Academic Reading Challenges of an ESL Undergraduate Student

Abstract

Although there have been many studies related to challenges in academic reading, there has been a little study on challenges faced by undergraduate ESL student in academic reading. There are several issues related to academic reading, may include difficulties in com prehending complex texts, confusion in identifying main ideas and key details, limited vocabulary and understanding of specialized terminology, as well as challenges in maintaining focus and accuracy when reading lengthy materials are to mention some of the challenges. The study aims to explore some challenges faced by undergraduate ESL student in university academic reading. This study used a descriptive qualitative approach. In this research, data was collected through interview. The study utilized the Zoom platform as the setting for conducting an interview with Ms. H, a student specializing in Accounting at University X. She was selected as participant since she was an EFL student studying in ESL country. Thematic analysis is employed as the method for this analysis. Based on analysis, this study showed that some challenges faced by undergraduate ESL students in university academic reading such as text comprehension, engaging in scholarly conversations, course requirements, and discipline relevance. Integrating stages of the reading academic improved students' writing skills. This study suggests implications for students to be able to apply and use appropriate strategies to overcome these challenges by developing their reading skills.