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Volume 21 Number 3, Autumn 2024, Pages 520-759   


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Analysis of EFL Elementary School Students' English Reading Ability Profiles and Their Learning Backgrounds

    Eun Jung Kim


This study comprehensively evaluated the subskills contributing to English reading ability of EFL elementary school students, including non-word and word reading, reading fluency, word and grammar knowledge, and reading comprehension. The study's participants were 307 6th graders from six public elementary schools in Korea. Using profile analysis, the study classified students into five distinct groups, each with unique patterns of reading proficiency. Profile 1, the lowest level, included 9.1% of students who lacked fundamental decoding and comprehension skills. The study's findings highlighted the influence of various sociocultural factors in an EFL context, such as gender, grade, metropolitan residence, socioeconomic status, parental education, English book ownership, supplementary education, and interest in English, on reading abilities. These findings also underscored the role of sociocultural factors and learners' motivation in English learning.

Keywords: L2 English reading ability, profile analysis, sociocultural factors, decoding skills, elementary school students