L2 Reading in Higher Education: Teaching and Evaluation Practices

Abstract

Due to the importance of the reading skills in the academic field and in the Colombian evaluation system of tertiary education, this research aimed at analyzing how L2 reading is taught and evaluated at tertiary education in the EFL courses of a private university. Therefore, to gather the data from the context and participants it was necessary to choose three teachers as a sample, one of each course, and the students enrolled in them. The data collection tools used were observations, interviews, surveys, and document analysis to triangulate the information collected. The results of this study were directly linked to the objectives proposed for it. The most relevant findings related to the objectives are: first, the role of reading at tertiary education is central for teachers and administrators; however, there are some methodological issues that are not working properly. Second, teachersÕ pedagogical and evaluation practices are adequate in terms of the institutional requirements but insufficient for improving learnersÕ current results. Third, these courses are course book-based, and the text used is grammar/vocabulary-centered. Accordingly, some recommendations are given to improve these coursesÕ pedagogical and assessment practices in order to enhance learnersÕ reading comprehension levels based on PISA (2018) levels. Nevertheless, it is essential to mention that this study suffered some adaptations due to the COVID-19 pandemic and some of the pre-planned items were not able to be carried out.