First-year English majors' reading habits, reading skills and strategies from EFL and English literature tutors' perspective: An interview study

Abstract

Abstract Preparing English as a foreign language (EFL) students for final exams and language exams has become more and more significant in secondary education. However, those students who continue their studies as English majors have to live up to new expectations and rise to different challenges such as reading and discussing literary texts written in English. Thus, they would need help, nevertheless it is generally believed in many university courses that students have already reached the needed language proficiency level and they are able to read academic texts in English without having difficulties (Paran, 2008). Therefore, first-year English majors are often unprepared to cope with the demands made on them in literature courses. The main objective of this interview study, involving four EFL and four English literature tutors from a university in Hungary, is to explore the tutors' perceptions on first-year English majors' reading habits, what reading skills and strategies are required in literature courses. The findings provide an insight into some of the issues related to reading texts in English, what demands English majors have to meet when they enter tertiary education, and some possible solutions.