Examining/Understanding the Reading Culture and Comprehension Abilities of Learners of English as a Foreign Language in Uganda

Abstract

In this study, I analysed the reading culture and its influence on reading comprehension of learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Uganda. The data were collected by interviewing ten EFL teachers in order to gather their views of their learners’ reading culture and comprehension abilities. Data were analysed using Vroom’s Expectancy theory. Findings indicate that the EFL learners were enthusiastic about reading even beyond the classroom reading tasks. 30% of the teachers interviewed confirmed that the learners had a positive attitude towards reading as part of their language learning, hence a confirmation of their good reading culture. The rest of the teachers interviewed confirmed that 70% of the learners possess a poor reading culture. The study further confirmed the presence of a strong link between the learners’ reading culture and reading comprehension achievement. The majority of the teachers agreed that the positive reading culture exhibited by their EFL learners significantly contributed to their reading comprehension. The learners with a poor reading culture also exhibited poor reading comprehension abilities because they lacked frequent reading comprehension opportunities. The study concludes that the majority of EFL learners lack a good reading culture. There was a clear relationship between the reading culture and the learners’ attainment of reading comprehension. This is confirmed by the fact that in cases where the reading culture was positive, the learners’ reading comprehension abilities were better