Methodological Challenges in Implementing Think-Alouds to Investigate EFL Readers’ Comprehension Strategies
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Abstract
This study aimed to investigate methodological challenges in using the think-aloud method to assess EFL students’ employment of reading strategies. The participants in this study consisted of 16 Thai EFL university students. Think-aloud and videotaped observations were used to collect the data. The data were analyzed by content analysis. The results of the study revealed that levels of text difficulty and topics of interest, familiarity with the think-aloud method and the observer, ability to verbalize thoughts, and cultural differences were major methodological challenges in the maximum utilization of the think-aloud method for collecting qualitative data. Based on the findings, some pedagogical implications were suggested for utilizing the think-aloud method in the English reading classroom.
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