Investigating the Difficulties of EFL Students’ Reading Comprehension: The Case of L1 Students at the English Department of Biskra University

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to explore the reading comprehension difficulties first-year students at the English department of the University of Biskra face and to pinpoint some of the underlying causes. a sample of 23 students and 3 reading comprehension teachers were purposefully chosen as the sample of this study. To collect the relevant data, a students' questionnaire as well as a teachers' interview were designed and administered to, respectively, first-year license students and reading comprehension teachers at the department of English of Biskra University. The results suggest that first-year students struggle with reading comprehension, which is mostly because of their limited vocabulary and lack of practice, motivation and concentration.