The
Interplay of Culture, Individual Differences and Adult EFL Reading Performance:
From Teacher-Dependence to the Development of Autonomous Readers
Nasmilah
Imran
Concern about adult EFL reading abilities has been documented
in a large number of EFL studies. Although the focus varies from study to
study, it is well established that an adult striving to acquire reading
abilities in a foreign language faces great challenge considering the impact of
internal and external factors to the learners.
This study investigates the interplay of culture (the
external factor), individual differences (internal factors) and the reading
performance of adult EFL learners striving to acquire reading skills for
academic purposes in a short duration matriculation program conducted at
Postgraduate program Hasanuddin University. In doing so, this study intends to
contribute to the EFL pedagogical context in which issues on reading
comprehension skills by adult EFL learners have always been a controversy.
In order to gain a deeper insight this paper is organized
by first of all, presenting an introduction followed by theoretical background
and methodology. Discussion on the interplay of culture, individual
differences, and the reading performance of adult EFL learners, the core matter
of this paper is presented next, indicating the shift from teacher-dependence
to the development of autonomous readers. Conclusion and recommendation for
further study will be presented as the final section of this paper.
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Imran, NN. (2005, September). The interplay of culture, individual
differences and adult EFL reading performance: From teacher-dependence to the
development of autonomous readers. Paper presented at 1st International
Seminar on Literacy Education in Developing Countries,
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