior knowledge that aids general understanding of the current texts (Grabe, 2009). To be specific, this strategy can help learners predict some of the information presented in materials by using one
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or all of three schemata types that they possess (Israel, 2007; Soifer et al., 1990), i.e., linguistic schema (also called language knowledge), formal schema (related to rhetoric knowledge), and content schema (referred to topic knowledge) (Carrell, 1984). Other strategies in this type involve the use of practical or functional strategies such as underlining or marking important points, and paying attention to notes and signal words provided in texts to help analyze logical relations among sentences (Jiang, 2021).
Monitoring strategies
Monitoring is crucial because it “provides a basis for making decisions about what to re-study or how long to study materials” (Thiede et al., 2003, p.70).
According to Snow et al. (1998), skilled readers were different from poor readers in their use of comprehension monitoring and repair strategies. Monitoring is executed to assess intertextual aspects to incorporate novel contents for reading comprehension (Schiff & Calif, 2004). Jiang (2021) developed four items to measure the use of monitoring strategies. Learners should think about the content as they read and ask themselves questions about it to control their comprehension (Israel, 2007; Jiang, 2021; Phakiti, 2006; Soifer et al., 1990). This is important because comprehension is considered the ultimate goal of reading (e.g., Mervis et al., 2022) and learners should re-check doubtful information to identify confusion when their comprehension breakdowns occur (Phakiti, 2006). Put it simply, by using monitoring strategies, learners can check their understanding and revise previous forecasts according to the read materials (Jiang, 2021). If learners fail to differentiate between what they understand and what they do not understand, it is unlikely that they will be able to make proper time allocations on materials to enhance their comprehension (Thiede et al., 2003).
Furthermore, learners should know how to monitor reading strategies to direct their progress by revisiting how strategies are used and whether those strategies are employed properly while reading (Jiang, 2021). This can distinguish strong strategy users from weak ones by examining their abilities to coordinate and relate various strategies (Thiede et al., 2003). In addition, as mentioned in the section
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of advance organizer strategies, learners should specify time allocation for reading activities. In fact, the constraint of time, especially in examinations, is a factor that learners should strictly pay attention to. This is why Jiang (2021) suggested learners adjusting reading speed in accordance with time limit so that they can sufficiently cover all parts of the reading materials.
Evaluating strategies
Evaluating strategies refer to “the examination and correction of one’s cognitive processes” to evaluate a person’s reasoning, goals, and making revisions if necessary (Ku & Ho, 2010, p. 262). The phase of evaluating in reading process is described as “an art of judging the text for specific meaning to be utilized for certain objectives” (Channa et al., 2015, p.183). Jiang (2021) suggested five items to measure the use of this strategy type. It is said that evaluating, as a post-reading phase, highlights the need of summarizing main ideas in order to understand a particular piece of writing (Jiang, 2021; Schiff & Calif, 2004). This summary helps to reflect the efficiency of learners’ preparation before actual reading engagement.
Specifically, learners determine whether their reading purposes were achieved and whether their reading methods were used effectively (Ertmer & Newby, 1996; Jiang, 2021). Evaluating strategies also involve finding out the obstacles that were encountered while reading, discovering learners’ weaknesses, and evaluating progress that learners made in their reading skills (Ertmer & Newby, 1996; Jiang, 2021). As stated by O’Malley and Chamot (1990), metacognitive strategies reflect thinking about thinking. That explains the necessity of thinking about one’s own views about the reading materials after reading (Jiang, 2021).
This section has reviewed theories related to metacognitive reading strategies and how to measure these strategies. The following section will present a theory that can explain the relationship between reading self-efficacy and metacognitive reading strategies together with empirical evidence indicating this kind of relationship.
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