A Case Study of an Adult EFL Learner’s Reading Strategy Use and Perceptions of Reading Assistance Software

Adult Korean learners stand to benefit from having access to digital tools and software that they can use to improve their English proficiency autonomously. Free voluntary surfing has been proposed to encourage L2 learners to improve their L2 proficiency but excessive unknown vocabulary in the authentic online materials prevents learners from accessing these texts. Reading assistance software allows the learner to gloss any unknown words they find in the text and indicate their level of knowledge of newly-encountered vocabulary. However, questions persist regarding how learners might experience and use this software. This study examined the perceptions and reading strategies of an adult Korean EFL learner as she used reading assistance software to engage in free voluntary web surfing. Observations and semi-structured interviews were conducted with the participant as she used the reading assistance software to read self-selected texts online. Findings indicated that she engaged in several potentially innovative and productive reading strategies to comprehend the text and learn new vocabulary. Several unique affordances of the software as well as a number of its more potentially serious limitations also emerged through her interactions with the software.