Abstract:

Reading is one of the most fundamental skills that should be mastered for academic success. However, many first-year students struggle with academic texts due to unskilled reading abilities. This paper explores academic reading challenges experienced by first-year extended degree students in one South African university and suggests interventions that can help improve these students’ reading skills. A qualitative research approach was used for data collection. The case study design was used to explore the case of reading challenges and data collection was done through lecturer interviews, focus-group interviews and an open-ended questionnaire. The findings indicate that most first-year students experience challenges with reading at university due to inadequate reading preparation at the school level, the complexities in academic texts and students’ inadequate vocabulary range. The paper recommends that more reading platforms should be provided for students to engage in reading activities that can enhance their reading abilities.

Keywords:

Academic reading, reading problems, first-year university students, reading preparation, school level, academic texts.