Abstract:

With the increasing use of the Internet, online reading has become an important source of input for the L2 (second language) reading process (Anderson, 2003). Using www (World Wide Web) in L2 reading classes, L2 readers, as well as teachers, educators, and researchers, could have immediate access to a huge amount of stored texts in different languages all over the world. Researchers propose that electronic text or web-based reading would make it possible to remove the monotonous linear approach of traditional reading by allowing the L2 readers to explore a universe of discourse and interconnecting the entire world’s literature (Kasper, 2000; Lück, 2008; Ma, 2008). However, the future directions in relation to underlying L2 reading comprehension and multimedia environments have still been waiting to be investigated thoroughly in consideration with the cognitive processes, or the interaction between bottom-up and top-down processes (Chun, 2006). As stated by Warschauer (1999), web reading and print reading are clearly different processes not only because of the different psycholinguistic processes of reading from a screen rather than on paper but also because of the way information is accessed and stored via these media and their role in society. It is essential to investigate these different mental processes by designing online reading tasks where L2 readers can think about what is happening during the process rather than merely focusing their attention on the content (Anderson, 2003). Understanding online L2 reading processes and strategy use will ultimately lead to effective integration of these technologies into L2 reading curriculum and instruction. This case study explores L2 (second language) online reading strategies the learners use in English, how they use these strategies, and the perceptions of their own ESL online reading processes. The study includes three cases and the data come from a background survey, think aloud protocols, field notes, and semi-structured interviews. The results indicated that L2 leaners in this study employed several cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies as well as navigational strategies while reading online in their L2. In terms of their perception, they provided mostly positive but critical insights into the use of online reading in their L2 classes, the use of Internet in L1 and L2, reading a book versus reading online in L2, and the trustworthiness of online information. Finally, the study discusses significant implications for ESL reading instruction and teachers to address in their classrooms with ESL readers.